LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION - Members of the Avalon Film Company from Royal Oak prepare to film a scene in front of Lumberman’s Monument in Oscoda Township. The commercials, which will promote area tourism, will air in different states. - Photo by Jason Ogden

Iosco to be featured in state commercials
by Jason Ogden

OSCODA - The AuSable River got the film treatment Thursday.

A film production company from Royal Oak filmed sections of the river at Old Orchard Park and at Lumberman’s Monument in Oscoda Township for commercials promoting Michigan tourism.
The commercials, which are being created for Travel Michigan, a division of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), will air in different states, as well as major cities in the Midwest, such as Cincinnati and Chicago.

The commercials, according to Ken Yarsevich of the organization, will also air on the organization’s web site, www.michigan.org.

According to Kristen Borgstrom, a media representative with the organization, the commercials have aired as part of the Pure Michigan campaign for more than three years.

Many areas of Michigan, such as the west side of the state, have been featured, she said. This time, the organization wanted areas of the east side of the state in the warmer months.

Yarsevich said the crew, which was made up of more than 30 members and as many as 10 actors with the Avalon Film Company of Royal Oak, would film scenes in Harrisville and Alpena.

In Oscoda Township, the crew filmed scenes of people canoeing on the AuSable, fly fishing and tubing.

At Lumberman’s Monument, the crew was shooting hiking scenes, which were filmed with actors, as well as a segment about the monument itself.

Yarsevich said the footage would be used in historical segments which would air on the web site. Around the monument, actors and directors, as well as a technical staff, set up a scene for the commercials.

The monument was wetted down with water to look better on camera and a mock scene with grandparents and grandchildren was filmed.

The area was scouted two weeks before and, according to Yarsevich, Oscoda resident Adam Hume helped with canoes for the river scenes as well as other things.

At Lumberman’s Monument, the crew was shooting hiking scenes, which were filmed with actors, as well as a segment about the monument itself.

Yarsevich said the footage would be used in historical segments which would air on the web site. Around the monument, actors and directors, as well as a technical staff, set up a scene for the commercials.

The monument was wetted down with water to look better on camera and a mock scene with grandparents and grandchildren was filmed.

The area was scouted two weeks before and, according to Yarsevich, Oscoda resident Adam Hume helped with canoes for the river scenes as well as other things.

He said one of the reasons for filming in the area was to give individuals a glimpse of travel in an area of Michigan which isn’t as developed as other areas.

“We want to give people the traditional Michigan camping feel,” he said.

Delynn Lovelace, a forestry technician for the U.S. Forest Service, was happy to see officials promoting the area and especially the monument.

“It is exciting,” she said, “and I hope that it will show people that we’re here.”

She said that, in the past, she had seen various filming crews come to the monument, but never one that was so precise and serious about getting footage.

Lovelace said the company got permission to take the footage and had members of the crew in the area two weeks before, taking photos and scouting locations at the monument.

According to crew members, the operation was costing as much as $100,000 a day. According to Borgstrom, the state has spent more than $14 million over the past three years to promote Michigan.

She said even actor Tim Allen, made famous by his show Home Improvement, has been involved in the project, lending his voice to the various commercials.