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Richard Brock's PLANET CRUNCH is here! by Jason Peters
7 April 2021
PLANET CRUNCH The Life (or Death?) of Planet Earth by Richard Brock is ambitious project of 3 x 25-minute films on YouTube and Vimeo, plus a book. It's another attempt to draw attention to the challenges we all face; especially involving biodiversity. Uniquely…all…together. Now.
Planet Crunch – The Life (or Death?) of Planet Earth is a unique perspective on planet Earth at crunch-time. Based on how the media have lifted the natural world to the front-page headlines, the book is richly illustrated, packed with commentary on wildlife, natural resources, impacts of global politics, population, climate change and our future.
Richard Brock, filmmaker, author and publisher, has created a book for everyone. He describes it as political, challenging, cheeky, significant, educational and even rude! A publication that is both up-to-date and down-to-earth.
It’s for all those who are concerned about the future at this time of “Planet Crunch”.
Pre-order a FREE copy for your bookshelf or give as a gift. And please extend the project – pass on this offer to friends and contacts and like/share on all your social media.
Donations to charity will be welcomed. If you would like to contribute – say £10 – to Richard’s preferred charity local charity, the Avon Wildlife Trust, based close to where he lives, near Bristol, or to a charity of your choice, please do so. These days many charities need income to help continue projects around the world.
Uniquely ... Altogether ... Now ... The Life (or death?) of Planet Earth - Planet Crunch covers Nature and Us, Population, The Media, Tourism, Money, Waster and Plastic, Climate Change, Conservation, Energy, Water, Food, Biodiversity, Shopping, Farming, Forests and Fishing.
The countdown begins - IWFF is happening this month! The 2021 festival will be a hybrid event with a virtual catalog and outdoor screenings at Ogren Park, the Roxy Garden, and PopUps throughout town.
This year we’re bringing you a hybrid model combining a virtual catalog of 65 films (nearly all will be accessible globally!) For our local community, we have a line-up of safe ways to experience the festival outdoors and in-person!
The 2021 Film Selections will stream on-demand starting April 17th with a catalog of 20+ films. New films will be released each Friday at midnight until mid-May. Pre-recorded conversations with filmmakers will follow select films throughout the festival. You can view the 2021 line-up here.
Go here for the line-up of safe outdoor opportunities for those in the Missoula area. We’ve got everything from screenings in the new Roxy Garden to an evening with IWFF at Ogren Park, and more. Mark your calendars, you won’t want to miss out on the fun! We’ve got something for everyone -both near and far- during the 44th IWFF.
The 30th Edition of the French Abbeville Bird and Nature Festival has had to adapt to the latest measures
due to the pandemic.
The Festival needed to adapt to the health crisis and to the evolution of the restrictions in force.
They were forced to cancel the activities programmed inside (exhibitions, screenings and workshops for children) but
to date, the outside activities are still going ahead:
nature outings
photo workshops
outdoor exhibitions.
You will also be able to discover the films in competition, as well as the photos from the International Photo Contest of the Festival and the "My most beautiful natural corner of the Hauts de France" competition, online from April 24 to May 2.
Live virtual meetings will also be on the program.
Vegan Organic Network "Save our Wildlife" Short Video Competition – Call For Entries
1st prize: £500, 2nd prize: £300, 3rd Prize: £200 and more prizes to be announced.
Winning entries will be part of our social media campaign targeting the public and delegates attending COP26 the UN Climate Change Conference being held in Glasgow this November.
Our film competition aims to spread the message that:
To Save our Wildlife we must move to a Plant Based Food System.
Of all mammals on Earth, ONLY 4% are WILDLIFE, 60% are farm animals and 36% are humans.
By adopting a plant-based food system, land used by farm animals can be converted to wildlife habitats.
80 percent of the world’s agricultural land is used for farming animals (livestock farming).
When we remove the farm animals from our food chain, corn and soya fields required for animal feed can be transformed into nature reserves.
World agriculture must move towards “people nourished per hectare”.
Veganic agriculture is green, clean and cruelty free, it uses less land, water and fossil fuel resources than farm animal (livestock) dependent systems and creates a wildlife friendly environment where nature can thrive.
Make a short film and help spread this urgent message to your friends, family, community and to politicians around the world.
2021 Jackson Wild™ Media Awards Call for Entry now open!
22 March 2021
Media today deepens understanding of the world around us, inspires commitment to protect and restore the natural systems upon which all life depends and empowers the radical changes that will be required to do so. Nature film’s equivalent to the Oscars®, the Jackson Wild Media Awards™ celebrate excellence and innovation in nature, science and conservation storytelling.
2021 Call for entry is open TODAY. Enter before May 1 to lock in "early bird" entry fees. Final deadline to enter is June 1. Any film completed since June 1, 2020 is eligible to enter.
ANIMAL BEHAVIOR
Awarded to the program that most effectively explores animal behavior in an innovative and illuminating way.
Long Form, over 17 minutes
Short Form, under 17 minutes
ECOSYSTEM
Awarded to the program that most effectively explores a habitat and its unique web of life. ?
Long Form, over 17 minutes
Short Form, under 17 minutes
CONSERVATION
Awarded to the program that most effectively relates conservation issues and/or solutions and the individuals, groups or projects dedicated to the protection of any aspect of the natural world.
Long Form, over 17 minutes
Short Form, under 17 minutes
PEOPLE & NATURE
Awarded to the program that most effectively explores the interdependence between humans and animals or the environment.
Long Form, over 17 minutes
Short Form, under 17 minutes
OUR HUMAN PLANET Awarded to the program that most effectively Illuminates the human forces affecting both our planet and society in relation to nature, including social and environmental issues, equity and justice, public policy, community conservation and sustainability in the face of climate change.
Long Form, over 17 minutes
Short Form, under 17 minutes
SCIENCE IN NATURE
Awarded to the program that most effectively reveals science and scientific discovery into an understanding of any aspect of the natural world.
Long Form, over 17 minutes
Short Form, under 17 minutes
Program Categories
EDUCATIONAL & INFORMATIONAL
Awarded to the film that most successfully educates its audience on some aspect of the natural world. This includes projects created by independent filmmakers as well as government agencies, NGOs, universities and other institutions.
LIMITED SERIES
Awarded to the limited series that most effectively advances a natural history theme. Individual episodes may be entered into other categories. Entrants submit two episodes that best represent the series. Click Here for special entry requirements for this category.
PRESENTER-LED
Awarded to the program that makes the most effective use of a host or presenter in communicating an appreciation and understanding of the natural world.
MICRO-MOVIE
Awarded to the most effective and compelling project under five minutes in length (including PSAs, music videos, and campaigns) that best advances an appreciation or understanding of the natural world.
