Local filmmakers shoot for sophomore success with their Arch documentary
By Margaret Bauer
After the runaway success of their 2004 documentary The World’s Greatest Fair, co-directors Bob Miano and Scott Huegerich would be crazy not to be a little nervous about their next picture’s prospects. Their first documentary had crowds lining up around the block for the Fox Theatre premiere, and it won a Telly and a Cine, both national awards. “There’s a lot of pressure on us,” Miano says. “We’ve put a mark on the wall, and now we’ve gotta reach for that.”
The boys down at Civil Pictures are doing all they can to ensure that The Gateway Arch: A Reflection of America will be a hit when it opens later this summer. Miano says they’ve taken to heart “that old ‘nothing impossible’ attitude of St. Louis,” but can their sophomore production live up to the expectations spawned by The World’s Greatest Fair?
Here’s how the doc is shaping up so far.
The images. With the help of their studio, Technisonic, the Civil Pictures team plans to convert much of the historical footage they’ve accumulated to high definition—the first time this has ever been done. In addition, the team has secured long-lost footage of the construction that was unavailable to the makers of Monument to the Dream, the 1967 Arch-construction documentary. Says Miano, “When you see folks dangling up there 140 feet in the air on a 40-foot screen—you almost get a sense of vertigo.”
The soundtrack. Composer Tim Janis, who’s been compared to John Williams, composed the documentary’s background music. Ira Spiegel and the sound-design team will contribute subtle sound effects to bring historical photos and film to life.
The stories. Civil Pictures obtained several hours of interviews with Susan Saarinen, the architect’s daughter, and some of the most interesting stories center on the lives touched by the Arch—including that of renowned architect Daniel Libeskind, who visited the Arch on his honeymoon. As with The World’s Greatest Fair, the documentary team plans to focus on stories of the people who made St. Louis great, not just the nuts and bolts of the construction. Says Huegerich, “The story we tell is going to be vastly different than anything anyone else has done.”
