Henry David Thoreau on PBS: The Brothers Who Made It

He's edited nearly every Ken Burns film ever made. But he couldn't edit himself.

What does it take to build a filmmaking career inside Ken Burns's world, and what happens when the hardest part isn't the craft, but learning who you are?

Erik and Christopher Ewers are brothers who co-direct for PBS under the Ken Burns banner. Erik has been Burns's senior editor for 33+ years. Chris is a DP who's shot for Apple, Coca-Cola, and Tiffany & Co. Their latest project: Henry David Thoreau, a three-part PBS documentary series executive produced by Ken Burns and Don Henley, narrated by George Clooney, with Jeff Goldblum voicing Thoreau, Ted Danson as Ralph Waldo Emerson, and Meryl Streep. Henry David Thoreau premieres on PBS March 30. This is Part 1 of a two-part conversation.

In Part 1, you'll learn:

• How Erik ended up working for Ken Burns through a real estate deal involving window treatments and carpets

• How a 22-minute visitors center film became the doorway to a three-hour PBS series

• What it's really like to co-direct a documentary with your brother (even Ken Burns couldn't do it with his)

• How Chris balances high-end commercial work with documentary filmmaking to sustain a creative career

• The challenge of filming Walden Pond with only two usable photographs of Thoreau

• Why knowing yourself is the most important skill a filmmaker can develop, and Erik's deeply personal story about discovering that through his own film

Part 2 drops April 9, covering PBS funding realities, AI and the industry, and how they landed Jeff Goldblum, George Clooney, and Meryl Streep.

Erik Ewers• Director, Editor. Ken Burns's senior editor for 33+ years. Multiple Emmy winner. ACE Eddie Award winner (The Roosevelts, 2015). Based in New Hampshire.

Christopher Loren Ewers• Director, DP. 20+ years behind the camera. Commercial clients include Apple, Coca-Cola, Tiffany & Co., Stella Artois, Volvo. Based in the NYC metro area.

About Henry David Thoreau (PBS):

A three-part, three-hour documentary, the first full-length documentary biography of Thoreau. Executive produced by Ken Burns and Don Henley. Narrated by George Clooney. Voices by Jeff Goldblum (Thoreau), Ted Danson (Ralph Waldo Emerson), Meryl Streep, and Tate Donovan. Henry David Thoreau premieres on PBS March 30. Available on PBS and wherever you stream PBS content.

Christopher Ewers Commerical Work

Henry David Throeau Series Trailer

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ABOUT DOCUMENTARY FIRST

Documentary First is a weekly podcast about the people behind documentaries and how the work changed them. Host Christian Taylor, director of the award-winning The Girl Who Wore Freedom, talks with filmmakers, distributors, entertainment lawyers, actors and more, from Ken Burns and PBS American Masters creator Susan Lacy to first-timers, across nearly 300 conversations. Each week brings one of two formats: a long-form conversation with the people behind films for HBO, Netflix, PBS and independent film, or The Deep Dive, where Christian takes one insight from a recent conversation and follows it wherever it leads. Listen Notes ranks the show in the top 5% of all podcasts worldwide. New episodes every week.