FEATURE
Awarded to the program, more than 75 min. in length that best advances an appreciation or understanding of the natural world.
STUDENT
Presented in recognition of the program that best communicates an appreciation or understanding of the natural world, produced by a student currently enrolled or no more than 2 years out of an academic program. Entrants must submit documentation to support their eligibility.Click here for special entry requirements for this category.
PODCAST
Awarded to the best Podcast series that conveys a message of conservation or environmental importance and encourages listeners to explore and appreciate the natural world in a new way. Entrants submit two representational episodes. Click here for special entry requirements for this category.
Craft Categories
SOUND Sponsored by: Television Academy Sound Peer Group
Awarded for the combined contribution of sound editing, production mixing and post-production mixing that most enhances the natural history story of which it is a part. Click Here for special entry requirements for this category.
CINEMATOGRAPHY Awarded for the cinematography that most enhances the natural history story of which it is a part.
EDITING Awarded for the editing that most enhances the natural history story of which it is a part.
ORIGINAL MUSIC SCORE Awarded for the original musical score that most enhances the natural history story of which it is a part.
WRITING Awarded for the writing that most enhances the natural history story of which it is a part through the union of imagery, storyline, dialog and narration. Entrants must submit a .pdf of the script. Click Here for special entry requirements for this category.
Special Jury Recognition
Jackson Wild is committed to elevating impactful storytelling at the forefront of nature, science and conservation. We are a global community motivated by deep reverence and urgent concern for the natural world, with a shared belief that through collaboration, and deep commitment we can address the critical challenges we are facing collectively as a result of climate change.
New in 2021, Jackson Wild's Special Jury Recognition welcomes nominations for both people and film projects pushing the boundaries of storytelling to create authentic engagement about the wild that achieve global impact. There are no entry fees to nominate individuals or projects.
We are accepting nominations for the following Awards:
The Jackson Wild Media Lab is an immersive, cross-disciplinary science filmmaking workshop that brings scientists and media creators together to learn from leaders in the profession and work together to develop effective tools to communicate about science, nature and conservation with diverse audiences across the world’s evolving media platforms. Learn more.
Our Jackson Wild Mentorship Program will soon be accepting applications for our next round of mentor pairings soon as well. The Jackson Wild Virtual Mentorship is a quarterly program that introduces and connects filmmakers, scientists, conservationists, and storytellers with leading experts in the industry.
Protect Them. Protect Us.
What caused the COVID-19 outbreak? A bat? A pangolin?
No – it was us.
Because of our treatment of nature.
It's estimated that as many as 1.7 million unidentified viruses exist in animals which can infect humans. Any one of these could be the cause of the next pandemic.
As an essential first step, wildlife markets must close. The shutters need to come down – for good. We must learn. We must re-educate ourselves. We must act. Now.
The submission period for this competition is open until Saturday 15 May. You can submit as many films as you wish. Free registration can be done with the online form on our website.
The 27th edition of the Festival International Nature Namur will be taking place from Friday 15 to Sunday 24 October 2021. It will propose public shows with a selection of films dedicated to Nature and Wildlife in optimal conditions:
Comfortable cinema theatres
Big screens
The latest audio-visual technologies
Within the frame of these public shows, the Festival is organising a Professional Film Competition. This competition is open to films dedicated to the discovery, the observation, the protection and the conservation of Wildlife and also to environmental problems.
What are the terms to participate? This competition is reserved for professional films produced after the 1st January 2019, dedicated to nature and the environment. Find all the terms in the rules of the competition.
A COMPETITION DEDICATED TO FILMS OF 1 MINUTE MAXIMUM!
Competition open to ultra-short films dedicated to Nature and Wildlife in different forms : humorous, poetic, sequence shot, report, advertising, animation, fiction, etc.
Originality is preferred!
The submission period for the ultra-short film competition 2021 is open until Sunday 15 August.
Registration for this competition is free and is done online on our website.
The “ultra-short” category is open to professional and amateur filmmakers for movies with a maximum length of one minute. For this section, the Festival also accepts publicity films, humorous sequences and clips that respect the theme of nature. Find all the conditions in the rules of the competition.
DISCOVER OUR 4 INTERNATIONAL COMPETITIONS
AND APPLICATIONS FOR THE 2021 FESTIVAL
The competitions and the applications for the 27th edition are open on our website.
The International Nature Namur Festival organizes four major international competitions, films and photos, dedicated to nature and the wonder it arouses. The film competitions are divided into three categories: professional films, amateur films and ultra-short films (max. 1 minute). The Namur International Photo Nature Competition invites amateur and professional photographers to provoque emotions with their most beautiful images.
FINN is also launching applications to photographers to exhibit at the Village Nature, including a Young Photographers Grant for young under the age of 21. Two other applications offer the opportunity for associations to occupy a stand at the Village Nature and for students to be a member of the 2021 youth jury. Visit: festivalnaturenamur.be/competitions
Apple TV+ announces “The Year Earth Changed,” an uplifting wildlife documentary special narrated by David Attenborough, heralding Earth Day 2021
Timely special highlighting nature’s resiliency is set to premiere globally, along with new seasons of “Tiny World” and “Earth At Night In Color,” Friday, April 16, on Apple TV+
In celebration of Earth Day 2021, Apple TV+ will debut “The Year Earth Changed,” an original documentary special narrated by Emmy and BAFTA Award-winning broadcaster David Attenborough, along with the second seasons of documentary series “Tiny World” and “Earth At Night In Color.” Set to premiere globally in more than 100 countries on April 16, 2021, each of these groundbreaking originals will captivate and inspire viewers to herald Earth Day, the world’s largest annual environmental movement.
“During this most difficult year, many people have reappraised the value and beauty of the natural world and taken great comfort from it,” said Attenborough. “But the lockdown also created a unique experiment that has thrown light on the impact we have on the natural world. The stories of how wildlife responded have shown that making even small changes to what we do can make a big difference.”
Showcasing exclusive footage from around the world after an unprecedented year, “The Year Earth Changed” is a timely documentary special that takes a fresh new approach to the global lockdown and the uplifting stories that have come out of it. From hearing birdsong in deserted cities, to witnessing whales communicating in new ways, to encountering capybaras in South American suburbs, people all over the world have had the chance to engage with nature like never before. In the one-hour special, viewers will witness how changes in human behavior — reducing cruise ship traffic, closing beaches a few days a year, identifying more harmonious ways for humans and wildlife to coexist — can have a profound impact on nature. The documentary, narrated by David Attenborough, is a love letter to planet Earth, highlighting the ways nature bouncing back can give us hope for the future. “The Year Earth Changed” is produced by BBC Studios Natural History Unit, directed by Tom Beard, and executive produced by Mike Gunton and Alice Keens-Soper.
