Documentary Needs Actors

[Diane Merkel]

I received the following email:

A friend from Denmark has been in communication with a number of people in the matter of Native American riders who may wish to help out with the production of a documentary which is taking shape slowly.

By way of background information, our project involved, last year, a ride along the cattle trails of the 1860's/70's, starting in Texas, going west to the southern New Mexico border, turning north through New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, and finishing in Montana. We covered nearly 2000 miles on the same horses, taking some six months. As a consequence of this, I have been asked to consider producing a 60 minute documentary for one of your major TV companies telling the story of our ride as the vehicle by which to tell the other half of the story - that of the people who came out to settle the land and the cattlemen of the period.

I cannot give precise dates at this stage, I am just making contact with interested parties with a view to providing more details at a later date. Current plans are for filming to commence during the month of April 2012 for a period of two months. I shall need riders for a period of only a few days sometime during this two month period.

We would be on the plains to the east of Cheyenne, away from the Rockies, working north, along the line of the cattle trails as were in the 1860's/70's.

I'm thinking that northern Colorado, Wyoming or Montana would suit our purposes as the grand vista there would lend itself to what I have in mind. Basically, I'm thinking some distant silhouette shots of riders on horses, some shots of them walking with their horses, standing looking at the views etc. Some closer shots, perhaps around a fire... some riding shots from on the ground and perhaps a helicopter shot or two of them at a gallop.

Obviously, they would require their own horses, be riding bareback and dressed appropriately for the period. Not the Hollywood version! I think, for the moment, men only. I'm looking for dress of the Plains tribes, Cheyenne, Kiowa, Sioux, Pawnee maybe.....

Dress - summer dress as most of the cattle drives took place in the summer.

Ceremonial dress a possibility, but not planned in at present. I am trying to re-create the difficulties of the time experienced by travellers, mostly cattlemen. I don't want any wild attack scenes, however, I want to introduce that ever-present threat by the use of silhouettes, glimpses, hints of presence etc. It may be that horse adornments will be useful, we are looking at warriors on the warpath.... I understand that personal and animal adornment told 'stories'.

This is not a professional film company, this is my personal project and I am on a seriously tight budget, I'm currently funding this exercise myself. Clearly I will meet all expenses, and if funding permits, make some sort of donation to group funds. I would arrange for meals and drinks of course and photographs would be supplied at the end of it all.

I cannot offer the sort of facilities you would expect to find on a film set, which is why I'm looking or re-enactors rather than professional actors.

I may be contacted at [e-mail]

I look forward to your reply with interest.

Best wishes

James Locke