Commercial Filming

White Sands' dunefield has set the scene for westerns, science fiction, and apocalyptic films.

NPS Photo

 

Towering mountains, spectacular white dunes, crystal blue skies, stunning sunsets, and magical moonlit nights—all of these unique features form the amazing landscape at White Sands National Park. Half a million visitors from all over the world enjoy this beautiful place every year. If you watch TV, it is likely that you have seen White Sands! Hollywood has filmed more than 20 major movies here since 1950. Hundreds of commercials, music videos, TV shows, and documentaries have also been filmed here. Researchers from all over the world come here to investigate the unusual animals and geology here.

History of Filming

Since the early days of film on the silver screen, national parks have been popular destinations for photographers, videographers, and cinematographers. The rolling bright white sand dunes of White Sands National Park have set the scene for westerns, science fiction, and apocalyptic films. They have also provided a spectacular entourage for still photography of dawn and dusk, as well as for commercials featuring Rolls Royce, the Anheuser-Busch Clydesdales, Energizer Bunny, and Marlboro Man. Well known directors Steven Spielberg, Transformers, and Harold Ramus,Year One; actors Denzel Washington, Book of Eli,and Willem Defoe, White Sands: The Movie; and music performers Boyz II Men, Water Runs Dry, and Sara Evans, I Could Not Ask for More, have all spent time at White Sands capturing the dunes in their creative work.

 

Motion Pictures

Movie	Production Date	Production House
King Solomon's Mine	1950	MGM
Hang 'Em High	1968	United Artists
Scandalous John	1970	Disney
My Name is Nobody	1973	Titanus
Bite the Bullet	1974	Columbus
The Man Who Fell to Earth	1975	EMT
Convoy	1977	United Artists
Raw Courage	1983	RB Productions
Wrong is Right	1981	Columbia
Young Guns II	1990	Morgan Creek
Lucky Luke	1991	Paloma Films
White Sands	1991	Morgan Creek
New Eden	1993	HBO
Tank Girl	1994	MGM
Mad Love	1994	Disney
Astronaut Farmer	2005	Warner Independent
Transformers	2006	Dreamworks, LLC
Afterwards	2007	Et Apres, Inc.
Transformers 2	2008	Dreamworks, LLC
Year One	2008	Sony Pictures
The Men Who Stare at Goats	2008	Staring Goats, LLC
Book of Eli	2009	Eli Productions, LLC
Stargate Universe	2009	MGM

 

Documentary Videos & Television Shows

Documentary	Production Date	Production House
The West Series	1993	PBS
The Desert is No Lady	1993	Feline Films
Southwest	1994	BBC
Deserts	1994	Discovery Channel
Holloman Air Force Base	1996	Fox News
Science World	1997	TI-IN Network
Understanding Cars	1997	Discovery Channel
Extreme Machines - Military	2002	Discovery Channel
Planes	2002	N.F.B. of Canada
Einstein's Mind	2003	NOVA
The Elegant Universe	2003	University of Arizona
The Desert Speaks	2004	Seven Networks
The Great Outdoors	2004	Discovery Channel
The Wild and the West	2005	Media Factory
World's Greatest Scenery	2005	East West Media
Looking for America	2005	Video Time Spa
White Sands, New Mexico	2011	Profiles Television

 

Music Videos

Artist	Song	Production Date
The Scorpions	Under the Same Sun	1993
Pink Floyd	The End	1994
Boyz II Men	Water Runs Dry	1995
George Lucas	Kisses Don't Lie	1995
Daryl Singletary	All Because of You	1996
Puff Daddy	Best Friend	1999
Sara Evans	I Could Not Ask for More	2001
Martina McBride	How Far	2004
Mark Lonsdale	She Should Have Gone to the Moon	2006

 

A Land In Motion
Produced by Henninger Productions in 2011, A Land in Motion, White Sands National Park’s 17-minute orientation film, captures the brilliant beauty of the white sands through stunning cinematography and captivating storytelling. The film crew made three trips to the park in 2010 to record the landscape in a variety of seasons. They filmed in the spring to capture the fierce winds that are common from March through May and are a key part of the dune formation story; then, in early summer, to work with researchers and understand the confluence of science and nature that has earned White Sands the nickname, “the Galapagos Islands of North America;” and finally, in late August, to film the summer monsoons to illustrate the critical role of water in this ecosystem.
Staff had one goal for the new orientation film: to share the beauty, wonder, awe, and scientific and cultural significance of the world’s largest gypsum dunefield with visitors. Using a mix of cinematography techniques and time lapse photography, the film guides viewers through the many moods of the dunefield and highlights the profound richness of the both natural and cultural resources of the white sands.
A Land in Motion is played every 30 minutes on the hour and half hour in the park’s visitor center during business hours. The film may also be purchased in the bookstore. If we have achieved our goal, this film will motivate you to get out and explore, understand, and be inspired by your national park.