Returning for season two, “Tiny World,” narrated and executive produced by Paul Rudd (“Ant-Man”), grants viewers a unique perspective into the natural world, illuminating the ingenuity and resilience of the planet’s smallest creatures. With over 200 species filmed and 3,160 hours of footage, the six-episode docuseries shares surprising stories and spectacular cinematography that spotlight small creatures and the extraordinary things they do to survive. Captured on film for the first time are anemone shrimp, which clap to signal their intent as cleaners of predatory fish; the “biting” behavior of fang blenny fish, filmed in slow-motion with unprecedented use of phantom high-speed cameras; and Etruscan shrews, known to be the hungriest mammals on earth. “Tiny World” is produced by Plimsoll Productions and is executive produced by Tom Hugh Jones, who also serves as writer with David Fowler. Grant Mansfield and Martha Holmes also serve as executive producers on behalf of Plimsoll Productions.
The groundbreaking original series “Earth At Night In Color” also returns for a second season with six all-new episodes narrated by Tom Hiddleston (“Avengers”). With the use of cutting-edge cameras and a revolutionary post-production process, “Earth At Night In Color” presents nature’s nocturnal wonders with striking new clarity. Some never-before-seen behaviors of animals after dark, captured using low-light cameras and light from a full moon, include elephants battling hyenas around starlit waterholes and kangaroos embracing under the cover of darkness to find a mate. Other animals in the new season include pumas, polar bears, manta rays, and tiny planktonic life at night in the ocean. “Earth At Night In Color” is produced by Offspring Films. The series is executive produced by Alex Williamson and series produced by Sam Hodgson.
“Tiny World” and “Earth At Night In Color” will be featured in a special Earth Day room on Apple TV+, showcasing a curated collection of content that embraces the theme of preserving the planet. Also included are the Cinema for Peace International Green Film Award-winning movie “The Elephant Queen” and “Here We Are: Notes for Living on Planet Earth,” which debuted last year on the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. The animated short film, based on the best-selling children’s book by Oliver Jeffers, is narrated by Meryl Streep. Jacob Tremblay stars as a precocious 7-year-old who, on the eve of Earth Day, learns about the wonders of the planet from his parents (Chris O’Dowd, Ruth Negga) and a mysterious exhibit at the aptly named Museum of Everything.
Hollywood came together on March 24th for the Producers Guild of America’s virtual ceremony to celebrate the year’s outstanding achievements in producing and award the Guild’s top honors.
The award for outstanding producer of documentary motion pictures was given to My Octopus Teacher (pictured), produced by Craig Foster.
The film bested fellow nominees David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet (producer: Jonnie Hughes); Dick Johnson Is Dead (producers: Kirsten Johnson, Katy Chevigny, Marilyn Ness); Softie (producers: Toni Kamau, Sam Soko); A Thousand Cuts (producers: Ramona S. Diaz, Leah Marino, Julie Goldman & Christopher Clements, Carolyn Hepburn); Time (producers: Lauren Domino, Kellen Quinn, Garrett Bradley); and The Truffle Hunters (producers: Michael Dweck, Gregory Kershaw).
"I nearly drowned as a child, and the idea of putting my head underwater terrified me, it left me unable to swim. I never thought I could access the ocean, but fate had a different plan" - Swati Thiyagarajan
With unseen footage from the Bafta and Oscar-nominated film 'My Octopus Teacher', you can watch this WaterBear Original short 'Africa's Hidden Seaforest'.
This short explores how Swati, Craig Foster's wife, overcomes personal challenges through the power of nature and her quest to conserve the Great African Seaforest.
A quest to discover and reveal the Great African Seaforest, the vast biodiversity that depends on it, and its importance to the planet. In the cold depths of the Atlantic Ocean, fears of swimming are overcome, mental health issues are faced, a magical sea forest of kelp is brought to light, and a story of bravery and biodiversity teaches us that nature heals if we just feel and listen.
Richard Branson reveals he stopped eating octopus after watching Oscar-nominated wildlife documentary – My Octopus Teacher
The billionaire businessman sat down for a virtual chat with Craig Foster, the naturalist and documentary-maker behind My Octopus Teacher which has been nominated for an Oscar and BAFTA
Richard Branson has said that a wildlife documentary, nominated for this year’s Oscars, had such an impact on him that he changed his diet.
The billionaire businessman recently sat down for a virtual meeting with Craig Foster, the naturalist and documentary-maker behind My Octopus Teacher, in an interview shared first with The Independent.
The hit Netflix documentary, which also received a BAFTA nod, tells the story of Foster who began diving as a remedy for ill health in an underwater forest off the coast of South Africa where he developed an unlikely connection with an octopus.
His film gave a moving and extraordinary glimpse into the everyday life of a wild creature so rarely captured, particularly underwater.
Sir Richard, who co-founded the ocean conservation group Ocean Unite, described the film as a “gem”, saying it was “a wonderful message for all of us during so much uncertainty”.
Watch the Exclusive Interview with Richard Branson & Craig Foster on WaterBear
In this exclusive WaterBear interview, businessman and environmental campaigner Sir Richard Branson sits down with Craig Foster, the director of the Oscar and BAFTA-nominated film ‘My Octopus Teacher’, to discuss emotive ecology and the power of visual storytelling to help engage and connect with people in the fight to help save our fragile planet.
Oscars 2021: SA’s ‘My Octopus Teacher’ nominated for Best Documentary Feature
The South African documentary, 'My Octopus Teacher' is set to compete in the Best Documentary Feature category at the 93rd Academy Awards.
The South African documentary, My Octopus Teacher has been nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Documentary Feature category days after receiving a Bafta nod.
Priyanka Chopra Jonas and her husband Nick Jonas made the announcement during a special livestream event on 15 March 2021.
The documentary, which was produced by Craig Foster and directed by Pippa Ehrlich and award-winning filmmaker James Reed, tells the story of Foster, suffering from a loss of purpose, who begins a daily diving regimen in the freezing kelp forests at the tip of Africa in order to re-energize himself.
My Octopus Teacher will compete against Collective, Crip Camp, The Mole Agent, and Time. The Oscars ceremony to announce the winners will take place on 25 April 2021..
Applications now open for the NFTS Science and Natural History MA by NFTS
16 March 2021
Applications are now open for the next intake of the National Film and Television School’s Directing and Producing Science and Natural History MA, starting in January 2022. Generous scholarships and bursaries are available.
