Mossback's Northwest - Season 8
A new season of Mossback’s Northwest is upon us and I’m excited to share the episodes with you here! I will be uploading a new one almost every week for the next two months. Enjoy!
Episode 1 - Magellans of the Sky
In 1924, Seattle was chosen as the most strategic location to begin and end the first attempt at circumnavigating the globe via airplane. Four propeller planes - each with two pilots - used paper maps and old-school navigation to hop from location to location, tolerating treacherous weather, fierce seas and over-enthusiastic crowds. Many have never even seen an airplane before!
Before we even began editing, Producer Michael McClinton and I decided we wanted to evoke a heroic, cinematic adventure to this first episode of the season. Think Indiana Jones or The Right Stuff. Michael found some great music cues to support this.
I’m most proud of my Indiana Jones animation sequences. These maps alone took two days and a LOT of trial and error to perfect. I’m glad we had a little extra time to get this one right!
Seattle is very proud of our role in the history of flight and the airline industry and I found the ending of this segment especially moving, all thanks to Michael’s b-roll and Skip’s eloquent narration.
Episode 2 - What happened to Washington’s Grizzly Bears?
In this week’s episode of Mossback, What is the history of the grizzly bear in the Northwest, and what happened to them in the first place?
Episode 3 - Where did the P in Seattle’s P-Patches come from?
Seattle’s many communal gardens are a defining street-level element of the city and contribute to an enormous amount of civic pride and community building. In this episode, Skip digs into the history or our P-Patches and where the name actually comes from. (Hint: it’s not peas.)
Episode 5 - German Saboteurs of WWI in Seattle
This episode might just be the apotheosis of my efforts developing the editing style for the Mossback “brand” of storytelling over the last six seasons of the show.
It all begins with Skip’s writing and storytelling and producer Michael McClinton’s music choices which, for this episode, we’re a potent stew of paranoia, action, suspense and, in the end, wistful nostalgia.
From there I start to weave together the narration and music, making sure there are cues that punctuate key moments but also gaps where the audience can catch their breath. I had some fun with this episode designing a few sections with just sound effects and ambience.
Then I map out the different sections that will feature Skip on camera making sure to cut into a close up for key moments. I also have to decide when we cut to archival photos or film and if we need to commission maps from our in-house collaborator Madeleine Pisaneschi or our illustration diva Alegra Figeroid.
Eventually, all of these elements coalesce into what I call a “pre-animation” version which is approved by everyone on the team before I open After Effects. Alegra always makes sure to refine the illustrations by providing us numerous sketch versions, so we are sure what we want before she does the final ink. I also make sure to request different layers of illustrations so that I can pull off different 3-D camera moves. Madeleine refines the maps too.
The After Effects animation stage is the most frustrating part but also the most fun when it comes to improvising different ways to tell the story visually. Sometimes I will have a very complex idea that takes a lot of time to execute and other times I don’t have to do much of anything because of an amazing photo or dynamic archival film. I am thankful that we have a few days for this part because I often have to watch online tutorials and do a little research to know how to pull something off.
This episode uses the most complex camera moves I’ve ever attempted up until now, and I love how they work with the different illustrations and assets.
Episode 6 - The Mother of the Pacific Crest Trail
This episode was the last episode of the season for which I was a contributing editor. It’s about Catherine Montgomery who proposed the famous Pacific Crest Trail, and her early environmental advocacy.