Hurricane Rebecca

The Rough Run production team needed to find our shooters.  In hunting, we all now who the "shooter" is, but in film production, the "shooter" is the camera person, the videographer.  Without a good shooter, you are wasting your time.  Luckily, we found Rebecca Carpenter.

Rebecca up on the mountain.

Scheduling the first shoot during the September early bear season posed many logistical issues.  The terrain is treacherous enough just to walk around-in let alone carry delicate equipment and try to capture usable video and clear sound.  One of the main issues was going to be finding a camera person that could handle the incredibly difficult Rough Run terrain, while maintaining a professional shot on the cast.  Like us, Rebecca is from Los Angeles, but unlike us, she is an avid hiker and outdoors-person.  A veteran of numerous reality shows, we knew we had someone who could 'get the shots'.  The question was would she be able to keep up with the pace, the hours, and the mountain.

Shooting her favorite subjects

When production arrived in Ft. Seybert and we told the boys about Rebecca, the laughter began.  Jeff Davis spoke for the group when he said, "a girl?".  "You're gonna regret bringing her here", "She's gonna be crying within a few hours", "She might get hurt".  Rebecca just smiled and prepped her cameras.

 All doubts evaporated that first morning on the mountain.  What the guys found was a dedicated, physically fit, professional who literally ran circles around the hunters.  Literally.  Get the camera angle from the front, run around behind, get the shot from behind, run back up the hill, get the shot as the guys come up the hill.  Her camera assistant, T.A. Rhodes always had to stay on her blind side (out of the camera shot), so he felt the pain of Hurricane Rebecca and nearly collapsed trying to keep up with her.

Rebecca up a tree

The best example of Rebecca in action is visible in the upcoming episode "Mingo Goes Down" (January 26, www.roughrun.com).  In one of the tensest moments of the series, Jeff is struggling down the hill with a full load in his arms.  Not only is Rebecca shooting this difficult moment (difficult physically & emotionally), she is walking backwards doing it, running down the hill to get a different angle, running back up to get close-ups, it is amazing work.

Keeping up with Rebecca Carpenter, turned out to be an adventure in itself.  When it was all said and done, Rebecca not only "got the shot" but received the highest respect of the Rough Run Boys.  "Bring her back," was the common phrase.  In a place where respect is earned, not given, Rebecca turned a bunch of skeptical hunters into her biggest fans.  She can also "shoot" with the best of 'em.