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Rob Frost is a 31 year-old filmmaker who resides in Jackson, NH. Whether
he's jugging a line with his camera, guiding for IMCS in North Conway, or
climbing 5.13 in his spare time - Rob keeps himself busy. A graduate of Colorado
College, Rob has been climbing since 1988 and started guiding when he moved
to the Mt. Washington Valley ten years later.
Rob's passion for the sport was recently put to the test as he undertook
an enormous project - to direct and produce his first climbing film. "Uncommon
Ground" was filmed over the course of the past two years in the Northeastern
U.S. The film is a celebration of climbing in the Northeast, successfully
capturing the spirit of a community and the passion for the sport.
I recently had the chance to sit down with Rob and ask him about the
making of "Uncommon Ground"…
Left: Rob on Retaliation, 5.9, at Cathedral
Ledge, NH.
Photograph by Tim
Kemple/www.timkemple.com. |
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Q: When did you first get the idea to do
this?
"When I moved back to New England in 1998. At the time is was just an idea
really…I never thought it would happen."
Q: Did you have any previous experience in
filmmaking?
"One of the jobs I had back in Sun Valley was some part-time work in a production
studio. I got to look over the shoulders of some really good editors…and
do a little camera assistant work. I never really knew where any of it was
going or anything; it was just more of a creative outlet. My boss also had
me do some graphic work, like titling and smaller projects, because I didn't
really know how to tell a story with a camera or anything. I'm not sure if
I do now either…I'm still learning really."
Q: You must have learned a ton doing
this…
"Yeah, I mean…the beauty of coming up with my own project was having
something I was really passionate about as the subject matter. I mean, when
you're working in the video production business you could have someone hand
you a camera and ask you to do a show about a chess match or something…I
feel like this project really taught me a lot about conveying an emotion
by combining a bunch of different elements like music, interviews,
footage…All of those things on their own can be impressive, but if you
know how to put them together they can make each other so much more powerful.
That was the trick really, was figuring out how to do that.
Q: Are most of the musicians on your soundtrack from
the Northeast?
"Well, I thought about doing that and then I got this fortunate break with
the band 'The Daily Planet'. They have the majority of the music in the film.
They're just a phenomenal blue-grass band…I had heard a tape of theirs
once like five years ago…then I was just surfing the web and thought
to check them out. I fired them an email about the film and they were just
like, 'Go for it, man'…It was really cool. I'm just really psyched on
all the music in the film really."
Q: When did you actually start filming? I mean, does
a guy who's never made a movie before just pick up a camera and start
shooting?
"I actually started shooting some footage not really knowing that I was starting
this project. I was just sort of at a time in my life when I needed that
creative force…just to kind of step away from the daily grind a
bit…and I was down in New York with my sister who loves to spend money
and I saw this camera. I was just looking at it and just thinking it was
really cool, and she was like, 'Do it. Get it.' So I end up just throwing
down the credit card and I starting learning. I mean, I look at my footage
from when I had just gotten it and look at my footage now, and its like day
and night…and I'm still learning. This is literally the first project
you know, and I just want to do more of them and step it up a level each
time and evolve with it…I don't feel like I've mastered this at all.
Q: So do you have any plans for the next
project?
"Well, I'm going to go to Europe this summer to film some of the New England
guys like Tim Kemple, Dave Graham, Luke Parady, and Joe Kinder. From there,
who knows man. You know, the beauty of this project was that I lived in this
area, and most of the climbers lived in this area, and it wasn't like I had
to worry about a return plane ticket or anything…I just think that the
key to any project for me is variety…bringing you on a rollercoaster
ride emotionally…going through different states as a viewer…I think
my biggest goal is to provide content, to kind of tap into the passion that's
common in everyone who engages in the activity whether they're a 5.8 climber
or a 5.14 climber…and I think there's valuable lessons in the activity
that spill over into stuff that has nothing to do with climbing. It's all
about that for me.
Q: How would you describe Northeastern climbing compared
to other parts of the country?
"I guess that for all the places I've lived out west, the east is probably
the best place I've ever lived as far as being able to climb
conveniently…its very accessible and the climbing is really good. There's
so much variety here in bouldering, trad, sport, ice, mixed, and its all
good…just a wide range of different disciplines that are contained in
one region…and I think this region produces great climbers because of
that. I mean, you don't have to drive 5 hours to go climb something…you
can go climbing for an afternoon and it doesn't have to be a huge event…but
there are some great wilderness experiences here too and that keeps things
pretty balanced."
Q: Were there certain things about the Northeast you
wanted to communicate through the film?
"Well when I started I didn't really know…I just knew there was some
cool stuff going on and some great climbers in the area. I started filming
just with people that I knew like Mark (Synnott) and Kevin Mahoney. After
that it just kind of all started happening…I got hooked up with Tim
(Kemple) and he was really tapped in to the younger crew like Dave (Graham)
and Joe Kinder…and Henry Barber I didn't really know until this past
fall I met him at Cathedral Ledge…there was just so many happy mistakes
you know, there was no plan in the beginning at all. I guess the message
for me was just about people who share this passion…I mean, I could
be out at the cliff with a 70 year-old guy and be totally connecting, you
know what I mean, and that has nothing to do with this region I guess, but
there's just an energy here…and intermingling, and support. I guess
what the film's about for me is just the passion that I feel about the sport
that I saw in certain individuals that I filmed…and it manifests itself
in different ways and there are so many people that are involved with so
many peripheral things whether its school, or jobs, or whatever…but
the constant is climbing. |
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Q: What's your favorite part of the film?
"Probably the Henry Barber section, which isn't even my footage…When
you look at that footage you're looking at a dude who was in fighting shape,
who was out there kicking ass ahead of his time…you're looking at someone
who is so understanding of what his true motivations and passions are, and
so clear about it…which a lot of people don't have. You know, I just
got to meet all these great people through this project, guys like Henry
and Dave, Tim, Joe…
Q: At one point in the film you had them all together
right? What was that like?
"Yeah, Henry was there at 'Child of the Storm' when Dave sent it. I was just
like, 'Wow, this is killer..'…you had these guys just hanging together
getting psyched.
Q: Tell me about the footage with Kevin Mahoney. That's
definitely some stuff you normally don't see in climbing videos.
"Yeah, that's probably my favorite piece of just raw footage. I mean, when
I got home after filming and watched it I was like, 'Wow, that guy's digging
DEEP..'..I mean, to have people cheering (at the showing of the film) for
someone to get to the top of something… I was just blown away.
Q: So how does it feel now that it's done?
"It's cool…I have always had a hard time finishing projects, no matter
what they were, and I was just really inspired by everyone around me…
it feels empowering, I feel like I own something…it was my own project
that I finished. Something like that is just huge for me…it was definitely
the most challenging thing I've ever immersed myself in...it really fired
me up…whether it's climbing or anything else, if you can just try hard
enough you really can succeed."
Click
here to check out the trailer to Uncommon Ground or
click
here to pick up a copy of the video |
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