Ken Burns In the Shadow of Rainier

What is America’s best idea? The answer, according to legendary PBS filmmaker Ken Burns, might surprise you. For Burns, producer of such films as Baseball and Jazz (either of which could be a fitting answer to the question in question) our nation’s nonpareil notion is the national parks.

Last week, Burns and his long-time co-producer Dayton Duncan embarked on a whirlwind tour of Seattle to promote their new documentary series, The National Parks: America’s Best Idea, which will premiere on KCTS 9 and nationwide this September. The six-part film tells the history of our national parks through the intimate stories of the men and women who fought for the parks’ creation and preservation.

In the world of PBS, Ken Burns is a rock star. He is public television’s version of Ichiro. Dayton Duncan is no slouch himself: former communications director for two democratic presidential candidates (Walter Mondale and Mike Dukakis), author of 10 books, and co-producer with Burns on films such as The Civil War, Horatio’s Drive, and the aforementioned Baseball and Jazz. So, unsurprisingly, Burns and Duncan were barely on the ground in Seattle before KCTS 9 staff descended on them, taking them first to a KCTS 9 salon event for major donors, and then to Bainbridge Island, where they spoke to a class of middle- and high-school filmmakers at IslandWood, a 255-acre outdoor education center.

The kids were charged with making their own video about nature. The dynamic documentary duo examined their storyboards and gave the wannabe filmmakers advice about their projects. Keep and eye on the KCTS 9 YouTube channel in May to see the videos they made. Producer Ethan Morris created this segment about the trip.

On his second day in Seattle, Ken Burns arrived early at the KCTS 9 studios to film a half-hour long episode of Conversations at KCTS 9 with Enrique Cerna, which covered everything from Burns’ family history to the 10-year-long process of making The National Parks: America's Best Idea.

Later that morning, Burns and Duncan taped a short segment for KCTS 9 Connects, which aired Friday, April 24th. Burns and Duncan spoke passionately about the importance of the national parks for current and future generations, and explained why they feel the parks are not only America’s best idea, but the epitome of democracy in action.

Finally, on his last day, Burns and Duncan screened an hour-long portion of their documentary at Benaroya Hall at a KCTS 9-sponsored event. More than 2,000 people attended the free preview, which included the series’ complete introduction and four segments that focused on Mt. Rainier, Olympic National Park, and Oregon’s Crater Lake. Afterwards, Burns and Dayton took questions from the audience on the process of filming the documentary, the imperative for environmental action, the process of creating a musical score, and their own favorite parks.

• Watch preview of The National Parks: America's Best Idea
• Watch Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan interview with KCTS 9's Enrique Cerna.
• Watch Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan extended interview with KCTS 9's Enrique Cerna.
Tags:
• bainbridge
• Benaroya Hall
• Dayton Duncan
• environment
• IslandWood
• Ken Burns
• PBS
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