The Netflix interactive film You vs. Wild: Out Cold stars adventurer Bear Grylls, and he’s run into a little bit of trouble. After parachuting out of a crashing plane, he hits his head and can’t remember who he is. But Grylls’ survivalist instincts kick in, and he sets out to save himself and his plane’s pilot … with the help of the viewers.
Ben Simms
We reached out to director Ben Simms — who was Emmy-nominated for his work on the first You vs. Wild in 2019 — to walk us through one of the film’s most challenging scenes.
Which scene or scenes did you enjoy the most while working on You vs. Wild: Out Cold?
My favorite scenes to shoot during You vs. Wild: Out Cold revolve around when Bear makes his way to a crashed plane on the edge of a cliff to rescue the trapped pilot. We had a lot of ideas on how and where this should take place, and we were lucky enough to find a dramatic landscape where we could actually get the remnants of the plane to an actual cliff’s edge.
What is the significance of this scene to the rest of the series?
The plane teetering on the cliff’s edge may be the most important and climactic choice in the viewers’ interactive experience of the film, as it has been Bear and the viewers’ mission from the start to rescue the trapped pilot. It’s something that’s been teased throughout the experience, so we really wanted to make sure we got it right.
Which did you use to shoot the scene?
We shot this scene with multiple Sony F55’s as our main cameras, a Canon R5 on a gimbal as well as some drones. Oh … and a lot of ropes. The entire crew had to be harnessed and suspended at various positions along the cliff edge in order to cover the scene.
DP Paul “Mungo” Mungeam, his team and I have worked together for years in this type of environment and under these conditions. It is really a lot of fun in that we can keep everything as authentic as possible and don’t need to cheat anything. We were all really on a cliff’s edge.
What technical challenges did you encounter while working on this scene?
Our biggest challenge was the environment. I will say, though, that it was also one of our biggest assets. It’s tough to beat the look of the Italian Dolomites. Weather is always a factor: We were in avalanche danger at times, which is ever-changing. In addition, you’re constantly conscious of the temperature, moisture, etc., and the impact that may have on all your technical equipment. Especially for this scene, where we were basically all dropped off via helicopter in a giant bowl.
On top of all of that, you, of course, are then tasked with consistent lighting and continuity in an ever-changing environment.
I’m lucky enough to have an incredible team alongside me. In situations like this, someone like our lead safety Stani Groeneweg and AD Jeff Simms are invaluable in that, even if the entire sequence is going to take place on a literal cliff’s edge, I can just point to a spot and say, “I want to go right there,” and they make it happen safely and efficiently.
What was the dialogue like between you and the series’ showrunner regarding this scene?
I have worked with showrunner Rob Buchta for years now, and I really cherish our working relationship, as we both have very different skillsets that seem to complement and elevate each other well. We both knew how critical this scene was to the story as a whole, and we were both very conscious of that.
However, rather than feel like a daunting task, we make sure to have fun with it and generally try to one up each other in ways to “go big or go home.” In most cases, that usually means one of us suggesting blowing something up.
