The director and crew were given special permission to observe a Shadow Nette fishing family and witness their strange rituals, while capturing them on film for the very first time. Some parts of the most secretive rituals were off limits, and have been recreated by the film makers, based on sketches and oral descriptions.
An instructional book "A Proper Guide to the Construction, Maintenance and Operation of Deep Water Shadow Nettes'' was anonymously donated to the care of filmmaker Phillip Barker by one of the few remaining Shadow Nette Fishrs of The Erie Valley. It describes an ancient fishing method that was in use during 'the Post Industrial Age between the Felting Decade, and the Years of Abandonment'.
The film's musical score is based on petroglyphic musical notations discovered at the site by composer Tom Third. To simulate the resonance of the landscape, the 'music' was performed on a de-tuned viola by music historian Sarah Shugarman.