PHOTOS C/O SHEEPDOGS HAVE AT IT
“The film unfolds as chronologically as it happened, it really is their story as I experienced it,” says Barnard. The documentary begins with the
“When you shoot a concert film, every camera operator should get a copy of the album a week before the shoot so they know the songs,” says Barnard.
They had five cameras and a big crew for that first show, but by the end of production, they were shooting concerts with only three cameras and
“They are complete gentlemen who don’t have a beef with anyone and I was a little resentful of that at first.” - John Barnard Sheepdogs returning home to Saskatoon after winning the Rolling Stones cover, opening for the Kings of Leon. This was also the first concert the crew shot. 26
“You need to know where their hands are going to be, where they’ll be standing on stage, and where the song is going, to shoot it well.”
two people - Barnard and Gaudet. “These three-camera shoots turned out better because at that point we knew the music so well,” explains Bar-
nard. ”As the documentary unfolds, their concerts get better and my techniques get better, as I learned the songs.” Filming a busy band as they work requires patience, says Gaudet. It’s a fine line between getting what you need for the film and getting in their face. “If I sensed they weren’t into me shooting anymore I put the camera down long before they told me to put it down,” he explains. “If I forced them to be on camera when they didn’t want to be, it would have ruined everything. You can’t rush anything. Give it some time.” At the recording studio, Gaudet was told he couldn’t use lights and had to stay at the back of the room. “I knew if I pushed too hard in the first day or two they were going to shut me down,” he says. “But by the sixth day I had lights set up and I was shooting right in front of them. But that didn’t happen all at once. It took five days, one piece of equipment at a time. ‘Can I just have a little light back here’, then the next day ‘can I maybe have a second light here.’ It was about the long game – more of a marathon than a sprint.” Tony Wosk, who heads up Farpoint Films’ Toronto office, is handling distribution on the doc and says he’s in talks with Canadian distributors for a theatrical release, as well as international sales agents to take the film out to the world. “The band just finished a U.S. tour so we know there’s a market for this film in the U.S. as well as Canada,” says Wosk. “And we are hoping to break into Europe and Asia, along with the band, to help spread the word about their story. “ While fans of the Sheepdogs are sure to love this behind-the-scenes portrait of the band at a pivotal point in their career, the hope is also to capture a wider audience of documentary enthusiasts, who in turn will become captivated by the unique vintage rock n roll stylings of the band. Gullen himself is a big fan of nonfiction films and has high praise for the direction the documentary took. “I think what makes a strong documentary is where a filmmaker decides to start and finish the film,” he explains. “John did a really good job picking a starting and finishing point and capturing the essence of what was going on in that time.” n @THESHEEPDOGSDOC REEL WEST NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2012