Beauty Beneath the Dirt - a new kind of Appalachian Trail film

[Northern Lights]

I went to the website and 'rented' it for $2.99. I'lll watch anything trail related. It's based on a thru hike, but the documentary focuses primarily on the relationship of the three hikers. There is a fair amount of crying.

What was all the crying about? I may be interested, but if it's just a bunch of blubbering and crying I don't know that I want to watch it. I'm a miserable B and crying annoys me. So should I order it?

[Almost There]

What was all the crying about? I may be interested, but if it's just a bunch of blubbering and crying I don't know that I want to watch it. I'm a miserable B and crying annoys me. So should I order it?

Basically, Ringleader had the idea to hike, and invited her most loved people, her brother and best friend. Hence, she expected them all to hike as a group along her expectations of what the hike should be. Her best friend ended up feeling like a third wheel and was a much faster hiker than the other two...and she meets a guy. The friend wasn't hiking her own hike, and it wore on her the entire hike. The focus is on the human relationship while on the trail, but I think they focused too much on the drama, and not enough on some of the endearing moments she put in the extras, such as stops. It leaves the impression that they battled the entire way, when I think there was just as much good as bad, now that I've watched all the extras as well. The brother is good comic relief, and seems to feel the same as most about the crying and bickering...which is funny, but annoying for some. YMMV...

[Monkeywrench]

So three people go on vacation and have a miserable time, and I'm supposed to care enough to pay them $20 to share the experience with me? I think I'll pass.

[capehiker]

It's definitely worth seeing witha very unusual ending.

Now I'm gonna have to rent it.

[trippclark]

There are some changes but I don't think you're going to notice them. Just a little clean up.

The bonus footage is really the biggest change. Basically we asked people on our G2M tour what else they wanted to see ... and then we made mini doc shorts to cover those topics (we had soooo much footage...).

Enjoy!

Received the DVD on Thursday. I watched the movie twice over the wekend, once by myself and a second time with my wife. I did also like several of the added features and am glad they were included. Thanks Kate!

[shelb]

I PAID with my Credit Card; however, neither GooglePlay nor Youtube rentals will allow me to see it. The video begins with "There is more to us than we know," and then it freezes before it moves to the next line. I have this on two computers.

PLEASE, advise me if there is a way to view this! I had hoped to preview it via rental and then purchase it if I felt I could show clips of it with my teachings on Emerson and Thoreau next trimester.

Either way, I paid $2.99. It would be nice to see more than a few seconds of the video.

It stops 25 seconds into the 1:08. I tried this 6 times!

[Leanthree]

Just watched it on google play and it worked well.

The movie was very enjoyable. $2.99 well spent.

[imscotty]

I bought the DVD, watched it last night and enjoyed it. (the DVD 'extras' are as long as the rest of the movie). Not your typical AT Video, it concentrated on the relationships between these three hiking friends. Yah, there was lots of drama and crying. It was a little hard for this guy to understand where all of this emotion was coming from, but after reading their blog it helped fill in some of the gaps.

It would be fun to open up a discussion thread with 'Ringleader' about this whole experience, but it would be hard to do without 'spoilers'

[Monkeywrench]

This movie made me:

1) Glad I didn't try to hike my thru-hike with a set group.

2) Glad I'm not a woman.

All that crying and hand-wringing made it feel like high school. Grow up already.

[rocketsocks]

I bought the DVD, watched it last night and enjoyed it. (the DVD 'extras' are as long as the rest of the movie). Not your typical AT Video, it concentrated on the relationships between these three hiking friends. Yah, there was lots of drama and crying. It was a little hard for this guy to understand where all of this emotion was coming from, but after reading their blog it helped fill in some of the gaps.

It would be fun to open up a discussion thread with 'Ringleader' about this whole experience, but it would be hard to do without 'spoilers'

I think you could still have that discussion, spoilers is just salt and pepper on top for flavoring. Might learn some good stuff for them's that want to get behind a camera, work angles, and all them other little tricks to the trade, I'd subscribe to that thread!

[vamelungeon]

You lost me when you said Appa LAY chian.

