4. How did you find this group of guys in the first place?

SAM BROWN: We were researching survival stories for another documentary and posted our topic on an online message board. Todd Hoffman responded to the post and said he was starting a gold mine in Alaska. We called him and the rest is history.

SAM MAYNARD: They found us. We were posting on boards looking for a completely different story when Todd Hoffman got in touch and told us he was going gold mining with his dad Jack and a group of unemployed men. It was such a great story that we jumped on a plane almost immediately and filmed them as they set up and went to inspect the claim in Alaska. Todd selected all his crew - we had no part in it.

5. How did you approach the production with this group of guys?

SAM BROWN: It was simple. We were a documentary film crew observing a group of men trying to run a gold mine in the middle of nowhere. We followed what happened and tried not to get in the way.

SAM MAYNARD: We followed what they did and there was a clear line between filming and mining. They mined, we filmed.

JAMIE BERRY: We had to work very closely with them. We were constantly consulting with one another so that we could plan ahead and best cover what would be happening, such as the road trip up to Alaska.

6. What caused the most misery or difficulty on location?

SAM BROWN: For the production crew the mosquitoes, black flies, horse flies and countless other biting insects probably caused the most misery. I had a rough few weeks in July where my bites had bites. I started wearing so much DEET that every time I touched something plastic it would melt. But the cameramen had it worst - they'd have to hold a steady shot while dozens of mosquitoes landed on every inch of exposed flesh.

SIMON EVERSON: Bad weather, ice, snow, continuous rain, and having to stick it all out to get the series made. The rain got into the cameras and fogged up the lenses, it was difficult to get them dried out and keep filming. When the first snow came it destroyed our operation centre on the claim.

SAM MAYNARD: The insects were a real problem towards late summer. The mosquitoes and No-see-ums were intense; a real force of nature to be reckoned with.

JAMIE BERRY: Breakages and mosquitoes on steroids. Fixing stuff in Alaska is a pain. It's a 60 mile round trip from the claim to Haines and even then you can get there and not find what you need. The miners found this particularly annoying as it would cost them valuable time and money. Quite often parts would have to be shipped from Seattle which would take five days - a major set back if you're trying to get a gold mine started.

Setting off from the production base in the morning meant walking through a mist of mosquito repellent - just to get out the door. Some mosquitoes were so big that you could hear the thwack as you swatted them. Being a cameraman meant that the left hand side of your face, the one that wasn't up against the camera, provided a flesh-banquet for mosquitoes.

Probably the biggest issue for the crew was the soggy sandwiches! We had to take delivery of 20 or so sandwiches at the end of each day. Stick those in the fridge overnight, and then whack them in a cooler box to be taken up to the claim. By lunchtime you've got some wet bread and lanky lettuce wrapped in shrink-wrap...nice!

MATT TESTA: Equipment breakdowns were a huge challenge for the miners and for us. Machines like the shaker and trommel and excavators are exerting tremendous force when they run and breakage is just inevitable. The miners were amazingly skilled at fixing and running things, especially James Harness, who is a genius. But invariably there was always some part, or bolt or type of metal that was needed to complete a fix and get things running. And in Alaska you can't just run down to Home Depot and pick it up. This forced the miners to be amazingly resourceful with their fixes, but there were also many days spent waiting for the right tool or part to come in on the ferry or be driven down from the Yukon. It really tries your patience.