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Wakinyan

Wakinyan describes one of the few things that still exists on the Plains unaltered by man. It has always existed, and will – hopefully - remain unchanged. Wakinyan offers a glimpse into a pristine, natural world displayed on a canvas as big as the sky.

  • Martin Lisius
    Director
  • Martin Lisius
    Producer
  • Kim George
    Production Assistant
  • Megan St.Cin
    Production Assistant
  • Steve George
    Production Assistant
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short, Other
  • Runtime:
    4 minutes 29 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    August 7, 2016
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    4K
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Martin Lisius

Martin Lisius is a producer, director and cinematographer. He has produced programs for television, music videos, promos, and documentaries including "The Chasers of Tornado Alley," "Chasing the Wind" and "Beneath Stormy Skies." His production company is Texas-based Prairie Pictures. In 1993, he founded StormStock, one of the oldest stock footage brands in the world and FOCAL International 2015 Footage Library of the Year Nominee. StormStock is known for its high quality storm footage which includes tornadoes, hurricanes, lightning and other weather elements on Super 35mm, 4K and HD shot by Lisius and his team of photographers. Lisius' footage can be seen in TV commercials, television programs ("The Whispers," "Army Wives," "Criminal Minds") and theatrical releases including, "Cinderella" (Disney, 2015), "Tomorrowland," "Lucy," "Son of God," and The Oscar-winning "An Inconvenient Truth."

All images are copyrighted. A portion can be licensed through StormStock at stormstock.com
External Links
StormStock - StormStock is the world's premier storm footage library.

Prairie Pictures - An award-winning Texas-based media production company.

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Director Statement

Wakinyan is a Lakota word meaning thunder, or thunder spirit. The language is one used by native people of the American Great Plains.

I chose Wakinyan as the title of this short film because it describes one of the few things that still exists on the Plains unaltered by man. It has always existed, and will – hopefully - remain unchanged. Wakinyan offers a glimpse into a pristine, natural world displayed on a canvas as big as the sky.

I photographed the content during the spring of 2016, mostly in Texas, Colorado and the Nebraska Sandhills. It required thousands of miles driving, and being exposed to biting flies, gooey mud, blowing dust, and long nights. The hail, tornadoes and constant barrage of lightning didn’t bother me as it’s something I grew up with. In fact, if I go a month without storms and the reassuring sound of thunder, I get grumpy, gain weight and begin to lose consciousness.

Shooting aerials can be challenging in high winds. I compensated by sampling a wind profile prior to filming. Those characteristics change quite a bit depending on topography.

The film was produced in 4K and is best enjoyed in that resolution.