In their quest to define the American character through film documentaries, Ken Burns and David Duncan decided 10 years ago that the national parks reflect not only the grandeur of the natural world but also quintessential American qualities – such as patriotism, equality and democracy – at their best.

The two acclaimed creators of award-winning Public Broadcasting System series on the Civil War, baseball, jazz, and World War II previewed their current work in progress, "The National Parks: An American Story," for a National Park Service audience at Main Interior’s auditorium on April 29.

The natural parks – those wondrous primeval landscapes – are the “heart and soul” of their six-part, 12-hour series that is scheduled to debut in the fall of 2009. But as the series traces the evolution of the national park idea – and the thinking of the people who shaped that concept – the scope of sites managed by the National Parks Service, including cultural, historic and national icon parks, becomes apparent.

The team began filming five years ago and has shot more than 800 rolls of Super 16 millimeter film. Yet even as the network clock is ticking on the premier, Burns and Duncan said they continue to film, write and edit the series, “calibrating and recalibrating” what they called their “rough cut, far-from-finished work.”  

The 40 minutes of clips they shared, which included excerpts from the introduction and three episodes, exhibited all of the narrative elements and techniques that have made them, as Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne said in his introduction, “outstanding artists, historians and humanitarians who combine genius, passion and patriotism.”  NPS Director Mary Bomar also praised the team for their dedication, saying their passion for the parks matched that of the men and women who wear the “gray and green.”

On the visual level, in addition to the filmed interviews, still photographs and archival footage – the traditional elements for which Burns’ documentaries are noted – the team has added stunning aerial cinematography of the natural parks. These breath-taking, full-color  images include Hawaii Volcanoes’ primordial lava flows, Denali’s icy majesty, Death Valley’s desert wilderness, California redwoods’ nobility, Grand Canyon’s geologic grandeur and Yellowstone’s bio-luminescent thermal pools.

On the oral level, the traditional third person (Voice of God) narration is done by Peter Coyote and intermixed with first person voices, including Sam Waterston (as Stephen Mather), Tom Hanks (as Horace Albright), Alan Arkin (as Abe Murie), Eli Wallach and other notable personalities. The music and sound effects, especially those accompanying the aerial cinematography of the crown jewel landscapes, are appropriately primal and dramatic, a blend of drum, flute, choral and chant that helps the audience invest emotionally in the rich visual experience.

As they immersed themselves in the research for this major undertaking, Burns said he became convinced that the individuals and perspectives that gave birth to the unique idea of national parks – pristine lands sent aside not for the pleasure of princes or aristocracy but for all people for all time – could only have come from a nation of immigrants who valued the common man, community spirit and democratic action.

Duncan recalled that he was overwhelmed by the realization that the vital force behind national parks was not a self-perpetuating government program, but “small groups of individuals who came to love a place, decided to save it and convinced the rest of us what we have to do.  It is a story of American democracy at its best,” Duncan said.  Using spoken quotes and voiceovers, the series speaks of American patriotism as the “religion of the soil” and the national parks “as the people’s greatest patrimony.”

To their credit, Burns and Duncan do not avoid the difficult historic issues underlying the national parks, such as the fundamental contradiction enshrined in the NPS mission statement.  The paradox of preserving the lands while simultaneously providing for their enjoyment by the public is explored along with the founders’ faith that rational management can effectively balance this inherent tension.

Burns expressed effusive gratitude to the National Park Service for the unstinting assistance NPS managers and rangers provided, especially those who were rousted from their beds at 3 a.m. so the team could shoot film at dawn, when the landscapes were free of visitors and those who helped the team long after their work day was done.

Duncan noted that though the team always scouted the parks for the best vantage point to shoot the landscape, more than 85 percent of the shots were eventually taken at points already designated by NPS landscape architects and rangers as places that provide the best views. He called that a testament to Park Service expertise and experience.

Burns said he was thrilled by the National Park Centennial Initiative to rejuvenate the parks by the 100 anniversary of the Service in 2016, commending Secretary Kempthorne and Director Mary Bomar for their efforts and leadership. Burns will be making much of the cinematic and archival footage in the series available to the National Park Service and will donate other media projects developed from the material to the Service for its future use as outreach and educational material.