Big UP Productions and Sender Films earn a Sports Emmy for NBC Segment

Note: When Climbing caught up with Josh Lowell of Big UP Productions via phone to get the lowdown for this bulletin, he was at a horse farm in Greenwich, Connecticut, doing a fashion shoot with Christi Brinkley. He stepped out to give us the good news. 

Josh and Brett Lowell were awarded a Sports Emmy for Outstanding Camera Work for a piece on Chris Sharma's first ascent of Es Pontas, in Mallorca, Spain — the world's hardest deep water solo. The segment, which aired in December on NBC’s Jeep World of Adventure Sports (www.worldofadventure sports.com), was produced by Peter Mortimer of Sender Films, and edited by Josh Lowell and Peter Mortimer.  It is excerpted from the upcoming feature climbing film, King Lines, a co-production of Big UP and Sender Films. 

In addition to the Lowell brothers and Mortimer, veteran climbing filmmaker Mike Call also played a hand, shooting footage for the Es Pontas piece. "It was a great collaboration," said Josh. "The arch was so spectacular, and the climbing so exciting... I'm proud we were all able to work together to do it justice." 

Big UP and Sender Films are continuing to work with Jeep World of Adventure Sports, and recently wrapped shooting for a segment on Lisa Rands (airing Saturday, July 28 from 3:00-4:00pm ET on NBC). 

“I was surprised and pleased,” said Josh when he learned that he’d won the award. “We were just out there doing what we always do: hanging off the cliffs, having a good time.” But really, it wasn’t all business as usual. For the filming of the NBC segment, the crew used high-definition cameras, special cranes and advanced rigging techniques to get the best footage possible. 

Also of note, the host of Jeep World of Adventure Sports, Pat Parnell, flew out to Mallorca for the shooting. Big UP actually filmed all the intros and outros for that episode of the show. According to Josh, Parnell swam out to the arch and told Sharma it was one of the coolest things he’d ever seen. 

King Lines, the high definition, feature-length co-production of Big UP and Sender Films, is currently in production. The film follows Chris Sharma over the course of a year and half and shows him doing breathtaking and ground-breaking ascents all across the world (Venezuela, Greece, Spain, France and more). King Lines will be featured in the 2007 Reel Rock Film Tour, with over 50 screenings across America. “We’re really trying to up the ante for climbing films,” Josh said about the new project.  

Our tips are itching already. 

Visit Big UP Productions at: www.bigupproductions.com

or Sender Films at: www.senderfilms.com

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