Alex Tyson
When Alex Tyson saw the clip of tap water catching fire, he knew he had to be a part of "GasLand," a documentary about the dangers of a certain kind of natural gas drilling that won the Special Jury Prize for Documentary at the Sundance Film Festival in January.
"My friend and editor on the film, Matthew Sanchez, showed me that, and I immediately wanted to get involved," said Tyson, 25, a 2003 graduate of Conestoga Valley High School who now lives in Philadelphia and works with independent filmmakers.
The movie investigates a method of drilling for natural gas called hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," which has opened up territory for drilling in 34 states, including large portions of the Marcellus Shale region in the eastern United States, including Pennsylvania, where large untapped natural gas reserves exist.
"Fracking" uses millions of gallons of water sand and chemicals, including benzene, formaldehyde, methanol and xylene, to bring up the natural gas.
The film claims this process threatens to permanently contaminate a huge amount of the country's water supply and create drastic air pollution.
It also causes huge gas explosions, and it made that tap water flammable.
The film points out that the 2005 Energy Policy Act exempts "fracking" from environmental regulations such as the Clean Air and the Clean Water acts.
Tyson did a number of things for "GasLand," which also recently won the Artistic Vision Award in the Best Feature category at the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival.
"I started out making maps for the film, which I illustrated using GIS (geographic information systems) data," Tyson explains. "When we got accepted to Sundance, it was a race to cut the film down to an appropriate length. I helped edit certain segments. Then I would rephotograph documents and footage."
He also shot some of the footage.
"We needed aerial footage of drilling sites around northeast Pennsylvania and New York, so I had the opportunity to shoot from a single-engine plane," he said.
Tyson is a 2006 graduate of the Art Institute of Philadelphia's Digital Media Program. He focused on video postproduction and graphics in school.
He credits several teachers at Conestoga Valley for influencing him, including art teacher Dale Gregg and tech-ed teachers Marilou Shaw and John Bratton.
"The technology at CV was very influential, and the focus on arts and sciences was invaluable," Tyson said.
He also credits his parents, Drew and Diane Tyson, for giving him a strong artistic upbringing.
Reviews for the film have been strong.
Steward Nusbaumer, writing in the Huffington Post, says that it "just might be the best film of the year."
Robert Koehler writes in Variety: "Who could have anticipated that one of the most effective and expressive environmental films of recent years would be the work of a Gotham theater director who's never before made a doc?"
Josh Fox is that Gotham theater director. He got the idea to make "GasLand" when he was offered $1,000,000 from a natural gas company for the right to explore his land in Pennsylvania's Delaware River Basin.
Curious, he begins exploring the natural gas drilling boom and traveled across the country, interviewing residents with harrowing stories to tell, as well as congressmen, scientists and EPA whistleblowers.
Tyson believes the film has an important message.
"With 5,200 new drilling permits being issued in Pennsylvania alone, I don't think this film could be any more relevant."