The NFTS runs the only MA course of its kind in the UK, designed to fast track you into the industry. Run in partnership with BBC Studios, the course aims to give students the skills and expertise needed to direct science and wildlife productions, the know-how to produce and direct entire shows and the ability, confidence and knowledge to generate and pitch ideas and formats to commissioning editors.
The course includes masterclasses from industry experts, including the world-renowned BBC Natural History Unit, and work experience is available at major wildlife production companies. Our graduates have the opportunity to build a brilliant list of industry contacts and relevant skills for a career as a Producer/Director.
“I definitely feel that the course rewards those who are able to work independently and think on their feet. For all the benefits of working in larger crews at the NFTS there’s certainly something to be said for the more solitary nature of the Science and Natural History MA; it teaches you to become a jack of all trades.” – George Petty, 2020 graduate. George’s graduation film Life on The Rocks, won the Best Emerging Filmmaker category at the prestigious Jackson Wild 2020 Awards, the Newcomer Award at Germany’s Naturvision Film Festival and was selected as a Panda Award nominee in the ‘Emerging Talent’ category at Wildscreen Festival.
“We don’t have time to waste in terms of addressing the climate emergency and I’ve always seen film as a great tool to act as a catalyst for change. The Science and Natural History MA at the NFTS really lets you fully immerse yourself in film for two years while getting to meet and collaborate with other like-minded people in all fields. It’s really helped me gain an understanding of the intricacies of the entire film process from conception all the way through to post.” – John Davies, a current student of the course. John has already had industry success, even before graduating with his first year film, The Flying Gold of Arabuko, receiving a special mention in the Short Film category at the Naturvision Film Festival 2020.
To follow in George and John’s footsteps and #StandOut in the film and television industry, apply at nfts.co.uk by Thursday 6 May.
First established in 1971 and due to celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2021, the National Film and Television School (NFTS) has evolved to become a leading global institution, developing some of Britain and the world’s top creative talent. It is widely acknowledged to be the top school of its kind in the UK and one of the best internationally.
In 2018, the NFTS was awarded both the BAFTA for Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema and the Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher and Further Education. With a graduate employment rate of over 90%, the NFTS runs more behind-the-camera courses than any other film school in the world.
Supported by key industry partnerships, students benefit from world class tuition and an outstanding programme of exclusive Masterclasses. All courses are designed to equip students with the essential skills needed to make an impact in the industry as soon as they graduate.
It is with deep sadness that we share a great loss to Kenya's conservation community of two members of the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) staff aboard an aircraft in Nanyuki in February. Our sincere and heartfelt condolences to the families and friends of Captain Ian Lemaiyan and Company Commander John K. Plimo, the passenger who was with him at the time of the crash.
We first met Ian many years ago when he attended the March For Elephants event that we organized in Nairobi. He came to Nairobi from his job at Lewa Wildlife Conservancy to be part of it. During the March, he chatted excitedly about his work with rhinos. Ian always wanted to be a pilot and we featured him in Season 1 of Wildlife Warriors where he told us that all he ever wanted to do was to save rhinos from the skies. Rest In Peace Ian. You can watch his episode here.
John K. Plimo was a Kenya Wildlife Service Company Commander at Meru National Park and dedicated his work to protecting wildlife in the Eastern Conservation Area.
The untimely demise of Captain Ian Lemaiyan and Commander John K. Plimo is such a blow, to their families, friends, and to the Kenya Wildlife Service.
My friend and former BBC colleague Robin Prytherch, who has died aged 81, was part of the postwar generation of amateur ornithologists who made such a crucial contribution to our knowledge of Britain’s birdlife.
His main focus was the buzzard, which he studied for more than 40 years in a 75 square-kilometre area in the Gordano valley, west of his home in Bristol. This proved to be an inspired choice, as during this period the species enjoyed a population boom, becoming the commonest British bird of prey.
Robin published several important papers on the buzzard, notably in British Birds, on whose editorial board he also served for 33 years. He was a familiar figure on the magazine’s stand at the annual British Birdwatching Fair.
One of five children of Horace Prytherch, who had served in the navy in the first world war, and in peacetime was a businessman and estate agent, and Beryl (nee Holland), Robin was born in Hastings, East Sussex, just a few weeks after the outbreak of the second world war. According to one of his sisters, a robin was singing outside the window when he was born – hence his name. He went to school in Snaresbrook, and then on to Enfield Technical College.
Having settled in Bristol, he became involved in the Bristol Naturalists’ Society, trained as a bird ringer, and discovered a bird new to Britain – a North American pied-billed grebe – at Blagdon Lake in 1963. Three years later, when he was asked to design the logo of the newly formed Bristol Ornithological Club, he chose the pied-billed grebe; his original image is still in use today.
In 1968, after a spell as a structural engineer, Robin joined the BBC Natural History Unit. Until his retirement in 1991, he remained as an assistant producer rather than seeking permanent promotion, giving him more time for his beloved fieldwork. Nevertheless, as the unit’s “go-to” bird expert, he travelled all over the world, on pioneering live programmes such as Birdwatch, a forerunner of Springwatch. The presenter Tony Soper recalls Robin feeding him fascinating nuggets of information during the short breaks between live broadcasts.
ITV set to air two-part docuseries “Britain’s Tiger Kings”
ITV has slated a two-part documentary series tracking down Britain’s own “tiger and lion kings” for late spring. Tentatively titled Britain’s Tiger Kings – On the Trail With Ross Kemp, the award-winning documentary filmmaker (pictured) goes on a journey to learn why people would want to keep exotic animals while also posing the question if it’s in the best interests of the animal to do so.
It’s believed that there are approximately 4,000 exotic animals including lions, tigers, bears, crocodiles and giant snakes in private hands in the U.K., and in the two-parter, filmed in line with COVID-19 production regulations, Kemp meets a man who keeps two lions in his backyard, and a couple that owns a 200-plus menagerie animal collection, among other amateur “zookeepers”.
“When I first started making these films I didn’t think it was possible to privately own a lion or a tiger in this country. I’ve found it truly eye-opening and disturbing to discover just how easy it is to source one and get permission to keep it legally,” Kemp said in a statement.
“It’s important to remember that all the big cats I came into contact with were born into captivity and therefore wouldn’t survive in the wild. But when I asked if they would consider sending their cat to a sanctuary which offers something close to a natural habitat, the answer was often no.”
Louis Theroux explains why he's making another documentary about Joe Exotic
Journalist Louis Theroux intends to make Joe Exotic look like less of a "caricature" in his latest documentary about the self-proclaimed Tiger King.
Louis Theroux has revealed his intentions behind creating another documentary about Joe Exotic after the self-proclaimed Tiger King's story proved a huge hit on Netflix.
