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“It is never too late to be what you might have been.” – George Eliot
Behind the Scenes
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Behind The Scenes -
Ben Braten Thrives on Sharing Utah with the World WRITTEN BY Jennifer Austin
Ben Braten, the man behind the popular James Bondlike A to Zion tourism videos, is on a quest to do something substantial in life; a quest that some believe he has already accomplished. But Ben, who was unaware that his award-winning videos had won any awards, said he wants to do something of substance.
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riginally from Wyoming, Ben spent most of his life in southern Utah. He worked hard as a child, and grew up hoping that someday he’d make a living as a filmmaker. It was during the time he served a mission in Africa for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that Ben decided he had to accomplish more. “While out there, a lot of things sort of changed for me,” Ben said. “When you live in Africa, you’re sort of the lowest common denominator on the food totem pole. We were literally starving out there. It changes your view on what’s important.”
Photo by Luke Jensen.
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After his mission, Ben decided that the “something of substance” he wanted to accomplish in life would not involve entertainment and film. “When things started to sway (in my life), I figured (film) would be the first to go,” he said. Ben attended Dixie State College and studied math and chemistry. He took non-linear video editing classes, such as Final Cut Pro, as a diversion. “I got an A in chemistry, but it was very clear I liked Final Cut,” he admitted. Ben borrowed a still camera from his dad that neither of them fully understood how to use. Photography allowed him to see the beauty in any setting, he said. Ben credits a professor named Eric Young for teaching him much of what he knows now. At the age of 25, Ben said he went through a quarter-life crisis. He went to school at the University of Utah and decided it was time to get serious and put away the “film stuff.” He studied math and physics. “I’d had some fantastic math teachers at Dixie State College,” he said. “I figured if I could help people learn like (they taught me), it would be great.” But Ben had not anticipated what the atmosphere would be like in the math department at the U. “It was such a closed-knit fraternity,” he said. “It’s so difficult for anyone to break through.” Ben struggled with the differences between Salt Lake City and southern Utah, especially the cold weather. In the end, paying $30,000 a year in tuition didn’t seem worth it. He returned to Dixie State College and the career that gets him up each morning at 5 a.m. and puts him to bed at two in the morning. He describes the film industry as one where “nothing is solid.” “Nothing is grounded anymore,” he said. “It’s so demanding that you can’t maintain any sort of order in your life. Everyone I knew, their lives were in shambles.” But it is that environment where Ben thrives. Back at Dixie State, Ben was hired by Phil Tuckett and helped put together the film program as the partnership with the college’s Center for Media Innovation developed. “Essentially it’s like a cooperation,” he said. “We bring in clients, we produce commercial spots, documentaries, long form promos, short form promos. Students come work with me on these things.” For Ben, being able to teach students the way Young taught him was what he’d been looking for. “That’s where the fun is,” he said. “There are things that are really enjoyable.”
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Ben said sometimes he works from 5 p.m. to 3 a.m. to help a student finish a program, a “short,” he called it. “It’s stupid hours, (but) I can’t complain,” he said. “I’m exhausted to the extreme, but it (doesn’t) matter because we’re having fun. Being behind the camera allows me a lot of freedom,” he said. “It puts me in a position of control (and) that’s empowering. Suddenly you are the master. You have total control of the frame.” Some of the work that keeps him running 24 hours a day includes the films he and his team have made for the A to Zion site. He was asked to make a spot that resembled a movie trailer. However, as everyone in the film industry knows, he said, it’s nearly impossible to film in Zion. Promoting Zion without shooting in Zion has forced Ben and his team to get creative. Ben asked a friend from the gym, Shane Wood, to star in the spots and play the James Bond character. “He’s what makes it work. Without him, it’s really nothing,” Ben said. “He’s the face of all these things. If Russell Crowe and Daniel Craig got together and had a baby, it’s Shane Wood.” To make the videos work, Ben has had to overcome many challenges. In the first video, he had to make it look sunny although he was shooting in the worst time of year. “Every day we went out on the shoot was the coldest day of the year,” he said. “I was crying; Shane had tears in his eyes, the frigid tears. It was super windy. With wind chill it was like … 10 degrees. It was so cold.” They decided to shoot one scene at Cougar Cliffs. With 100-foot drop offs and gear dangling over the edge, he said they thought they were going to die. It was impossible to jump off the cliff with winds blowing at 40 mph, so Shane had to run and Ben used “magic editing” to make it “look cool.” Ben said he is grateful for those in St. George who make it all possible. SkyWest allowed them to use a plane for shooting a video, but it had to be done at 10:30 at night when all the flights were done, while Ben had to use lights to make it look like daytime. “We had to use the frame to keep the lights out of it,” he said. Ben said they had to populate the airport with 50 extras as Shane moved through the concourse. He said the extras were really good about going through the shots over and over until they had what they needed. Ben said he recently finished shooting the fourth spot. All four have gone viral and have become very successful. THE MEN’S ISSUE 2012
“I’m exhausted to the extreme, but it doesn’t matter because we’re having fun. Being behind the camera allows me a lot of freedom.” “One part of me says I don’t want to let people know about (this area),” he said. “But on the other hand, this sort of stunning beauty deserves to be shared.” However, the ultimate perfectionist, Ben said he’s unsatisfied with his work with the exception of a few still photos he has taken. Ben has had offers to work in Los Angeles from Corona to shoot a volleyball series; something he turned down immediately. “I don’t want to do LA. I don’t want to do Hollywood. I don’t want to do any of that stuff. I don’t like the Hollywood system,” he said. “Every time I leave this place and I come back, go through the Gorge and there’s Pine Valley … it’s like this validation and confirmation. It is the most visually stunning and visually diverse place on the planet.”
Jennifer Austin is the Executive Editor of the Davis Clipper in northern Utah. She is a previous Talk Radio Host on Fox News Radio and the Marketing Director for a Utah law firm. She was the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of St. George News.
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The Face of A to Zion From the mountain town of Logan Utah. As a gifted athlete/young actor, he played football and did his first theatrical work at Dixie State College. Had a summer job at Shark Club in Las Vegas in which he was bouncer/ bodyguard and was honored to guard Clint Eastwood, Sylvester Stallone, Evander Holyfield, and Sam Kineson among many other notable figures. He is currently starring in the number one action film in Japan, called Hired Gun, along with friend and colleague Michael Madsen. Shane is known for playing formidable and intimidating roles, few others could pull off. He is an actor, producer, stunt man, stunt coordinator, and has worked in several other capacities in filmmaking.
Photo by Luke Jensen.
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