The first step they took in production was to film extensive interviews with some of the leaders in American Zen Buddhism, including Bernie Glassman, Roshi, Dennis Genpo Merzel, Roshi, John Daido Loori, Roshi and Gerry Shishin Wick, Roshi. Hal formulated a series of questions designed to define the meaning of important terms used in Zen and to describe the times of Bodhidharma's life. The interviews took place across the country, from New York to Massachusetts, to Utah and Los Angeles. They resulted in a treasure trove of information to be distilled down for the documentary and to be incorporated into additional features for the DVD.

Next, in order to keep the material relevent to today's American culture they decided to use dramatic scenes with a character, Jonathan Lang, portrayed by Jonathan Mandell and a shopkeeper who introduces him to to Zen, portrayed by Michael Yama. Jonathan's transformation is intertwined with the story of Bodhidharma's journey and comments by the interviewees.

Once the dramatic scenes were shot the long process of shooting stills and video of the artwork began. Hundreds of pieces were photographed and catalogued. They were shot against a bluescreen and during post production those selected for use were custom fit into unique backgrounds of video and photographs shot in Asia. NEXT, Let's See the Trailer.

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