The journalist, 50, says he wants to present a version of Joe that is less of a "caricature" than the Netflix documentary portrayed..
The documentary-maker is visiting the subject of the series in a new feature-length BBC special.
It comes 10 years after Louis first met Joe while creating the BBC film America’s Most Dangerous Pets.
The zoo owner, real name Joseph Maldonado-Passage, later rose to "fame" after being the subject of the hit Netflix series and is now behind bars.
The 58-year-old was convicted on charges that he took part in a murder-for-hire plot against Big Cat Rescue boss Carole Baskin. He was also found to have violated federal wildlife laws.
Conservation Optimism is built on the belief that empowering everyone to make a difference for nature, while also learning from successes and failures within the conservation sector, is key to securing our planet’s future.
We are calling all filmmakers to send us short films featuring stories of hope from around the globe. Have you been inspired by someone taking action for nature in your community? Have you witnessed some conservation successes? Have you learned from conservation failures? We want to hear from you!
Our third film festival will take place in Autumn 2021 at the Oxford Museum of Natural History (date to be confirmed closer to the time). We will be selecting short films for the following categories:
Rewild Carbon is Durrell's wild, colourful and impactful carbon offsetting programme.
We reduce carbon in the atmosphere by rewilding threatened ecosystems which are rich in wildlife.
Rewild Carbon is Durrell's wild, colourful and impactful carbon offsetting programme.
We reduce carbon in the atmosphere by rewilding threatened ecosystems that are rich in wildlife. Species-rich forests can sequester up to 40 times more carbon than monocultures.
Our projects are designed together with local communities to benefit sustainable livelihoods. Together we know the wildlife, the threats, and the land best.
We ensure that 95% of the money will go to nature. Our first Rewild Carbon project is in the Atlantic Forest in Brazil, where we are restoring forest corridors to create lifelines for wildlife. It is one of the most species-rich habitats on the planet, yet only 6% of it remains.
Together we can create a healthier planet for people and wildlife.
Production Co-ordinator pool, The Natural History Unit BBC Studios Bristol
Bristol is looking to hear from Production Coordinators who are becoming available over the next few months to work on a raft of exciting new projects in our Natural History Unit
Candidates must have experience of setting up foreign filming, be confident at negotiating rates and raising contracts, and have a good working knowledge of archive and copyright clearance, and reporting.
We would be interested to hear from anyone who has previous landmark experience and experience of organising complex shoots in remote and challenging areas, including aerial and water based filming.
We can offer flexible start dates, varying contract lengths, and career development opportunities.
How Producers Of ‘Attenborough’s Life In Colour’ Overcame A Covid-Ravaged Shoot To Deliver Early For The BBC & Netflix
BBC and Netflix series Attenborough’s Life In Colour sets out to explore the wonder of nature and its kaleidoscope of colors, but for producers at Humble Bee Films, filming the natural history show was far from black and white.
Executive producer Stephen Dunleavy tells Deadline that soon after production got underway on the project, which unites Netflix and the BBC for the first time on a wildlife show, the pandemic ravaged filming plans.
A trip to Costa Rica with the great naturalist, David Attenborough, was in the can, but it was during a visit to the Cairngorms in Scotland early last year that Covid-19 began to rear its ugly head in the UK.
Up to 10 shoots were wiped out by the pandemic, with producers having to abandon travel plans to Italy among other locations, while 95-year-old Attenborough safely ensconced himself at home in leafy south-west London.
Dunleavy toyed with the idea of delaying production, but ultimately decided to forge on. The series was scaled back from three episodes to two for the BBC, and from four to three for Netflix, while shoots were set up much closer to home. Producers were also tasked with delivering early to help the BBC fill a gap in its schedule.
“We had planned to go to Italy with David, and maybe another trip in Europe,” he says. “It was to shoot a section on flowering meadows. Italy was in a fairly bad way [with corornavirus], so we had to abandon that. The UK became the place where we finished off those pieces with him and we managed to find some beautiful flowering meadows around Richmond Park.”
Angela Bassett To Narrate Wildlife Special ‘Malika The Lion Queen’ For Fox As Network Moves Into Natural History
Fox is roaming into natural history with a two-hour special narrated by 9-1-1 star Angela Bassett. The network has ordered Malika the Lion Queen, a documentary about the lionesses of a pride in South Africa’s Kruger National Park.
The special, which is produced by British production company Plimsoll Productions, the business behind Apple TV+’s Tiny World, will launch April 4 at 8 p.m. and will be available on Fox’s AVOD streamer Tubi beginning April 18.
It marks the network’s first move into the natural history genre – an area dominated by the BBC and cable networks such as Discovery and Nat Geo as well as increased moves by streamers such as Netflix and Apple.
The international ornithological film festival Ménigoute, is one of the major world events in animal cinema.
Supported by the Mainate association for 35 years, the event has become a key reference in worldwild cinema.
The festival presents a new selection of films from all over the world every year, mostly being screened in France for the first time.
The jury is made up of film and environment professionals.
Directors, producers, submit us your latest wildlife productions and come to share with a large and enthusiastic public ... a moment of sharing, reflection and conviviality, facing the environmental challenges of tomorrow.
Young filmmakers battling to save the planet tell their stories in brand new series Planet Defenders
Planet Defenders feels like a brand new way of bringing natural history to a young audience - a fresh, diverse, global team of passionate filmmakers with a very informal, self-authored style, who invite the audience along on their mission to help endangered species.— Melissa Hardinge
Across the globe there are passionate and charismatic young filmmakers battling to protect the planet. This empowering new six-part series for CBBC follows them as they discover more about the threats faced by endangered animals and wildlife and what can be done to conserve and protect them.
Made by BBC Studios Natural History Unit, each film is self-authored and features a specific animal story or wildlife issue that the young filmmakers want to share with the world. Addressing serious issues in an engaging and digestible way, Planet Defenders embraces the individuality and personality of each filmmaker as they take young viewers along with them on their personal and inspiring journeys.
Visiting conservation projects and sanctuaries, the film makers meet the dedicated people helping endangered wildlife as they tackle the difficult questions about the state of the planet. With laughter and tears along the way, the series aims to empower audiences with the knowledge to understand more about the world around them and feel inspired to make a difference to the natural world through the choices they make.
The filmmakers featured are Ashwika Kapur, who is passionate about protecting India’s only ape, the hoolock gibbon, the population of which has decreased by 90 percent in just 30 years; Erin Ranney, a wildlife camera operator and adventurer from the US, who is on a mission to find out why the charismatic rockhopper penguins are facing serious threats to their survival; Jahawi Bertolli, an underwater camera operator, who is passionate about preserving the coastline of Kenya and one species in particular: dolphins; Megan McCubbin, a wildlife expert who is on a mission to look into the threats facing sharks in British waters and around the globe - from the deadly fin trade to industrial fishing; Malaika Vaz, a wildlife filmmaker and conservationist, investigates why elephants are in such danger as she goes undercover to find out more about them and the tourist trade; and Jack Harries who investigates the impact of re-wilding projects in the UK including the return of the native beaver, an animal which is re-engineering river systems and creating rich habitats for many other species.
