.gif)
Carrier (documentary)
Encyclopedia
Carrier is an Emmy Award
-winning 10-hour documentary television series about a six-month deployment of a United States Navy
aircraft carrier
in 2005 from the United States
to the Middle East
and back. Carrier is supplemented by a 90-minute companion documentary film
called Another Day in Paradise.
USS Nimitz, along with Carrier Air Wing Eleven
, from her home port at North Island
, in Coronado, California
to the Persian Gulf
during Operation Iraqi Freedom, This character-driven, dramatic non-fiction series includes extensive footage shot aboard, as well as interviews with many of the crew about their various experiences, as well as their own personal concerns and fears. Along the way to the Persian Gulf and back she makes stops in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, Hong Kong
, Guam
, Kuala Lumpur
, Bahrain
, and Perth
.
is a production of Icon Productions
and Carrier Project, Inc. and was conceived by Mitchell Block
and co-created by Mitchell Block
and Maro Chermayeff and directed by Maro Chermayeff. Deborah Dickson directed the 90 minute, companion feature documentary Another Day in Paradise) which was shot concurrently. The executive producers were Block and Chermayeff for Carrier Project, Inc. and Mel Gibson
, Bruce Davey
and Nancy Cotton, for Icon Productions. The film premiered two hours each night from April 27 through May 1, 2008, on the television network PBS
.
Seventeen filmmakers, including producers Deborah Dickson and Jeff Dupre and producers in the field Matthew Akers, Michelle Smawley and Pamela Yates, shot 1,600 hours of HD footage to create the series.
The series and companion feature were the first documentaries that were ever produced on a U.S. Naval warship on active duty over an entire mission. This was accomplished by David Kennedy (Captain, US Navy, Retired) and Block who spent two years obtaining permission to embed on the Nimitz. In 2008, the Series won an Emmy for "Outstanding Cinematography Reality Program" honoring the work of cameramen, Axel Baumann, Ulli Bonnekamp, Mark Brice, Robert Hanna, and Wolfgang Held.
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
-winning 10-hour documentary television series about a six-month deployment of a United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
aircraft carrier
Aircraft carrier
An aircraft carrier is a warship designed with a primary mission of deploying and recovering aircraft, acting as a seagoing airbase. Aircraft carriers thus allow a naval force to project air power worldwide without having to depend on local bases for staging aircraft operations...
in 2005 from the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
and back. Carrier is supplemented by a 90-minute companion documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
called Another Day in Paradise.
Synopsis
Carrier follows the deployment, from May 7, 2005 to November 8, 2005, of the supercarrierSupercarrier
Supercarrier is an unofficial descriptive term for the largest type of aircraft carrier, usually displacing over 70,000 long tons.Supercarrier is an unofficial descriptive term for the largest type of aircraft carrier, usually displacing over 70,000 long tons.Supercarrier is an unofficial...
USS Nimitz, along with Carrier Air Wing Eleven
Carrier Air Wing Eleven
Carrier Air Wing Eleven is a United States Navy aircraft carrier air wing based at Naval Air Station Lemoore, California. The air wing is attached to the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz.-Mission:...
, from her home port at North Island
Naval Air Station North Island
Naval Air Station North Island or NAS North Island is located at the north end of the Coronado peninsula on San Diego Bay and is the home port of several aircraft carriers of the United States Navy...
, in Coronado, California
Coronado, California
Coronado, also known as Coronado Island, is an affluent resort city located in San Diego County, California, 5.2 miles from downtown San Diego. Its population was 24,697 at the 2010 census, up from 24,100 at the 2000 census. U.S. News and World Report lists Coronado as one of the most expensive...
to the Persian Gulf
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
during Operation Iraqi Freedom, This character-driven, dramatic non-fiction series includes extensive footage shot aboard, as well as interviews with many of the crew about their various experiences, as well as their own personal concerns and fears. Along the way to the Persian Gulf and back she makes stops in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, Guam
Guam
Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...
, Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur
Kuala Lumpur is the capital and the second largest city in Malaysia by population. The city proper, making up an area of , has a population of 1.4 million as of 2010. Greater Kuala Lumpur, also known as the Klang Valley, is an urban agglomeration of 7.2 million...
, Bahrain
Bahrain
' , officially the Kingdom of Bahrain , is a small island state near the western shores of the Persian Gulf. It is ruled by the Al Khalifa royal family. The population in 2010 stood at 1,214,705, including 235,108 non-nationals. Formerly an emirate, Bahrain was declared a kingdom in 2002.Bahrain is...
, and Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
.
Production
The miniseriesMiniseries
A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
is a production of Icon Productions
Icon Productions
Icon Productions LLC is an American independent production company founded in August 1989 by actor/director Mel Gibson and Australian producing partner Bruce Davey.-History:Icon started when Gibson was having trouble in financing the 1990 film Hamlet...
and Carrier Project, Inc. and was conceived by Mitchell Block
Mitchell Block
Mitchell Block is an American filmmaker whose 2010 film Poster Girl was nominated for Academy Award for Best Documentary and who Executive Produced the Academy Award winning documentary short film Big Mama for HBO in 2000....
and co-created by Mitchell Block
Mitchell Block
Mitchell Block is an American filmmaker whose 2010 film Poster Girl was nominated for Academy Award for Best Documentary and who Executive Produced the Academy Award winning documentary short film Big Mama for HBO in 2000....
and Maro Chermayeff and directed by Maro Chermayeff. Deborah Dickson directed the 90 minute, companion feature documentary Another Day in Paradise) which was shot concurrently. The executive producers were Block and Chermayeff for Carrier Project, Inc. and Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson
Mel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO is an American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art.After appearing in...
, Bruce Davey
Bruce Davey
Bruce Davey is an Australian film producer.A partner in Icon Entertainment alongside Mel Gibson, Sydney-born Davey has produced many films including Apocalypto, The Passion of the Christ, Push, and Braveheart for which he won an Academy Award. Davey began as Gibson’s CPA after being recommended by...
and Nancy Cotton, for Icon Productions. The film premiered two hours each night from April 27 through May 1, 2008, on the television network PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
.
Seventeen filmmakers, including producers Deborah Dickson and Jeff Dupre and producers in the field Matthew Akers, Michelle Smawley and Pamela Yates, shot 1,600 hours of HD footage to create the series.
The series and companion feature were the first documentaries that were ever produced on a U.S. Naval warship on active duty over an entire mission. This was accomplished by David Kennedy (Captain, US Navy, Retired) and Block who spent two years obtaining permission to embed on the Nimitz. In 2008, the Series won an Emmy for "Outstanding Cinematography Reality Program" honoring the work of cameramen, Axel Baumann, Ulli Bonnekamp, Mark Brice, Robert Hanna, and Wolfgang Held.