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| “Lockup” focuses on Alaska |
| By Jim Montalto, News Editor |
| Published: 09/18/2006 |
In the coming months, MSNBC's “Lockup” documentary series about life inside America's prisons and jails will showcase the AKDOC's Spring Creek Correctional Center. Show producer, 44 Blue, goes inside facilities across the country to give viewers footage of what occurs behind the walls with COs, administrators and inmates. It does not attempt to glamorize prison life or produce sensationalistic stories. Instead the film crew and field producer provide a realistic story of prison life as it unfolds. This unbiased approach is perhaps the biggest part to 44 Blue's success in consistently gaining access to facilities like Rikers Island, San Quentin, Wabash Valley and Colorado State Penitentiary. Its straightforward attitude when first approaching a facility also helps. “I work in documentaries. I don't do news. Documentaries tell stories and everyone has a story,” says Susan Carney when discussing her philosophy about filming in correctional facilities. Carney was 44 Blue's Spring Creek field producer. “When I go into prison, the first thing I do is talk to the staff and the inmates. And I make it clear that everyone has the right to say yes or no to being filmed.” She and her crew try to keep pre-determined ideas about practitioners and inmates out of their work as well. In doing so, they have been able to garner a level of respect that has helped alleviate suspicion from staff and inmates. “When I first dealt with those in law enforcement and corrections, I thought they would think we were going to do something negative about them, but I learned that wasn't really the case. As for the inmates, my philosophy is everyone is deserving of respect as a human being. It's not my place to judge anyone or decide anything other than that. They've made their mistakes and they're paying for them.”  The Lockup Production crew films SCCC Superintendent Craig Turnbull and CO III Ruben Parra as they walk across the yard. Commissioner Mark Antrim admits he was cautious when the production company first contacted him. “As corrections professionals we need to be cautious with letting the media into our facilities because things can be taken out of context,” he explains. “One of the keys to corrections is getting the public to understand the whole situation. If an incident is only partly filmed or filmed in a certain way, it may look to the public like the situation is being handled in too rough of a manner, but they haven't seen the whole event.” Antrim does believe that corrections should be more open media-wise because of how shuttered the profession is to the rest of the world. “We do need to take some risks like this because the fact is we have a closed world that the public doesn't understand. Our day to day work is inside these walls and the public's imagination is left to fill in the blanks.”  Assistant Superintendent Tom Reimer reviews raw tape for security issues after a day of shooting for the MSNBC Lockup crew. Originally Antrim declined 44 Blue's request, but he and Communications Special Assistant, Richard Schmitz, who worked closely with the film crew, was so impressed with Carney's upfront candidness and willingness to work with the department that they reconsidered. The production company promised them that this show would not be an expose and that they would not reveal anything that would hurt the AKDOC's image. Carney sent tapes of previous shows too so Schmitz and Antrim could see for themselves the type of documentary Spring Creek would become. 44 Blue also agreed to not use any footage that either Schmitz or Antrim were not comfortable with. In fact, Carney wanted to interview serial killer Robert Hansen, who in 1988 became one of the first prisoners at Spring Creek. Hansen is famous for taking women to a remote location, setting them free and then hunting them. However, Hansen refused to sign a release form so she let the matter drop. “They were professional, but they also wanted to see what limits they could push, because they wanted to get as much as they could. But most importantly, they were respectful when we said no',” Schmitz says. The crew caught some gritty scenes, and Schmitz approved the scenes because he thought it was important for people to see what really occurs.  The Lockup crew films as a prisoner is taken to medical by Correctional Officers. “They caught the tail end of a fight, and they followed it along, and then walked with the involved inmates to the medical area. One guy was crying, and they went right in there filming him, but when they asked if he would sign a release he agreed, so we let them use it,” Schmitz says. Schmitz also saw a broader value to the Spring Creek filming. The AKDOC recently kicked off an extensive media campaign to attract more people to the corrections field, so the “Lockup” premier couldn't have come at a better time. “There was also a social value in terms of people watching this and thinking this is not a place I want to go live,' so it could serve as a crime deterrent. Also the film gave us a chance to show politicians and the public how hard COs work and the amount of stress they face everyday,” he adds. To capture a facility's true story, Carney usually spends two days with a staff person wandering its grounds and then checks out the surrounding town. “I'll talk to anyone who's willing to talk to me, but without recording devices and cameras. This helps me develop stories. I get to meet inmates and staff and they get to ask me what I plan to do. So some parts of the filming are pre-planned and some just happen as we move through the facility,” Carney says. She and her crew visited Spring Creek for two weeks, eight days of which they spent shooting footage. Her photographers' ability to blend into the scene helped inmates and COs forget about the crew's presence and created a comfort level between everyone involved. “Seward is exquisite,” Carney recalls. “We filmed in April and it was still cold and snowy. One thing you discover when filming at different facilities is that they each have their own vibe. Spring Creek very much has a sense of individuality. And there seems to be a much lower violence level in there than other facilities I have seen. There was this acceptance among inmates of their situation and of each other.”  The Lockup production crew takes in the beauty of an Alaskan morning in the yard of Spring Creek Correctional Center. Carney says she also noticed that COs maintained a control that prevented problems before they started or became too big. She sensed inmates respected that control too, which might have contributed to the facility's peacefulness. She says the surrounding mountains, which can be seen all around the grounds, might also help with the general calm attitude. Antrim reviewed every piece 44 Blue wanted to use and he liked what he saw. “All in all, this was a good risk for us. We have an incredibly professional staff who gives a lot of themselves, all with the goal of helping people make positive choices in their lives. This film can reflect that. It should be a good piece,” he says. Bottom Line: Asking film crews and news media to be upfront about their intentions can help facilities better understand the project's end result and help them make informed decisions on letting cameras into facilities. Providing media and film guidelines in advance, including placing them on a DOC's website, will help the media and production companies better understand how to approach a facility. For more information call AKDOC Communications Special Assistant Richard Schmitz at 907-465-4640 or email at him richard_schmitz@correct.state.ak.us . Photos courtesy pf the AKDOC. For more photos click here . |
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