Ultimately the series, which starts on CBBC on March 26 is about hope for the future and how we can all make a difference to the planet in our own way.
Jahawi Bertolli says: “You guys are the future and you are going to take this world and create a much better place. And do you know what? It starts with little steps, you build, you build, you build, you can see what you can do in your local environment. I’m so positive about the future, of the archipelago, of the world, I think we really can do it, if we do it together.”
Senior Commissioning Editor, CBBC Independents, Melissa Hardinge, says: “Planet Defenders feels like a brand new way of bringing natural history to a young audience - a fresh, diverse, global team of passionate filmmakers with a very informal, self-authored style, who invite the audience along on their mission to help endangered species.”
Executive Producer, NHU, Jo Shinner, says: “We are very excited to work with such an amazing, diverse, talented and inspirational group of young filmmakers sharing with us their passion for the natural world and helping us navigate a way forward to find positive solutions to the global environmental crisis.”
Planet Defenders is part of Our Planet Now, the BBC’s ongoing commitment to programming which explores the environment and the challenges facing the natural world. Planet Defenders kicks off a collection of special content from BBC Children’s across 2021 inspiring children to reconnect with the outdoors. This includes a week of programming from Sunday March 28 with a Blue Peter Green Badge initiative, new series Maddie: Plants and You as well as returning series Let’s Go For a Walk, Ferne and Rory’s Bugs & Beasties, Tiny Wonders and more.
The BBC’s Our Planet Now wider programming includes Extinction: The Facts; Climate Change: The Facts; Drowning In Plastic; Tigers: Hunting The Traffickers; 7.7 Billion And Counting; and War on Plastic with Hugh and Anita; the recently announced partnership with The Earthshot Prize; and Countryfile’s Plant Britain project to get the nation planting..
MWF 29: Ivo Nörenberg - Wildlife Cinematographer Who Proposed The CN20 50-1000mm Lens To Canon
Ivo discusses his journey into wildlife filmmaking as well as how he managed to persuade Canon to build the CN20 lens, now synonymous with wildlife filmmaking.
Ivo Norenberg has been working as a long-lens wildlife camera operator for over 20 years. He has a lifelong passion for wild places, and has filmed in over 20 countries across the globe: from -40°C in Siberia and the high Canadian Arctic, to +45°C in arid landscapes of India and Africa, to the damp and humid tropical jungles of West Africa and South America.
He specializes in long-lens camera work, but also have experience with gyro-stabilized camera systems, thermal cameras, motion-control systems, sliders, remote cameras and time lapse as well as multiple drones. He also likes to build custom camera equipment to achieve unique perspectives and make impossible pictures possible.
His films include: Lost Kings of Bioko, White Wolves – Ghosts of the Arctic / Arctic Wolf Pack, America’s National Parks – Yellowstone, The Real Jungle Book Bear, Nordic Wild / Viking Wilderness / Wild Scandinavia – Finland + Sweden, Wild Russia – Primeval Valleys, Wolverines – Hyenas of the North / Wolverine X
And Ivo has filmed sequences for multiple productions including: Perfect Planet - The Sun, BBC One Dynasties II - Meerkat, BBC One Monkey Kingdom, Disney Nature Frozen Planet - Winter, BBC One
The Real Jungle Book Bear - Natural World, BBC Two Russia - In the Realm of Tigers, Bears and Volcanoes
Sir David Attenborough Wins The Award For Best Narration at the Indian National Film Awards
The 67th National Film Awards is here and Sir David Attenborough has won the National Awards for the best narrator in the movie Wild Karanataka.
The 67th National Film Awards were announced in New Delhi on March 22, 2021. The ceremony honoured the great artists and films for the year 2019. The ceremony was going to be held in May last year but was delayed because of the pandemic. The awards have been given by the Directorate of Film Festivals which comes under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. It was recently announced that Sir David Attenborough wins National Award for Best Narration/Voice Over for the movie Wild Karnataka.
Wild Karnataka, a documentary on the state’s wildlife has won two awards at the 67th National Film Awards announced on Monday. The documentary bagged the best exploration film (non-feature) award, while famous English broadcaster and environmentalist Sir David Attenborough, received a National Award for ‘Best Narration/Voice Over’ for the film.
Humble Bee Films Humble Bee Films taps former BBC NHU exec Jayne Edwards to lead development
UK indie Humble Bee Films has appointed Jayne Edwards as head of development.
Edwards (pictured) joins the factual outfit from the BBC Studios Natural History Unit, where she was the executive primarily leading U.S. and SVOD development.
In her new post, Edwards will help expand Humble Bee Films’ business into the premium factual space, developing and pitching science, history and specialist factual programming while also building on the company’s slate of blue-chip factual productions.
That slate includes the BBC1, Netflix and Channel Nine Australia natural history coproduction Attenborough’s Life in Colour.
Wildlife Filmmaker Joins PETA Push Against American Greetings
Emmy Award–winning wildlife documentary producerChris Palmer—who has written two books on the ethics of photographing wild animals—sent a letter on PETA’s behalf to Joe Arcuri, the CEO of Cleveland-based American Greetings, urging him to end the company’s sale of cards that feature “inappropriate, inaccurate, and unethical” images of great apes, such as chimpanzees wearing costumes or holding hands with humans.
“Such images impede conservation efforts because they lead people to believe that great apes are not endangered when in fact they are,” writes Palmer. “These portrayals also increase the black market demand for apes as pets, which, as I am sure you know, is one of the main forces driving them toward extinction.”
Palmer has won two Emmy Awards and received an Oscar nomination for his wildlife films for IMAX and primetime television. His book Shooting in the Wild—which pulls back the curtain on the dark side of wildlife filmmaking, revealing an industry undermined by sensationalism, fabrication, and animal abuse—was described by Jane Goodall as “a very important and much-needed book.” He is a media and film professor at American University in Washington, D.C.
Palmer’s letter to Arcuri follows.
"Dear Mr. Arcuri,
I’ve devoted my career to producing wildlife films, winning Oscar nominations and Emmys, and have written two books on the ethics of photographing wild animals.
