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The Filming of SWITCHED!
On Location...
Behind the Scenes...
If you were one of the kids here during the week of July 23rd - July 27th 2003 you may be on the popular teen show 'SWITCHED!'. The film crew from ABC's Family Channel spent 4 days filming the 'switch' between two teens. The teens were Terry Kennedy from Long Beach, California and Cody Oliver from HiLine Lake, Alaska.
Terry is one of the top 20 pro skateboarders in the world with his own signature board, numerous endorsements, and is sponsored by Element and other companies. He had just come from Barsalona, Spain off of a European tour only a day before the 'Switch' took place.
Cody is a teen living the life of a wilderness guide and bush-pilot-to-be with many hours flying small bush planes. With the nearest road over 65 air miles away, Cody has little need for a driver's license and switching with Terry and his very nice Cadillac SUV... Well, let's just say Terry was a bit concerned upon learning Cody's driving skills.
The Culture Shock! - For Crew and Teens...
The two teens for this show didn't find out where they were going until hours before they were to board a plane. While the surprise is part of the show, the show got a bit of surprise on this end. It seems the film crew coming to HiLine Lake hadn't realized just how remote the camp really is. No stores for extra batteries, no cell phone service, very little power to recharge batteries and the noise of a generator when they needed additional lighting. And Terry, well he was the best sport you can imagine in a place so different than Long Beach. He had no idea that a switch to this remote part of the world would happen. Cody on the other hand assumed he would go to the city but didn't find out where until only hours before they tried to get him out of here. Another culture shock for the show... weather delays flying in and out of the Bush.
You Challenge me to WHAT?
The show has a challenge that each teen gives the other, "do it in my world" kind of thing. Terry had Cody try to skateboard into a halfpipe at a skating park and Cody challenged Terry to climb a 50 foot spruce tree using the old time climbing gaffs and harness.  Terry also became part of a canoe tug-o-war and unfortunately lost, ending up in the lake where the water is a bit colder than in California. But the tree climbing he did with only minor trouble, a slip actually. Terry is a great athelete and had no problem mastering many of Cody's skills like hatchet throwing.
Cody on the other hand hadn't ever been on a skateboard or roller skates or... well anything that has too many wheels. He skis great and does many other activities but finding a place to skateboard in the Bush is a bit tough. So... As you can imagine he had a few bumps and bruises when he came home. The crew even got into the act trying some of the fun activities we do out here at the camp like rope ascending using climbing rope ascenders. Here you can see CB swing in the wind as he tries his hand at it.  Mark and Mo actually made it all the way to the top! Leo and Zeus were a bit wiser and stayed on terra firma.
The Talents...
All of the crew, Terry, and Charlie Cook with his son Gavin were the best group of people you could imagine. Each and every one of them have very unique talents. Mark was a great director keeping everything rolling and on schedule, a tough job, while CB had the knack of knowing just where the shot needed to be and was there with the camera every second - CB is an actor/cameraman. Leonardo (Leo) had the task of making all the sound equipment work and keeping it all working in this remote setting without being able to recharge batteries or get to the nearest store 65 miles away - Leo owns a recording studio and has produced music being currently played on radio stations. Mo... well Mo was one of the funniest guys who sounds, and sometimes looks, like Bruce Willis - Mo is a production assistant and works more like MacGiver, rigging anything and everything to get the job done; he was making a film short while he was here starring "Gumby". Now for Zeus. His real name, by the way. Zeus was Terry's chaperon and the filming coordinator. He had a laugh that when really rolling made it clear that no bears would be bothering us for sometime - Zeus also made a short film while here starring himself and Leo. A spoof on the outdoor shows would be putting it mildly, very funny though.
 The last but not least of the talent is the true talent behind the show SWITCHED!, Charlie Cook. With an eye for more than the obvious and a talent to put it all together, Charlie amazed us all with his insight to the show and "Hollywood" in general. He has since become, like many who come here, a friend and along with his son Gavin we hope to see much more of them in the future. In fact if you come to a camp this summer you may just run into them. His family will always have a special place here. Their kind and generous nature makes this type of family camp here at HiLine Lake worth all the effort.
Photos Behind the Scenes...
During the filming the crew endured the changing weather, equipment problems and many other problems that I would guess are not part of the normal "shoot"... Like trying to figure out how Cody is going to call Terry and leave a text message on his cell phone out here at the lake when the cell phones they brought didn't get any reception. Hmmm... Or what about the bugs clogging up the camera lens... Or the possiblilty of running into a bear... Or trying to keep the camera dry on the wet and windy lake... Or trying to keep a camp load of kids quiet while they filmed... Or, well you get the point. And if a photo is worth a thousand words some of ours must be worth a million. Here are more photos from behind the scenes:
| "I don't know, CB, but between the bugs, smoke, fire, rain and the lake water I'll bet we're not getting our deposit back!" |
| What a master!! Terry amazed us all with his skill on the skateboard. No wonder he's on top. Watch out, Tony Hawks... Terry's coming! |
 | The weekly Friday night cookouts are a highlight and the film crew was here to enjoy it. Terry had never seen a hamburger cooked on a campfire nor roasted his own hotdog. What a treat for us and him! |
 | After several days of cloudy skies the horizon for a glimpse of why we stay in this remote part of the world... the pristine Alaskan wilderness. |
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