- (January 2007) REPUBLIC, Mo. - Wide Awake Films of Kansas City was awarded the contract to produce a Visitor Center video for Wilson's Creek National Battlefield in Republic. The deal includes a 40- to 60-minute DVD documentary, which will be sold to park visitors and to history buffs online and through other distribution channels.

Wilson's Creek National Battlefield Foundation President Ron Elkins Jr. signed the contract with Wide Awake Films founder and co-partner Shane Seley. The Foundation serves as the fundraising arm and "friends" group for the battlefield.

Since its initial purchase of 37 acres on Bloody Hill in 1951, the member-supported Foundation has helped the park build new structures, restore and furnish historic structures, purchase additional land, and acquire library and museum collections. The Foundation will help fund and produce the new video and documentary.

Wide Awake Films is a full-service video production firm that has produced historic site films, museum interpretive videos and historical documentaries, especially those focusing on the Civil War.

According to Seley, "This is the first major project we've done in our home state of Missouri, and it's our first project for a National Park Service site." He said, "We're thrilled in every way."

Production on both the Wilson's Creek interpretive video and documentary will begin early this year, with a target completion date of December 2007.

Seley and partners Rob Hodge and Ed Leydecker will stage several large-scale shoots - some including up to 85 actors and reenactors - on portions of the national battlefield. The footage will be shot and edited in high-definition format, and the audio will boast 5.1 stereo sound.

With the exception of the vegetation, the 1,770-acre battlefield has changed little since Aug. 10, 1861, when some 5,400 Union troops and 12,000 Confederates fought. The victorious Confederates failed to capitalize on their success. The battle led to greater federal military activity in Missouri and set the stage for the Battle of Pea Ridge, Ark., in March 1862.

Wide Awake Films' other projects include the James Farm and Museum in Kearney, Mo., birthplace of Jesse James; the Perryville Battlefield State Historic Site in Kentucky; co-production with KCPT Public Television of "Bad Blood: The Border War that Triggered the Civil War" about Bleeding Kansas; the Oklahoma History Center; the Highland Museum & Heritage Center in Virginia; and the Tennessee Civil War Museum in Chattanooga. The complete library of Wide Awake Films' Civil War documentaries is available online at www.civilwargoods.com.

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