Pipe Nation

I finally got to watch pipenation although there's a lot of criticism... the oil & gas sector needs to be spoken about more , I like the concept and where this was heading, pilots are never the best starting off and that goes for all the series we see on TV... I felt the true grit of this show and where it wanted to go. Yes there will be negative feedback it's not everyone's tea. But for me coming from the oilfield this hit home for me in many ways. Whether it makes it or not. I completely got the idea and where they were trying to go with it.

It's time to debunk what people think of the oil industry.

Although not my typical cup of tea, it was entertaining to watch a film made by a local artist in a local setting stepping out with a dream and a desire to do something no one has done before them. My hat is off to the dreamers that dream, but more importantly the ones that actually step in the arena, vs those heckling from the stands.

As with every first effort, there will always be learning opportunities. Jordan got cut from his high school basketball team for a reason...he wasn't good enough to make the cut. PN, in my opinion isn't there yet, BUT with any major victory, there are thousands of setbacks that preceded it. Keep your head up team!

For me; THE PRO's- The cinematography was great. I loved the bar scene and energy displayed. The theme music was awesome.

THE CON's-Storyline was hard to follow. The characters were underdeveloped and the ending left me scratching my head.

With a major undertaking such as this, having a vision of shooting a pilot for a miniseries that morphs into a short movie may have caused some of the challenges. I can imagine it would be very difficult to change the vision after all the footage has been filmed.

Feelings can be hurt or perspectives will be challenged. The topic and personification of oil and gas is controversial. Welcome to Alberta where cowboys are still real and resources are exploited (according to some). I love that this was filmed and produced locally with real Albertans and their variety of talent. If you're not expecting some high budget Hollywood movie then you will enjoy this gritty rendition of front line oil and gas / pipeline life. You can tell there is more to this controversy and you'll be wanting to know what really lies beneath... hint: it's not all sex, drugs and laying pipe!

One review states "time to debunk the oilfield"... yes, by showing every worker does drugs, foreman bangs employees, and all they do is party? This "movie" did nothing to portray the oilfield in a positive light, in fact, the opposite.. Have worked many pipelines, nothing was debunked here. When have protestors ever been permitted to be on site? Never. Paying off the environmental inspector? The EI is usually employed by the prime, nice try! Huge storyline holes, who is Grady? Why does a knockoff Sons of Anarchy character care about a pipeline being finished? No authenticity, radio coms aren't even authentic. Waste of time, poor voice over video editing. "Eckspecially". Own film actor even rated film 7/10. Camera isn't focused. Poor acting. Where is a Sherpa just kept on a pipeline for emergencies when heli can't land? So inauthentic and it blows my mind how hard one actor pushes this film on social media, I'd be embarrassed to be part of oilfield work and stand behind this as a portrayal of his industry.

Having followed Pipe Nations production pandemonium, I was very excited to watch it when the series finally premiered. I was disappointed to see that they cut their losses and rebranded it as a movie. It was written to be a series and it shows. It feels extremely directionless, like you are always missing a huge piece of the story, and while the acting showed many moments of special brilliance, the movie overall felt extremally unauthentic, as if the people writing this had never worked in the oilfield. It feels like it was made simply to sell like pro oil propaganda, rather than coming from a place of passion or heartfelt connection to an industry the world seems all to ready to do away with.