[Ringleader]

I PAID with my Credit Card; however, neither GooglePlay nor Youtube rentals will allow me to see it. The video begins with "There is more to us than we know," and then it freezes before it moves to the next line. I have this on two computers.

PLEASE, advise me if there is a way to view this! I had hoped to preview it via rental and then purchase it if I felt I could show clips of it with my teachings on Emerson and Thoreau next trimester.

Either way, I paid $2.99. It would be nice to see more than a few seconds of the video.

It stops 25 seconds into the 1:08. I tried this 6 times!

This is the first I've heard that GooglePlay / YouTube wouldn't work. We have a distributor that handles those platforms but if you're still facing a problem shoot me an email at [email protected] and I'll reach out to distributor. That shouldn't be happening!

As to a thread -- I'd be happy to continue a discussion about filming / distribution, I've answered a gazillion of these questions via email and have learned a lot in the 5 years it took to make this film. That being said, it might take away from the magic of it all, haha.

I know the first question I would get at our screenings last year was, "Who filmed you?" This of course blows my mind because I thought it was clear that I did all of the filming ... but it also tells me that even if you don't like the characters in BBtD ... you get invested ... so much so that you forget about the 5 hours that went into extracting that 2 seconds of crying.... and the more you think about what's not on screen ... the more complicated this film becomes... hence the name, Beauty Beneath the Dirt...

[rocketsocks]

Well I for one like watching and thinking about what goes on in the making of films...all films, but when you get lost in a film and forget that someone is behind a camera....that's magic..good stuff.

[Skyline]

I watched this film, and all the extras, this weekend. It's pretty much MTV's The Real World meets the AT. I mean that in a good way.

Three young people set out to hike the AT, and self-produce a film with a different angle than any other AT video out there. They succeed on both counts. One of the women and the man are siblings. The other woman has been friends with both for a long time. Do they get along well after months living and hiking together? Mostly, until the non-sibling develops a crush on a male hiker, and a typical trail "romance" begins. The two women get emotional, and lots of screaming and crying ensues. Just like on MTV! That's enough spoiler for now--see the film. It's unique.

Monkey, the male hiker, pretty much stays out of it. His crying happens when he learns his best friend, a 13-year old dog, had to be put down as he was just a couple weeks from finishing in Maine. I like his style and sense of humor apart from this episode.

I think this is a realistic look at the interpersonal relationships, private feelings (there are lots of reality-show style "confessionals"), and language that many (not all) experience on a long hike. They went out of their way to produce something different, and not just another travelogue. They deserve a lot of credit for not only putting in the miles, but keeping a production schedule and carrying the extra gear needed to make this film.

The extras are, in some ways, as interesting as the actual film.

The hike happened in 2010, and the film (or at least an early version) was shown a lot of places on a PR tour in 2012. Apparently it's now ready for prime time (well, maybe on HBO because of the language). Worth the time and money!

[Ringleader]

Well I for one like watching and thinking about what goes on in the making of films...all films, but when you get lost in a film and forget that someone is behind a camera....that's magic..good stuff.

I think the DVD Commentary and Behind the Scenes give the audience a better understanding of how everything came together. The commentary drags a bit but my bro and I tried to comment on how certain scenes came together, or what we were actually thinking during a specific scene.

The hardest thing about doing a documentary while hiking (and without a cameraman) is that you have to figure out how to capture real life even though most moments aren't captured on film. Confessionals were a major issue because they took a long time and when you're tired and hungry you don't want to stop to talk about your feelings or wait for someone else to talk about their feelings. So confessionals were initially done in towns because everyone was in a good mood and one person could film while the other two wandered about town. But it doesn't work because it's not real. There's a huge difference between saying "I was sad yesterday" and actually being sad. So I'd have to constantly think about the story we were trying to tell, and then when I'd see that a certain person was feeling sad or confused or happy in relation to a particular element of the story, I'd set up the camera and ask them to talk about those elements. And then it was real. Of course this usually resulted in somebody being pissed off at me, not because they didn't want to make a movie, but because they didn't want to take the time to make one.... and it's a job. There's nothing fun about it. So every day I would weight the pros and cons of taking out the camera. Is it worth it to film this moment or does the negative backlash outweigh the usefulness of this clip? Sometimes I made a good judgment call, sometimes I didn't.

