Production company shoots for something new

Drive down Weaver Street in Carrboro and you might miss it.

Hidden far back from the road, the production company Figure 8 Films is run in a mundane yellow house, with only a small sign indicating its existence.

But that’s how president Bill Hayes wants it.

“We’re not about being pretentious and fancy,” he said. “It’s not about us, it’s about our subjects.”

From this small, ordinary building have come more than 200 not-so-ordinary nonfiction human interest shows for Discovery Channel, TLC, Discovery Health, Animal Planet and National Geographic. Figure 8 Films is the creative force behind these shows, hiring camera crews, sending producers to sets and overseeing direction, said production coordinator Maggie West.

“It’s a hands-on, time consuming and stressful job, but when it all comes together, it’s very satisfying,” West said. “We’re making good TV that people respond to.”

Their newest show, “Six for the Road,” follows a family who sold their house and now travels around the country in an RV. The show premiered last week on TLC.

“We really like our lifestyle,” said Vernon Loud, father of the traveling family. “We needed to share our story.”

Figure 8 Films showcases people in unusual or unconventional situations, like the Loud family, in hopes of reaching out to viewers.

“Anytime someone breaks the mold it encourages people to come out of their comfort zone,” Loud said. “We’re letting people know that they don’t have to do what everyone else does.”

One of Figure 8 Films’ most popular shows, “Jon & Kate + 8,” which chronicles parents raising sextuplets and twins, has become one of the most-watched shows on cable. The company regularly receives gifts and letters for the family from viewers.

“People see our shows and remark that it had an influence on their life,” Hayes said. “That is the purpose of our documentaries, to make people think about their life and how they treat others.”

West is grateful that she has had the opportunity to be involved with the famous program.

“It blows my mind that I had a part of it. The work we do reaches so many people,” she said. “It is now a part of the pop culture conscious.”

West, a 2007 UNC graduate, interned with the company her senior year. Hayes continues to employ college interns, but looks beyond majors for hiring purposes.

“It doesn’t matter what you study as much as what kind of person you are. Studying filmmaking doesn’t help you do this,” said Hayes, who received degrees in economics and history from Duke University. “It’s about having an insatiable curiosity for life and people.”

Past projects have included documentaries on a Brazilian spiritual surgeon, a 43-year-old pair of twins that are conjoined at the head and Marty Ravellette, an armless landscaper from Chapel Hill. Each story is treated to more than just a news report, Hayes said.

“We’re caretakers of other people’s stories,” he said. “We need to be accurate, but we also need to tell their story in meaningful way.”

Hayes has kept in touch with dozens of past subjects, spoken at funeral services and visited some.

“We not only get to meet interesting people, but we really get to know them and form friendships,” he said.

Future projects include documentaries on a gator farm in Colorado, a family in Georgia that catches dangerous snakes and a family that acts in a circus for a living.

With many diverse topics and stories, the company keeps one goal in mind: to break down prejudices.

“Learning about other ways of life builds acceptance,” West said. “We get to touch lives in ways you can’t otherwise.”



Contact the Features Editor at features@unc.edu.