We are happy to present the first of seven behind the scenes webisodes of The Art of Travel. Each month, we’ll premiere a new webisode - and in-between, we’ll have biweekly blogs from the actors and filmmakers, plus cool image captures from the movie.

This story has been three years in the making, and shooting the film over 7 weeks in 5 countries was an adventure for the entire cast and crew.

No, The Art of Travel is not a documentary or the retelling of the bestselling philosophy book with the same title - It is the story of Conner Layne, a high school grad with a full ride to college who finds his plans interrupted by a life changing moment… a moment which becomes the spring board to a travel adventure that ultimately changes Conner’s hopes and dreams.

When setting out to make an independent feature film, it’s hard enough to convince agents, actors, and crew that the film in question will be a worthwhile endeavor. Now add the fact that our film would be shot entirely on location without many of the creature comforts that actors and crew members are accustomed to while making a film in Los Angeles - not to mention shooting in locations that many filmmakers would never set one foot inside - and you can understand what we were up against.

The common questions asked in pre-production were, “Will the actors have trailers?” Our reply, “No, but we’ll have a great big bus with air conditioning that they can rest in.” “What happens if the cameras break in the jungle?” Our reply, “What are the chances that both will go down at the same time?” The most common question, though, was, “Is it safe?” We’d look right in their eyes and not even finch one bit - “Of course it’s safe. What could possibly go wrong shooting in Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, and Bolivia that couldn’t go wrong shooting in Los Angeles?”

Yeah, we know. It even took us a while to believe that answer.

While watching the webisodes, I bet you end up asking yourself, “How did they pull this off?” The answer? Finding a talented group of people who believed in us and didn’t care about the answer to the questions above.

Salude from the Filmmakers!

Thomas Whelan
Brian LaBelle
Emyr G. Graciano
Christopher Kennedy Masterson

For high quality versions of the video, check out our blog over at Quick Stop Entertainment.