The Flood: Behind the Scenes

View the Film

I traveled to Baton Rouge, Louisiana with Ginghamsburg's creative duo of Dan Bracken and Greg Gerken to capture the story of The Flood.  This film was shown to help inspire the church.  The Ginghamsburg's 2016 Christmas Miracle Offering collected a total $585,000.  Of that, a total of $116,000 was given to the Louisiana Conference of The United Methodist Church.  Along with the financial gift, they have started sending mission teams to help with the recovery and restoration.

---

CAMERAS: 3x Canon 7D Mark II and GoPro Hero 3+
AUDIO: Sound Devices 302, Sound Devices 702, Sennheiser 2000ENG, Sanken COS-11D
SUPPORT & MOTION: DJI Ronin-M, Kessler Stealth Slider w/2nd Shooter, Miller Compass 15 head/Solo DV, Sachtler FSB-6/2 MD and Manfrotto Element Big Traveler
LIGHTING: 3x Genaray SpectroLED Essential 360 Bi-Color
GFX: Adobe Photoshop & After Effects
POST: Adobe Premiere Pro
AUDIO POST: AVID Pro Tools

---

My rigs vs. Dan's.

Greg Gerken filmed this humorous short clip while we were setting up to film the sunrise time-lapse of the Baton Rouge skyline.

Baton Rouge Skyline @ Sunrise

Capturing time-lapse on the west bank of the Mississippi River of the Baton Rouge skyline at sunrise.

GEAR:
Canon 7D Mark II
Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM
Redrock Micro ultraCage Black Profesional
Redrock Micro powerPack
Chrosziel 450-R21 2 stage matte box
SmallHD DP4 4” monitor/viewfinder
Rode VideoPro mic
Kessler Quick Release
V-Mount battery plate
Miller Miller Compass 15/Solo DV

Filming Bill's interview

We're filming in the gutted house of Bill, a flood survivor.

GEAR:
Canon 7D Mark II
Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM
Redrock Micro ultraCage Black Profesional
Redrock Micro powerPack
Chrosziel 450-R21 2 stage matte box
SmallHD DP4 4” monitor/viewfinder
Rode VideoPro mic
Kessler Quick Release
V-Mount battery plate
Kessler 40” Stealth Slider
Kessler Second Shooter system
Pelican 1750
Gator Frameworks Keyboard Table (under slider)
Sound Devices 302
Sound Devices 702
Sennheiser 2000ENG
Sanken COS-11D

Ginghamsburg's Gear:
2x Canon EOS 7D Mark II
2x Canon 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 STM
1x Rode VideoPro mic
1x Sachtler FSB-6 / 2 MD Aluminum Tripod System
1x ikan Flyweight DSLR Offset Shoulder Rig
3x Genaray SpectroLED Essential 360 Bi-Color LED
1x Manfrotto Element Big Aluminum Traveler Tripod w/Ball head

Filming interview with Bishop Cynthia Harvey

Bishop Harvey shares how not only the local churches but churches from around the country responded to help flood victoms.

GEAR:
Canon 7D Mark II
Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM
Redrock Micro ultraCage Black Profesional
Redrock Micro powerPack
Chrosziel 450-R21 2 stage matte box
SmallHD DP4 4” monitor/viewfinder
Rode VideoPro mic
Kessler Quick Release
V-Mount battery plate
Kessler 40” Stealth Slider
Kessler Second Shooter system
Gator Frameworks Keyboard Table (under slider)
Sound Devices 302
Sound Devices 702
Sennheiser 2000ENG
Sanken COS-11D

Ginghamsburg's Gear:
2x Canon EOS 7D Mark II
2x Canon 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 STM
1x Rode VideoPro mic
1x Sachtler FSB-6 / 2 MD Aluminum Tripod System
1x ikan Flyweight DSLR Offset Shoulder Rig
3x Genaray SpectroLED Essential 360 Bi-Color LED
1x Manfrotto Element Big Aluminum Traveler Tripod w/Ball head

Interview with Ms. Emma

Ms. Emma shares her story of rescue and recovery.

