Oro Ranch Filming Experience

Preston Peterson

Oro Ranch is more of a film retreat than a location. With postcard-worthy mountain views and modern log cabin accommodations, it’s hard not to feel like you’re in a Jack London novel. Yet when it came time to transform the beautiful Stillwater Cabin into a rustic trapper cabin fit for Jeremiah Johnson, the robust collection of building materials, antique furniture, and mountain décor that they provided made us feel like we were on a Hollywood sound stage.

In our search for a suitable location for a short film we were producing, I was put in touch with Deb Carstensen, who owns and operates Oro Ranch along with her husband, Andy. What I was looking for didn’t seem to exist anywhere in Montana: a remote location with a small, rustic wood cabin that was easily accessible by a film crew. To be clear, there are hundreds, if not thousands, of cabins throughout Montana that would seem right at home for Grizzly Adams, but they are in places that are inaccessible for half of the year, and far from all the resources you need to put together a major production. Oro Ranch seemed to offer the perfect combination of versatility and accessibility for our shoot.

As we were coming from out of state with very little time to scout, the flexibility Oro Ranch offered was key. The way that Deb and Andy put the entire ranch at our disposal was incredibly valuable in helping us bring our vision to life. They were gracious in allowing us to do whatever was needed in the name of our film – even going so far as to let us use extra wood from their barn for set building. They went above and beyond by providing props that we would have never been able to secure on short notice, and with a low budget: a bear skin rug, animal traps, and vintage Montana furniture.

Beyond serving as a beautiful and versatile filming location, Oro Ranch came to feel something like home for our cast and crew. Our LA-based cast was astonished to see the resident herd of elk pass through every morning, and we enjoyed eating home-cooked meals together in the main lodge. To describe what it’s like to wake up each day and look out at not one but two mountain ranges, with deer feeding in the meadows of the morning light, is difficult to do without seeming hyperbolic.

In independent film, you often feel as though you are operating from a place of scarcity rather than abundance – trying your best to work with what you have. Oro Ranch seems to have resources akin to those of a small film studio rather than a remote mountain escape. Wherever we turned, we were graced with the answers to our problems. Whether it was the extra lumber to fashion a rustic cabin door, a pile of old animal traps for set dressing, or an old radio that served as a key set piece, our needs seemed to manifest themselves just as we needed them. To call Oro Ranch your office, even for a short time, is enough to drive you to center your next story around this place, so that you can come back and experience it again.