Seeking lift maintenance worker in Catskill region for Documentary

Hi all!

I'm a documentary filmmaker who's interested in chronicling the daily routines of a ski-lift maintenance worker in Upstate NY.

Can anybody point me in the direction of any ski-lift repair/service/running folks in the Catskill area? Any and all leads are greatly appreciated.

(I'm currently working on a short documentary about the Hi-Way Drive-In Theater in Coxsackie, and was directed to this forum by a friend.)

Thanks!

-Adam C.

Welcome adam_c.

What's your angle or focus for the film?

Thanks Harvey!

Basically, I'm looking to spend some time with a lift maintenance worker, and just show his/her routine. It's sort of a "glimpse behind the curtain" of how that facet of a ski resort runs.

My initial thought is that the short film would be a combination of the person talking about working outside in the winter elements, troubleshooting aging mechanical technology, and just generally talking to them about why they do what they do. Hopefully, we can find an intriguing character who can give an interesting perspective on lift work.

I'm a commercial cinematographer in Manhattan, and I've started making personal films Upstate that show the humanity and beauty of the region, so this is just my next idea of an interesting story to capture.

Would appreciate any leads you have!

Thanks!

-Adam C.

Cool project!

Will you feature every resort in the Catskills?

I reached out this morning at 8am to Hunter, Plattekill, Belle and Windham.  Both Plattekill and Belle indicated that they would speak to people to see if they were interested.  (Plattekill has a quite a character in Macker.)  I have not heard from Hunter or Windham yet.

To ML's question do you want more than one? We should probably talk via PM.

Thanks for reaching out, Harvey. I'll send you a PM and we can talk more about the specifics.

ML - We're really looking for one great character to document at one single resort, but if a resort has a lift "team" that sort of rotates day by day, then that could also be an interesting angle that'd we'd be open to.

Thanks!

adam_c wrote

sort of a "glimpse behind the curtain" of how that facet of a ski resort runs (...) a combination of the person talking about working outside in the winter elements, troubleshooting aging mechanical technology, and just generally talking to them about why they do what they do. Hopefully, we can find an intriguing character who can give an interesting perspective on lift work.

I'd watch that... and the fact that it will be shot in the Cats makes it even more interesting.

Thanks, James!

Working to make it happen, right now. I'll be sure to share updates along the way.

If you need some assistance with filming - my buddy Shane has filmed all over the northern Catskills..  Knows the mountains inside and out as well as a lot of the people...

http://bigheadshane.com/index.htm

Thanks for the tip! I checked out his website, and it definitely looks like he's been filming around the Catskills for a while.

I'll be sure to shoot Shane an e-mail once we figure things out more.