MEDIA
From the Wheat Fields
To "WheatFields Bakery & Cafe"
Aug 11, 2008 - 12:01:25 PM

It all began where it typically ends for a grain of wheat: the bakery.

In June, IBT Media followed the wheat harvest in Kansas, Oklahoma and Nebraska for an upcoming History Channel episode of Modern Marvels: Wheat.

Beginning in the fields of wheat and ending in WheatFields Bakery & Cafe, in Lawrence, Kansas, the crew followed the cultivation, harvest and end use of wheat from the greenhouse to the oven and beyond.

With Modern Marvels: Bread under their belts, the IBT Media team was already well versed in the milling and mass baking process.

Capturing the wheat harvest outside Elk City, Oklahoma, cameraman Bob Brunk expertly moved in and around five giant threshing combines moving in choreographed sequence. He continued even after dark, going after the ultimate shot in the headlights of the massive machines.

Custom harvester Ron Misener, facilitated the shoot by commanding the movement of the combines via two-way radio, following producer Kaylan Eggert's requests. History was served when an old-timer demonstrated the use of a hand scythe while five combines bore down on him.

The project included working in the greenhouses of AgriPro in Junction City, Kansas, where they breed wheat, constantly developing new varieties for the field. Their travels again took them to Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas, to shoot in labs and out in the field. Temperatures varied from a chilly visit to a walk-in freezer containing thousands of varieties of seeds to a typically hot Kansas afternoon, shooting Kansas wheat under cultivation.

A final stop brought them to Grand Island, Nebraska to see wheat being made into "bio-compostable" products intended to replace everyday items made from plastic.

In all, the nine-day adventure marked yet another fine collaboration between Actuality Productions, the producer of Modern Marvels, and IBT Media.

Watch the premier of Modern Marvels: Wheat at 8pm CST, Thursday August 21st on the History Channel.

For more information about IBT Media, contact Gary Hense.