First day in Barrow, Alaska

I live in Maine and I spend plenty of time outside in the winter and yet I'm surprised at how cold it is here. We will be spending 12+ hours a day out on the ice for at least a week of this shoot and it could get dangerous.

My equipment cases arrived off the plane unscathed, although my sound cart that was shipped UPS a few weeks ago took a few hits and will require some repairs to be operational. Nothing that cant be fixed though! I have a tremendous amount of prep work to get ready for the movie but with daylight lasting from before 7am to well past 10pm I'll have no problem staying awake and getting it done.

I've met many of the crew members and a few of the cast and everyone is so nice. I found out whaling season starts this week and many members of the community are getting ready. They hunt whales in traditional caribou skin covered row boats and throw harpoons at the whales. The harpoons apparently have a charge in the tip that explodes on contact. I'll photograph the setup if I get to see it.

I miss my family but I'm excited to get this movie started. More posts to come so stay tuned.-James