I’m writing to you because of the American Greetings cards that feature chimpanzees and other endangered great apes. As I’m sure you know, chimpanzees and orangutans are at risk of extinction, and I would be deeply grateful to you if you could use your influence to help prevent that extinction by ending the sale of cards that feature inappropriate, inaccurate, and unethical images of them.
Such images impede conservation efforts because they lead people to believe that great apes are not endangered when in fact they are. Inaccurate, damaging images of great apes include those that depict the animals wearing clothing or accessories, displayed in a studio or other human environments, or engaging in unnatural behavior and interactions with humans, such as holding hands or being held. These portrayals also increase the black market demand for apes as pets, which, as I am sure you know, is one of the main forces driving them toward extinction.
If you were to take this step, you would be in good company. Chase Bank, Pfizer, TELUS, and Capital One have adopted policies that prohibit the use of wild animals in their ads, and the majority of top ad agencies—including BBDO, Ogilvy, and McCann—have banned the use of great apes. Top stock-image agencies like Getty Images, Shutterstock, and Dreamstime are banning inappropriate images of nonhuman primates. In addition, Moonpig dropped all images of captive great apes.
I would be grateful if American Greetings would follow the new standard set by top corporations by retiring all unnatural, unethical, damaging, and inappropriate images of chimpanzees and other great apes used on its cards.
Thank you for considering this request.
All best wishes,
Professor Chris Palmer"
PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.
IVFF are now accepting film submissions for the 2021/2022 International Vegan Film Festival!
Categories:
Health and Nutrition - Exploring the positive benefits of a vegan diet, what's involved in "going vegan".
Environmental Protection - How meat production harms the planet, and how plant based eating can help to save it.
Animal Advocacy - How eating plants can break the chain of suffering that is endemic in factory farming and the role of animal activists.
Lifestyle - Vegan choices in clothing, travel and highlighting the ways that vegans spread their message through activism, art, community etc.
Public Service Announcement (PSA) - A short message in the public interest disseminating information quickly and efficiently with the objective of raising awareness of, and changing public attitudes and behavior towards, a social issue.
The International Vegan Film Festival Celebrates vegan film, photography, and now vegan cookbooks. The Festival brings together filmmakers, writers, publishers, editors, photographers, the vegan-curious, and – of course – vegans. Featuring film screenings, guest speakers, Q&As, vegan food, and vendors, the Festival offers a wide spectrum of content for the vegan enthusiast. The Festival takes place each year in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. There will also be a virtual edition of the Festival in October 2021
As the newest competition of the International Vegan Film Festival, the Vegan Cookbook Contest aims to become the world's leading vegan cookbook contest. Each September we will announce a shortlist of eligible books, selected by a jury of passionate and experienced vegan cooks. The top three winners will be announced at the International Vegan Film Festival. In 2021, the Festival will be Saturday, October 23.
The 7th edition of The Netherlands’ main wildlife film festival is now open for entries.
WFFR will recognise outstanding achievements in 12 Flamingo Award categories.
Wildlife Film Festival Rotterdam (WFFR) will take place from 26 – 31 October 2021.
We facilitate selected filmmakers to join us at the festival in Rotterdam for daily talks, Q&A’s and the Award Ceremony.
The 2021 festival will take place during six days in beautiful Rotterdam, The Netherlands. We will be screening all of our Official Selections at Cinerama Movie Theatre in Rotterdam.
The opening of the festival will take place at Theatre Rotterdam Schouwburg on Tuesday 26 October.
We welcome more than 15.000 visitors to Rotterdam for the festival. WFFR also takes place online at the same week.
Wildlife Film Festival Rotterdam offers awards in the following 12 categories:
BEST FILM
Awarded to the best overal production.
BEST SHORT FILM
Awarded to the best overal production with maximum lenght of 30 minutes.
GREEN IMPACT AWARD
Awarded to the film that has the highest impact on the way people think about the environment, climate change, sustainability or a greener economy.
ANIMAL BEHAVIOUR AWARD
Awarded to the film that best reveals insights into the behaviour of, or the interactions between, animals.
AWARENESS AWARD
Awarded to the film that most effectively raises awareness concerning issues related to animals.
VAN LAWICK CONSERVATION AWARD
Awarded to the film that most effectively contributes to an awareness of timely and relevant conservation issues and/or solutions.
PEOPLE AND NATURE AWARD
Awarded to the film that most effectively explores the social, cultural or economic relationship between people and the natural world.
CHILDREN’S AWARD
Awarded to the film that most effectively inspires an appreciation of the natural world to young people.
NEWCOMER AWARD
Awarded to the best film produced by a first-time filmmaker. SCIENCE IN NATURE AWARD
Awarded to the film that most effectively incorporates science, the scientific method and scientific discovery into an understanding of some aspect of the natural world.
INDEPENDENT PRODUCTION AWARD
Awarded for an outstanding self-financed, non-commissioned film about nature, environment and/or animals that has been produced independently from tv stations or other third parties.
AUDIENCE AWARD
In addition to the awards attributed by the jury, an Audience Award will also be awarded to the most popular film chosen by the general public.
We would like to invite you to the 19th Matsalu Nature Film Festival being held on September 15-26, 2021 in Lihula and all over Estonia.
Our festival is an annual nature film event. It has been named after the nearby Matsalu National Park, which is one of the largest bird sanctuaries in Europe. The festival showcases a variety of new international films about nature, wildlife, environment, sustainability, biodiversity, conservation - films that depict nature in its diversity and films about the coexistence of man and nature.
Traditionally, the festival features various art and nature photography exhibitions, photo presentations and meetings of both professional and amateur photographers. The program includes also screenings, activities and workshops for schoolchildren, roundtable discussions on different nature-related topics and other cultural events.
MAFF takes place in the idyllic town of Lihula in Western Estonia. A selection of films are shown all over Estonia.
Filmmaking story tellers of the natural world are invited to take advantage of this unique opportunity to pitch their planned project to a board of commissioners, producers and distributors at the PITCHING SESSION of the International Wildlife Film Festival GREEN SCREEN 2021.
The Pitching Session itself is open to the public and follows international rules:
The presentation of your project may take up to seven minutes. After that the attending experts and decision makers are invited to evaluate the project and, if applicable, to express their interest.
Due to the corona pandemic as well as the climate-relevant restriction of long-distance travel, the GREEN SCREEN Pitching Session 2021 is being planned as a hybrid event: In addition to the face-to-face event in Eckernförde there will be the possibility of virtual presentation of pitches and online participation of experts as well.
To participate, the following must be submitted:
An Exposé, describing the project should be described, including approximate shooting time, locations and the people involved. (not more than two pages)
A short CV
An approximate budget idea
If available, a trailer or other footage
REGISTRATION POSSIBLE UNTIL MAY 31st 2021!