This was a challenging location to film.  Ms. Emma shares a very modest home with her teenaged grandson and daughter. It's located in a rural area of Livingston Parish.  There are still two rooms that had toxic black mold.  As you can see we are filming in the living room and there is a mattress on the floor.  We had to leave the TV on because it was broken and is very difficult to turn back on.  We have to work with what we have.

GEAR:
Sound Devices 302
Sound Devices 702
Audio-Technica AT4053b

Ginghamsburg's Gear:
2x Canon EOS 7D Mark II
2x Canon 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 STM
1x Rode VideoPro mic
1x Sachtler FSB-6 / 2 MD Aluminum Tripod System
1x ikan Flyweight DSLR Offset Shoulder Rig
3x Genaray SpectroLED Essential 360 Bi-Color LED
1x Manfrotto Element Big Aluminum Traveler Tripod w/Ball head

Thinking...

Greg Greken films Dan Bracken for a shot in the opening sequence.

GEAR:
Canon EOS 7D Mark II
Canon 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 STM
Rode VideoPro mic
Sachtler FSB-6 / 2 MD Aluminum Tripod System
ikan Flyweight DSLR Offset Shoulder Rig

Filming Interview with Colonel Mike Edmonson, Louisiana State Police

Getting back-ground story elements about the Floor and an surprising twist that expanded the story. We are filming in the State Police Emergency Crisis Command Center in Baton Rouge.  Unfortunately, it wasn't as cool as Hollywood leads us to believe.

GEAR:
Sound Devices 302
Sound Devices 702
Sennheiser 2000ENG
Sanken COS-11D
 

Ginghamsburg's Gear:
2x Canon EOS 7D Mark II
2x Canon 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 STM
1x Rode VideoPro mic
1x Sachtler FSB-6 / 2 MD Aluminum Tripod System
1x ikan Flyweight DSLR Offset Shoulder Rig
3x Genaray SpectroLED Essential 360 Bi-Color LED
1x Manfrotto Element Big Aluminum Traveler Tripod w/Ball head

Audio Kit

Shot of my audio kit while filming Colonel Mike Edmonson of the Louisiana State Police.  We are filming in the State Police Emergency  Crisis Command Center in Baton Rouge.

GEAR:
Sound Devices 302
Sound Devices 702
Sennheiser 2000ENG
Sanken COS-11D
Portabrace Audio Organizer

Drone footage of dump site

Todd Rossnagel, Director of Communications for the Louisiana Conference secured this drone footage of the dump site.  The debris mounds were more than double this size at the height of the removal process.  You'll see rows of school buses, as we understand it, they all were completely under water. It will be to costly to salvage/repair them.  So they will be disassemble for scrap.

GEAR:
DJI Phantom 3

B-Roll at one of the two temporary dump sites.

This is just one of the two temporary dump sites of all the debris removed from the flooded areas.  Anything that could be recycled was removed before the remaining debris was dumped here.  From here trucks will take the material to permanent hazardous waste site.  As you can guess, the smell is horrible.

Greg and Dan are filming other angles around the site.

GEAR:
Canon 7D Mark II
Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L USM
Redrock Micro ultraCage Black Profesional
Redrock Micro powerPack
Chrosziel 450-R21 2 stage matte box
SmallHD DP4 4” monitor/viewfinder
Rode VideoPro mic
Kessler Quick Release
V-Mount battery plate
Miller Miller Compass 15/Solo DV

B-ROLL AT ONE OF THE TWO TEMPORARY DUMP SITES.

B-ROLL AT ONE OF THE TWO TEMPORARY DUMP SITES.

B-ROLL AT ONE OF THE TWO TEMPORARY DUMP SITES.

Cemetery

Something we don't think about when flooding happens are the cemeteries.  South Louisiana has a high water table so graves are often only 75% buried underground and the lid lies above ground.  When water is over the top of the grave for extended periods of time, the pressure causes the grave to either pop the lid or float the entire vault.  Since the graves have been disturbed, the coroner's staff have to visit each cemetery in the affected area and identify the remains before they can be returned to their resting place.  I can't imaging how upsetting this is the families.