Over the years, there has been growing public and media interest in learning more about the creative process behind a Cirque du Soleil show. Given the wealth of content possibilities, a series format would provide ample opportunities to present another side of Cirque du Soleil to television audiences: one revealing the creative process in more detail, the other, the human side of the process, revealing the ups and downs of the character's personal lives. As a result Galafilm joined Cirque du Soleil Images in a partnership to co-produce the 13-episode series based on "life at Cirque du Soleil," using the opportune timing of the creation of the new live show, Varekai, as its backdrop.

The degree of emphasis on each character varied as the storylines were constantly developing. Research was therefore ongoing with a continual search for new potential characters as well. It was also necessary to research the lives of selected characters in great detail to ensure that their story remained alive and properly depicted. It was possible for minor characters to become main characters and vice versa depending on their involvement in the show and how their stories took shape compared to other storylines.

To film the series, there was one main crew, led by Series Director Lewis Cohen who shot the majority of footage. It was necessary, however, to use a second crew, led by Director Bachir Bensaddek, when there was a lot of activity happening at once. Both directors required access to the personal lives of each character. With this came the need for trust. It was also necessary to maintain invisibility to enable the characters to be as natural as possible. "Filming the characters involved building relationships with them, entering into their world, getting to know their friends, their hopes and their patterns," says Series Director Lewis Cohen.

With in excess of 1000 hours of footage, the process of editing has proven to be a mammoth task for the post-production team. These 60,000 minutes of logged footage were sifted through by the story editor, editors and series director to begin the task of piecing together the storylines for each character for each episode. Due to the massive amounts of footage, each episode took nine weeks to complete. Lewis Cohen, Series Director, states "Every episode has a theme that is balanced within the series. Each episode is a short film in itself, it has a beginning, a middle and an end; it is a complete package that also follows up stories from the previous episode and opens up or continues stories for the next episode."

Q. Mr. Cohen, what was your role in choosing the characters?

I helped choose the characters with the producers and our researcher. I was looking for emotion, humor, talent, diversity, ambition, fear and charm. People who would heighten the dramatic charge, and also represent an interesting cross-section of the cultures that make up Varekai; most importantly, people who interested me and I could care about.

Q. How did you find the starting point for filming?

The shooting period was built around the arrival and departure of the performers, who were our main characters. We began as their planes landed from England, Brazil, Romania, and so on. We finally ended our year-long shoot as the big top was dismantled to go on the road.

Q. How did you keep the stories evolving and capture them on film?

A. I never had to force the stories to evolve; stories are just there in every human life. We had to build trust to have access. We also had to keep our ears open for the little details that would clue us into their stories; snippets of conversation, the look on someone's face, and so on. There is also the art of being at the right place at the right time (with a soundman and cameraman in tow), which is not always obvious or easy. We got the hang of it, though. I also used my own camera without a soundman for delicate situations or when we didn't have time to alert the crew.

Q. How did the characters feel having the crew involved in their day-to-day lives?

In many cases, we became close to the characters. For some of them, having the crew around was like seeing friends. Going over to the apartments after an absence of a week, they would ask where we've been and why we hadn't been around. Other times, when the characters were going through tough, emotional challenges, I'm sure at first they felt slightly ill at ease, but as we got to know them we became good listeners and I hope were of some help.

Q. Were there any times when the characters refused to be filmed?

Yes, people refused to be filmed. On a handful of occasions our characters were just too emotionally fatigued. In the case of Cirque du Soleil, we tried to have as much access as possible, because we wanted both sides of every story. But you have to earn the trust of the Cirque culture, one person at a time, and you just try to do that and build some good feeling and momentum. Pushing too hard is counterproductive, but so is always taking no for an answer. In the case of personal stories, 'no' means 'no', it was part of the deal. It did happen, maybe two or three times, and you have to accept the person's limits.

Q. What were the major filming/directing challenges?

The first challenge was to jump into a totally new world of individuals and of Cirque du Soleil in general, and get a handle on it quickly. The biggest challenge, though, has been to carve a year's worth of film and tape into an exciting and coherent journey with a dozen people in thirteen chapters. It's a huge undertaking and a wonderful opportunity.

Q. What did you enjoy most about this experience?

I've enjoyed so many things - meeting extraordinary people, being exposed to Cirque du Soleil, telling people's stories, exploring new visual ideas, observing the workings of a fascinating company, and witnessing the process of creation, both Varekai's and ours.

Q. And how did Andrew and Kevin Atherton feel about being filmed all the time?

Kevin's experience:

Having the camera crew following us around all the time was a little unusual at first. I personally was very self-conscious for the first few weeks. However, as time went on it became easier to forget about them being there, and to go about your daily business as if they weren't there. They were also very professional people. If they at any moment felt that they were invading your personal space, or you just simply wanted time alone, they would respect that and film elsewhere. The most enjoyable moment of this experience is to look back more than twelve months later to see where we all began. The show is great, and is getting better with each city we visit. We all went through some tough moments during the show's creation, which people will see when they watch the series. Looking back though makes you realize that it was all worth it. The biggest challenge during the filming of "Fire Within" was to watch the big disappointments that occurred with some of the artists.

Andrew's thoughts:

I did not really have any problems with the camera following me. At first, I just thought it was strange the way others looked at you, wondering whether you were some famous pop star or actor. It was a good feeling. The thing that I enjoyed the most about having the crew there was knowing that I would have a documented account of a stage in my life. Going through a whole creation process is something that is very special and not many people can say that they have done that. Now I have something that I will be able to look at in years to come and hopefully show my grandchildren. I'm very proud to have been a part of something like this. The biggest challenge for me was to be very careful with what I said and did. I have had experience with the media before and I am fully aware that they can manipulate certain situations. For the most part, though, this has not happened.