NATURE & ENVIROMENT
CALIFORNIA FOREVER
Client: Destination Cinema & California State Parks
Producers: Sally Kaplan & David Vassar Writer & Director: David Vassar
A two-hour documentary special for PBS about the history of California State Parks. From Yosemite to the Redwood Coast, from Lake Tahoe to the Anza Borrego Desert, the State Parks of California are the most diverse in the nation. In many ways the dramatic story of their preservation closely parallels the history of American Conservation and includes characters such as Frederick Law Olmsted, John Muir, Teddy Roosevelt, and John D. Rockefeller. Completed in 2012 and currently airing on PBS.
GRAND TETON VIDEO RIVERS
Client: National Park Service
Producers: Sally Kaplan & David Vassar Writer, Director: David Vassar
Three Video Rivers run through the visitor center in Grand Teton National Park. Each Video River is rear-projected from the basement onto the glass floor of the exhibition space where the audience walks on the screen. Images include stunning aerial photography and sweeping moves across the dramatic landscapes in all four seasons of Grand Teton National Park.
DISCOVER HETCH HETCHY
Client: Environmental Defense Fund
Producers: Sally Kaplan & David Vassar Writer & Director: David Vassar
Host and Narrator: Harrison Ford
The centerpiece for the national campaign to restore the Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park. With computer animation and rich historical context the film depicts America’s first great conservation battle and proposes a solution that will allow Hetch Hetchy Valley to be restored and returned to the American people.
AFTER THE ATTACK
Client: Animal Planet
Producer, Writer, Director: David Vassar
A hiker in Yellowstone, a surfer in South Africa, a mountain biker in California, and a swimmer in Florida all come face to face with one of the world’s great predators - grizzly bear, great white shark, mountain lion and alligator. Each of these apex predators have come back from the brink of extinction and all of them are rebounding in great numbers. As their populations increase, so is human pressure on their prime habitat.
SAVE OUR HISTORY - YELLOWSTONE
Client: History Channel
Producer, Writer, Director: David Vassar
Host and Reporter: Roger Mudd
Renowned for its ghostly landscape and cherished for its abundant wildlife, Yellowstone was set aside as America’s first National Park in 1872. Today, the storied park has become a political battlefield where the forces for preservation stand against those who would exploit the Park for short-term profit. What is at stake is no less than the health of America’s premiere National Park.
SPIRIT OF YOSEMITE
Client: National Park Service & Yosemite Conservancy
Producer, Writer, Director: David Vassar
The destination film for the visitor center in Yosemite Valley. Shot in 35-mm color negative film, scanned to HD, and mixed in 5.1-surround sound.
RUNNING ON THE SUN
Client: Mel Stuart Productions & Galaxy Entertainment
Field Director: David Vassar
As more than 40 ultra-marathon runners assemble at the starting line the temperature hovers near 120 degrees. The “Badwater 135” is the most physically demanding marathon in the world. The race begins at 230 feet below sea level in Death Valley and ends on the slopes of Mt. Whitney at more than 8,000 feet above sea level.
LOST CIVILIZATIONS - MAYA, BLOOD OF KINGS
Client: NBC - Time Life Television
Producer, Writer, Director: David Vassar
Emmy Award winning series of six documentary one-hour programs. Episode 2 highlights the classic period of Maya florescence and it’s abrupt decline.
CANYON CONSORT
Client: PBS - Channel Four, UK
Producer, Writer, Director: David Vassar
A music documentary featuring the Paul Winter Consort as they raft the entire 225 mile length of the Grand Canyon. The Consort stops in remote side canyons where they compose, improvise, and record music for their new album, ‘Canyon.’ The one hour special remains one of PBS’ highest rated single special programs.
RIVER IN DISGUISE
Client: KABC, Los Angeles - Discovery Channel
Producer, Writer, Director: David Vassar
A tongue in cheek environmental film about L.A.’s long-standing joke; the Los Angeles River. An impressionistic film about the river and the surprising beauty one can find there. The airing of the film initiated public interest in restoring the Los Angeles River
TO THE EDGE OF THE EARTH
Client: WQED, Pittsburgh - PBS
Producer/Writer/Director – David Vassar
Episode Two of the documentary science series, Infinite Voyage. The one-hour program celebrates six modern day scientist explorers working in the most remote locations on the planet.
GENERATION ON THE WIND - 1979
Client: PBS - BBC Producer,
Writer, Director, Editor: David Vassar
Independent documentary focusing on a group of young environmental activists, engineers, and artists who successfully built the largest electrical generating windmill in the world. Academy Award nomination, Best Environmental Documentary, San Francisco International Film Festival. Broadcast nationally on PBS.
YOSEMITE
Student Film - Los Angeles City College
Producer, Writer, Director, Editor: David Vassar
Documentary film about a riot that took place in Yosemite Valley over the 4th of July weekend in 1970. Selected as Best Documentary, Los Angeles Cinemedia Student Film Festival.