Surviving Disaster: The Eruption at Mount St. Helens

roduced with Big Blow Productions for the BBC as part of the Surviving Disaster series Director: Matthew Wortman

A dramatic documentary retelling the story of the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens in Washington State from the perspective of scientists and locals, all working and living in the shadow of this time bomb. With surrounding towns and lives at risk, and some locals refusing to move, scientists battled against the clock to try and unlock the mountain’s secrets. Features testimony from a range of eyewitnesses with first hand accounts of the devastation.

This project was shot over 18 days in the rural towns of Squamish and Maple Ridge with a limited budget and very tight deadlines.  Infinity supplied the entire crew with the exception of the director, a producer from the BBC and an assistant. We organized the additional filming of plates for CGI as well as a full miniature shoot using high-speed cameras and scale model of a portion of the mountainside to re-create the devastating moments immediately after the explosion at Mount St. Helens.