"Afghanistan: Hidden Treasures" Exhibit opens at the National Gallery of Art and showcases two films produced, directed and written by Blue Bear Films. Sponsored by NEH and the National Geographic Society, the exhibit will be in Washington DC until September, then travel to San Francisco, Houston and New York city. Both films are narrated by Khaled Hosseini, author of The Kite Runner. The longer film can be seen in the National Gallery's auditorium and on local PBS through August. www.nationalgeographic.com/mission/afghanistan-treasures/

"Real Pirates" Exhibition "Real Pirates" Exhibition "Real Pirates - The Story of the Whydah, from Slave Ship to Pirate Ship" is currently at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. Launched by Arts and Exhibitions International in partnership with National Geographic Society, this blockbuster exhibition will travel domestically and internationally over the next several years. Blue Bear Films produced and directed the award-winning HD videos, narrated by Lou Gossett Jr., as well as the animation and soundscapes. www.piratesexhibit.com/

The King Tut Exhibition opened in Los Angeles in June 2005, then traveled to Ft. Lauderdale, Chicago, and Philadelphia, with record-high attendance of any traveling exhibition worldwide. It is now at the 02 Millennium Dome in London. Blue Bear Films produced the large screen and multi-screen HD films for this exhibition, as well as the animation and gallery music. We also were involved in the media integration, including photography and maps. www.kingtut.org

National Geographic Education Foundation’s Geographic Literacy campaign launched in June 2006 with over 20 partners, including the PTA, 4H, NBA, Sesame Street Workshop, Smithsonian, Council on Competitiveness, and many others. A recent Roper poll found that half of young Americans can’t locate world powers like Japan and India, and two-thirds don’t know where Iraq is. Blue Bear Films is proud to have contributed consulting and producing services to this important campaign. Check out the TV spots produced by Blue Bear Films for the Geographic Literacy campaign at: www.mywonderfulworld.org.

This was one of the most challenging and meaningful films I produced while Senior Producer of National Geographic's Explorer documentary series. It took over two years of planning to pull this film off. Working with Wildlife Conservation Society biologist Mike Fay and National Geographic photographer Nick Nichols, we masterminded a way to film this remarkable 1500-mile arduous journey through the dense jungles of Central Africa. Mike Fay was determined to document the wildlife in a straight line from the interior to the coast. Outfitted with small digital cameras, Mike and Nick both shot video diaries of themselves. This was supplemented with 16mm wildlife footage shot by one of the Congolese scientists. In addition, I arranged for two-person crews to ?parachute? into the jungle at several key stages along the way. The result: over 450 hours of footage, unsurpassed coverage of an extraordinary adventure, and an award-winning film. Our documentation was instrumental in convincing heads-of-state to designate 12% of this area for wildlife refuge.

In the far reaches of Northern Chad there is a place where few outsiders have dared to venture. Surrounded by war and conflict, this breathtaking desert landscape is strewn with the wreckage of burnt tanks and land mines. Yet it is still home to several nomadic tribes who live a fiercely independent lifestyle in this severe Saharan region. After some intense planning, video journalist Bill Gentile, world champion paramotorist and videographer Alain Arnoux, National Geographic photographer George Steinmetz and writer Don Webster teamed up to explore this little known area. Using jeeps, camels, and motorized paragliders, they encountered a world unlike any other and brought home the goods for a two-part special that I produced and wrote for National Geographic EXPLORER.

Ninety feet beneath the sands of Egypt, an unopened 2500-year old tomb awaits. It?s the first intact tomb discovered since that of King Tut. With a small crew, I descend down a narrow spiral staircase, journeying into the ancient past. Over the next few days, we filmed the opening of one sarcophagus after the next, from white marble, to carved granite, down through the layers to a small wooden coffin. The workers carefully lifted the lid and a mummy, covered in exquisite beadwork and gold fingertips, is revealed. It turns out to be Ufaa, a top aide to a 26th dynasty Pharaoh. It was one of the most exciting films I produced while at National Geographic.

“Sometimes, if someone is crazy enough to do something really out there, you just have to film it.” – Margaret Burnette, producer/writer

Tom Murphy, restorer of old airplanes, had a crazy idea. He proposed recreating the historic 1912 flight of a bi-plane off the roof of the Multnomah hotel in Portland Oregon. The original flight inspired the idea of flying planes on and off aircraft carriers. To everyone’s surprise, the FAA approved the plan. Coverage of the take-off was, of course, key to the success of this film, so we put crew and cameras everywhere: on the rooftop, among the crowds down below, and on the rooftop of a nearby building. We also attached two cameras inside the open cockpit of the bi-plane. Tom suited up, climbed into the cockpit, revved up the engine, and with the help of giant rubber band contraption modeled on the one used in the original flight, the biplane was flung off the rooftop. In a heart-stopping moment, the plane dropped from the extra weight of the cameras, nearly catching the side of the building. The adventure continued when Tom was forced to navigate through fog and rain without instruments. But in the end, the flight and the film were successful. And Tom’s facial expressions captured by our cockpit cameras were priceless!

Cinematographer Eric Cochran came to me with the story of a rancher in Namibia who was converting much of his land into a wildlife sanctuary to save lions, cheetahs, leopards, baboons and other animals at risk from development. With the idea of a series in mind, we worked with Namibia’s number one bush vet, Dr. Ulf Tubessing, to develop this and other wild stories. This first Living Wild was filled with unexpected drama, from a giant baboon wreaking havoc, King Kong style, through the streets of downtown Windhoek to emergency surgery on a lion. Thanks to my great team, I returned to the States with amazing footage and the makings of the first of National Geographic’s Living Wild series.

Dave and Tracy Barker are two people in love, doing work they love, living in a place they love. What more could you want in life? It’s a dream come true for these two herpetologists. In the hills of Texas, they have three houses: one for themselves and their two children, one for the baby snakes, and one for the really, really large constrictors. Ahead of its time, this reality-style short film wowed audiences, pulling in strong ratings every time it aired on National Geographic Explorer.

There’s always one experience that stays with you from your early years. For me, it was working on one of Bon Jovi’s first music videos, “She Don’t Love Me.” I scouted locations, helped with casting, arranged permits, hired a pack of film school friends to be production assistants and, most important, was responsible for making sure the band got to the shoot. Filming in 35mm with a huge crew, we looked like a circus caravan. We were shut down by torrential rain at the first location, and accosted by 400 screaming fans at the second location. One of the actresses froze from stage fright so Director Martin Kahan rewrote the script on the spot. Bon Jovi was tireless. After three days of round-the-clock shooting, we had a super video in the can.