The art of discovery
Scott Sterling’s films center on Montanans and the things they care about
From MSU Mountains & Minds
The year: 1982. The movie: The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh. The moment: when then 5-year-old Scott Sterling realized the impact and power of film.
“We lived in a small town just outside of Aspen, Colorado,” said Sterling, now director of production at MontanaPBS. “We didn’t get to the movies very often, but I can remember that moment, sitting in the theater and feeling riveted, mesmerized.”
For most of his life, Sterling’s work has revolved around filming obscure subjects and creating an interesting narrative. His work is diverse and is also centered on stories concerning Montanans and the things they care about.
“It’s not creating a story about a dam or a violin or a gold medal, but it’s about people and the emotional narrative that ultimately connects the seemingly dry dates and exposition,” he said. “I want to share the process of discovery through a film, rather than simply telling how it happened, particularly in the realm of historical films.”
Sterling has touched people’s lives for 17 years working with MontanaPBS including 10 years as director and co-producer of Montana Focus with Gene Brodeur, a news and public affairs series; 14 years as director and producer of 11th & Grant with Eric Funk; and he is currently working on his fourth feature documentary. Perhaps his most successful film so far has been The Violin Alone, which won seven Northwest Regional Emmy Awards in 2018. Sterling took away five of those Emmys for documentary-cultural, director, editor, promotion-single spot, and photographer.
The Violin Alone tells the story of Funk, a Montana State University music professor who composed a concerto for a Hungarian violin virtuoso in which the violin plays all the parts of an orchestra – something never attempted before. The narrative of the film unfolds slowly, like a piece of music itself, catching the alchemy between composer and musician.
As host and artistic director of 11th & Grant with Eric Funk – a show that has won 10 Emmy Awards, Funk said he respects how Sterling can create a visual image that captures the sound and feeling of the performers, without using the typical music show shots, such as close-up of a guitarist during a solo.
“Instead he creates a ballet where you’re hearing the music,” Funk said. “Scott’s the person I trust the most in the studio. He understands the dynamics, the rhythms and the inflections – how the music rises and falls and how that carries the meaning.
“In The Violin Alone he has shown himself a remarkable storyteller. Just filming dialogue, the performance, wasn’t going to bring anyone into the piece. He was able to break it down without getting too educational. It’s really his brilliance. I’ve never met anybody quite like him.”
As a kid interested in film, Sterling volunteered at his local cable channel and in high school got a job doing lighting on the technical crew for two separate live performance theaters. Growing up in Aspen, where he bumped elbows with the famous and infamous as well as their children, seeing someone from the movies was “no big deal,” which he credits for his ability to work professionally with people, no matter their pop culture status. He chose MSU for college because it was a practical school that allowed him hands-on experience.
While a student he worked for MontanaPBS, which opened the door for a job at KLAS-TV, the CBS affiliate in Las Vegas, after graduating in 2000.
“I learned I didn’t want to do daily news and I didn’t want to live in the desert,” he said. “I came back to Bozeman to regroup, and I was hired by MontanaPBS.”
His current position means juggling the management of the production department, supervising five people and balancing that with making TV shows and documentaries. “No day is the same and that’s what I love about my job. I might be shooting, editing, graphic design or lighting. I might be doing a live show, I might be writing … the list is long.”
Aaron Pruitt, director and general manager of MontanaPBS, said that Sterling’s award-winning programs and his “artistic brilliance” have elevated MontanaPBS’ reputation statewide and nationally.
“When public television managers from other parts of the country ask me where we found this level of producing talent, it is especially satisfying to explain that Scott is a graduate of our own MSU film school,” Pruitt said.
Sterling’s current project is Mavericks, a documentary film about Montana freestyle skiing that captures how the Montana attitude and work ethic paved the way for the current generations of freestylers, and perhaps generations to come.
By focusing on individuals, their lives, the challenges and successes, Sterling and co-producer Kelly Gorham, MSU’s director of visual media, developed intimate portraits. The skiers, in the early years, had no coaches, minimal gear and little training. They slept in cars at competitions and ate deer sausage – a far cry from their competitors who hailed from the finest ski academies in the country, traveled in team vans and enjoyed resort amenities.
“There’s a rich, long history of skiing here, and at least one Montana freestyle skier has competed in every Olympics since 1994,” Sterling said. “It’s really about the work ethic. A lot of these athletes came from blue collar families, building jumps in their backyards. It’s a story that hasn’t been told.”
Sterling as director and Gorham as writer meant a lot of windshield time together, Gorham said.
“I would consider him a master documentary filmmaker. He is meticulous. Scott’s approach is that every scene he’s filming he treats as if it’s the entire movie,” Gorham said. “I would say his approach to documentary production is relentless.”
Sterling is also recognized for his freelance work as a post-production colorist, which is the person responsible for the matching of shots captured at different times and on different cameras. Sterling said the colorist also sets the aesthetic look and style of a film. His recent color work has aired on The Smithsonian Channel, National Geographic Channel, The History Channel and Independent Lens on PBS.
“It also requires coming up with a look or a feel that works in conjunction with the vision of the cinematographer,” Sterling said. “The colorist’s job is an even split between technical knowledge and artistry. Both of which I really enjoy.”
He’s also the colorist and plays a significant role in post-production for The Last Artifact, a MontanaPBS-produced documentary that received a $500,000 grant from the National Institute of Standards and Technology and is about redefining the kilogram, the last remaining standard of measure based on a physical object.
“That’s the beauty of PBS – we can make a film regardless of its profitability or ratings,” Sterling said. “We’re telling stories for and about Montana. That’s what we’re here to do. We do everything because it has meaning and because it contributes to society.
“We believe in what we do, and we get to live here.”
by Michele Corriel, MSU Mountains & Minds, Fall 2019 •