Another issue with making a movie rather than writing a book is that you can't use descriptors to explain a situation. For example, Brandon and I really formed a bond during the time that Prophet joined the group. We started to have different experiences from Emily and that created a divide. When Prophet left ... Emily was out of the loop and at that point none of us really cared to fix it. But how do you 'prove that' on camera? Saying 'there's a divide' is different than seeing a divide ... just like with the emotional confessionals mentioned above. So I'd constantly be looking for a way to 'prove' what was actually happening. In this scenerio I remember getting to a snack break .. Emily and Brandon were already there. Emily was reading a book in the distance .. so I sat next to Brandon and set the frame so you could see Emily in the back left of the frame, with Bran and I front right joking around with each other. And that says everything you need to know in one shot. (this clip comes up in the film before the climax, during a confessional by Emily)

The other element of course is that I wasn't just observing life and figuring out ways to capture it on film ... I was also living it. This added a level of crazy because I had to observe myself. So, e.g., I felt betrayed by my friend, so I'd cry about it while hiking, and then a voice in my head would say, you need to be capturing this on film, so I'd stop and set up the camera but by the time I checked sound, focus, frame ... I was no longer in the moment and no longer crying. So the sadness would turn into anger because I not only didn't get the shot, I also fell behind the other two by ... at a minimum... an hour. This would result in me being even more frustrated that I didn't get to have an hour break, and they'd be pissed that they had to wait around for me to show up, and then I'd be angry with myself for making them angry. So what started as some feelings of betrayal turned into 8 layers of emotion that effected all 3 people. And this is just one morning.

I'm not sure I'm doing a good job of explaining what went into making this film, but if it's interesting or useful, or prevents people from making the same mistakes we did, I'm happy to discuss. I try to check this thread once per week.

[rocketsocks]

Brilliant!...no, you explained it just fine. I like the distance you provide with friend in back ground reading a book, while you two are engaged...pretty cool, and if I were watching it....pretty sure I'd get that scene. It's my understanding that there are no unscripted scenes in any movie, camera time is just to expensive, so every thing you see on camera is there or happening for a reason, it's fun to try and figure those subliminal messages that a writer director wants you to see. I've always enjoyed stopping for a coffee after a movie and discussing with friends..."So, what did you think", interesting how perception of a scene can be completely different for different people...Thanks for the Input Ringleader, very interesting.

[Ringleader]

That's actually why we did the tour last year ... to inspire conversation about the trail, filmmaking, relationships, dreams, etc. That aspect sometimes gets lost when films go straight to digital/DVD... but that's the whole reason you make a movie.. to make people stop and think and feel ... even if just for a moment.

I think BBtD is what reality TV intended to be but couldn't because Hollywood costs too much and generally people aren't that interesting in their day-to-day lives. So they have to create a script or a scenerio to make it entertaining. We didn't have time for scripts and second takes because we were averaging 20 mi/day. But we had 5 months of production time ... which is realllly long (Most feature films are shot in less than 2 months) so I just had to keep everyone invested (easier said than done) in telling their stories and finding ways to fill in the gaps with symbolic broll... and then hope we had enough to tell the story in post-production.

My co-producer's favorite scene is when Prophet, Lightning, Monkey, and I are sitting on a wooden railing because there's two stories being told-- the one that's spoken and the one you see.... which is Prophet sitting in between me and Lightning.

[Tucky]

I was curious enough to rent and watch this last night. I thru-hiked in 2011 SouthBound and do not envy the kind of hike you had. If anything this film has a clear warning: pick your hiking partners wisely, or just go by yourself. If not, you could find yourself in the middle of a highschool drama. I hope brandon carried some earplugs to block out all that crying,

[max patch]

i actually got an email a couple days ago from Amazon suggesting that I might be interested in buying this dvd since I was looking at documentaries a week or so earlier.

[Almost There]

Having watched it several times I like it more than the first time I watched it. Have a habit of watching my hiking dvds over and over when I work out on my elliptical. The bonus features definitely add to understanding the group dynamic.