Travel & Leasure

Where can you enjoy all the features of one of the world’s great natural wonders and still be within walking distance of the latest man-made attractions that tourists and their families have come to expect on vacation? And where else can you do it so inexpensively? New York’s Niagara Falls State Park, affectionately referred to as “The Reservation”, is such a place. Conveniently located within easy driving distance of America’s east coast and all the human comforts associated with modern urban life, it is truly a versatile destination. Stand on the banks of Goat Island and imagine what it must have been like to travel there in a canoe. Then glance up to view the brilliant colored lights on the face of the Seneca-Niagara Casino Hotel. It’s a cultural and geographical paradox that makes for the perfect weekend getaway. Or stay for a month. You won’t run out of things to do.

Evolution of a Work In Progress:

What you’re watching is a rough cut demo that will be changing as the project evolves. Our purpose here is to give you a feel for what the end product will be like. The final version will be edited to fill an hour of TV time. Some of the live clips in the present version will be replaced with footage yet to be shot.

We are returning to the Falls the end of July to record interviews, collect footage of Canada and pick up new shots that our script now calls for. The present version of the historical sections represents less than half the material we have collected thus far. We have collected, and will be adding sequences for Thomas Vincent Welch and Queen Victoria Park, among other historical images and info.

Our stats may not be what you believe to be correct. At this point we are using stats that where available at the time of the VO recording. Since that point we have discovered discrepancies. Example: The narrator says that the population of N.F., N.Y. is fifty-one-thousand. Since then we have found three other figures as stated by various websites. So, for now we will wait for the new official figures from the 2010 Census, thank you. Our final version will contain the best info available at the time of publication.

The narration you hear is spoken by me, Jobie Smith. We use it for editing purposes, to time out the scenes for this demo. At the proper time we will replace it with dialog performed by professional talent. If our sponsors are generous, we will shoot for a name actor for the narrator’s job.

We strongly believe in credit where credit is due. The present version of our Demo is without credits for brevity's sake. The final version will include screen credit for all individuals who appear and speak on screen, in any form the individual desires. Plus a complete bibliography, in Credit-roll form appearing at the end of our movie, of all individuals involved, images, quotes, and music used. All images and quotes appearing in the present Demo version have been found to be free of copyrights restrictions. We are sincerely grateful to the United States Library of Congress for making a movie like ours possible.

The Director’s Niagara Blog:

What gave me the idea?

What started out as a short vacation has evolved into MSD’s first long-form documentary movie for television. In the fall of ‘08’ my wife and partner, Rosemary and I visited the Falls as tourists. As luck would have it, that year we had just acquired our first two high definition cameras. And I saw the trip as an opportunity to shake down our new equipment and try the cameras out on a subject worth the effort. At the time, I thought the resulting footage would end up as just another in a long history of making short vacation movies for the enjoyment of the family. Upon our return, after viewing the footage on a large screen HD monitor, I was pleased to find that the quality of the images were exceptional. As an imaging professional, I realized that the footage was valuable way beyond home movie standards. I knew that I could use that footage in a proper documentary. All I needed was a good story.

I had visited Niagara Falls several times while growing up, including Rosemary’s and my first honeymoon. But my last visit was back in the late ‘70s’ and things had changed considerably since then, especially on the Canadian side. The Canadians have always had the tourist advantage with their incredible panoramic views. Now they boast casinos with huge skyscraper hotels designed to take best advantage of that view. Plus just about every other man-made electronic tourist gimmick that the crowds have come to expect on a vacation. Most of their attractions have nothing to do with the actual cataracts, except to look at them from a distance. Like we say in our movie, “It’s a bit like Disneyland over there.”
We were pleased to find that Niagara Falls, New York still had that quaint small town feel. We realized the real hands-on fun of visiting the Falls was on the American side.

I started researching the topic and soon found that most visitors, especially the foreign nationals, fly or drive into Canada, stay in Canada’s hotels, eat in Canada’s restaurants and spend most of their money there. If they visit the American side, it’s just a quick trip on a tour bus that they probably hire in Canada. And all because of that gorgeous view. Believe me when I say we have absolutely nothing against our Canadian cousins and their beautiful country. Their contributions to Niagara Falls will be included, and treated fairly in our movie. But we believe that for American visitors, the cash flow should be the other way around. Why not stay in American hotels, eat in American restaurants and visit the Canadian side in American tour buses?

Yes, we are biased and our message is slanted. What movie isn’t slanted? We just believe that the American park's story needs to be told, and that a lot of people will identify with it. Yes, the Canadian side needs to be visited to appreciate the total Niagara experience. But does the average first time visitor understand that most of the real action is in the American park? The total Niagara experience is not just a breathtaking panoramic view from afar. The breathtaking views that can be had from the American side are just as inspiring and a lot more diverse. Did I mention you can get wet there? And probably save yourself a lot of money in the bargain.

Niagara Falls is the ideal topic for a storyteller. There are not to many places on earth that have more stories attached to it. And all of them are fascinating. The story of the formation of the park is one of them. Combining the present day Niagara experience, including our bias, with our retelling of the story of how it got to be that way seemed like a pretty good idea for a movie.

All that stuff is what gave me the idea.

Jobie Smith

Writer, Producer, Director

Niagara: American Style

P.S. – I will be adding to this blog as time permits and our project evolves. Please check back.