If you are interested, please contact Pitching directors Annette Scheurich and Udo Zimmermann via pitching@greenscreen-festival.de.
The sooner we know who plans to pitch, the better, even if not all documents are ready.
A pre-selection panel will select 6 to 8 participants for the pitching session from the submitted projects by 1st August 2021.
Some of the projects that have been presented in recent years are now in production! Participation is in any case an enriching experience!
As the promotion of emerging talent in naturefilm has always been a concern of GREEN SCREEN, submissions by newcomers and ambitious young filmmakers are encouraged. Please feel free to spread the word!
See you at GREEN SCREEN in Eckernförde September 08th - 12th 2021!
Whether you're taking a daily walk, checking out the season's best at your local farmers' market, or watching the sunset, as long as you're connecting us to nature, you're a hero in our community!
We just made it super easy to go live from the Mammalz iOS app!
Chat and comment with maximum flair on Mammalz.com.
Just click the smiley face in the comment area and discover new ways to express yourself. Dive into any live stream and amp up the fun!
Debuting on Mammalz last month are the first ten characters in our original emotes set. Now, just like you already use other emoticons, you can express how you feel in a live stream or in a comment with a single click. Even better, our emotes are only one of many improvements, upgrades, and bug fixes just made to the Mammalz web platform! (Don’t worry, iOS will catch up soon!)
In this blog, we will discuss each of the recent improvements to Mammalz along with what you can expect next.
What does it take to become a wildlife filmmaker? Well, a lot! In this interview, Kenya-based wildlife filmmaker and director, Fiona Tande, walks us through the challenges and the complexities of making a climb in the industry, while being a visual-creator in one of the most epic parts of the world.
Women’s Cinema is a series of articles by Y.M.Cinema Magazine that focus on the women in our industry, with the goal of encouraging women to pursue after filmmaking career and to provide a stage for female content creators in the filmmaking industry, regardless of their role on set.
This time, we interviewed Wildlife Filmmaker Fiona Tande. Fiona is a wildlife filmmaker, underwater cinematographer, director and producer, based in Kenya. In this interview, Fiona shares with us how’s like to be a filmmaker in one of the most epic parts of the world, and the complexities and challenges involved.
Wildlife filmmaking as a tool to create positive behavioral change
TY.M.Cinema Magazine: Please let us know about yourself, and how did you choose filmmaking as a profession/ career.
Fiona Tande: I’m an early-career wildlife filmmaker from and based in Kenya with an interest in camera operation/cinematography. I’m from the Maasai community, a tribe that’s world renown for holding on to its traditional roots, co-existing with wildlife for centuries, and living sustainably off of nature. My cultural background was a huge factor in getting into wildlife conservation as well as being catapulted into the industry by film. Growing up I would watch wildlife series on channels like Nat Geo and learned a lot about animal behavior and characteristics through these shows. It was however after watching a docu-film about lions and their plight to survive in a world where their habitat is constantly encroached by humans that I then got into wildlife conservation. After several years working with conservation organizations in the Kenyan landscape, I got an opportunity to attend a couple of short film courses both in South Africa and Kenya and realized the power of storytelling especially when it comes to making a greater impact and influencing positive behavioral change in humans. I’ve been looking to break into the industry for the past 3 years, working towards improving my skills to be a proficient camera operator while supporting various projects aimed at elevating local filmmaking talent.
WildBear brings on former BBC, Nat Geo filmmaker as exec producer
Australian factual producer WildBear Entertainment has appointed natural history filmmaker and wildlife biologist Chadden Hunter as executive producer.
Hunter (pictured) will be working with the team to deepen its slate of blue-chip natural history content and films about the natural world, secure new commissions and run productions.
At the BBC, Hunter most recently served as a producer/director/writer on Seven Worlds, One Planet and Planet Earth 2, as well as a series producer on Wild Arabia and principal director on Frozen Planet.
Coronavirus, and its emerging variants, has swept around the globe faster than anyone could have predicted, changing our lives, as we knew them, forever. With the subsequent announcement of strict lockdowns, curfews and shortages around the world, things can look pretty bleak. But it’s not all doom and gloom. To be a cameraman or camerawoman, you must be prepared for remote living in small confined spaces, whether that’s a hide you make your home for 3-weeks, invisible to passing strangers, or vehicles and boats that you live, sleep, exercise, and work from. In this blog, I ask our camera operators to share their survival tips, in the hope that they might give you a little inspiration. In the process, you’ll see if you’ve got what it takes to be an NHFU wildlife cameraperson.
Our first tip is to swap those soap-operas for natural-history documentaries (plus some sneaky advertising if you haven't already seen Hippos: Africa's River Giants).
Firstly, I know that our Okavango surroundings aren’t exactly a fair comparison to a one-bedroom city apartment. But that is the most important lesson the NHFU can teach you. The importance of nature. The term Biophilia refers to Homo Sapien’s innate ‘love’ (philia) for nature (bio). Countless studies, and I’m sure your own observations, have revealed that immersion in nature has dramatic positive impacts on our mental health. Now, I know you can’t exactly pack up the Delta and drop it in your living room. But, there are other things you can do. Brad, our camera director, of course recommends replacing your soap operas with natural history documentaries (and I think he might have a suggestion or two in mind… *cough *cough “The Flood” *cough *cough Africa's River Giants). Noah, our specialist gear operator in the field, comes from a background of working in a garden centre. He recommends sprucing up your space with low-maintenance houseplants, like cacti and hanging ivy. Just having this green carbon-sucking, oxygen-giving, pollution-crushing foliage in your home is guaranteed to brighten up your day.
Next, we move to the kitchen. Food shortages, stock piling, border jams and limited trips to the shops means that more than ever, we are relying on our cupboard goods. Luckily, our camera operators are specialists in this department and have been honing their skills throughout their remote living stints. First, we go back to Noah, who has specialised a remarkably delicious dish comprising of a bag of pasta combined with three tins of beans (butter beans are the preference) fried with an onion, and nearly an entire bulb of garlic, garnished with a sprinkling of salt and copious amounts of coarse black pepper – don’t knock it until you’ve tried it! After working in a Michelin star restaurant as their dish-washer, hygiene and the proper washing of dishes is also a top priority for him. Rich’s diet is (sometimes) a little more civilised, with the addition of the hardy vegetables, like potatoes and carrots, to make scrumptious stews. Steve, on the other hand, spices his dishes up with a little bit of foraging. A smattering of wild sage here and there, and, on very rare occasions, the addition of the steak-like mushrooms that bloom from the termite’s fungal-gardens, deep in the Okavango’s iconic termite mounds, which only emerge when the rain pours and the ground is soft enough.
World's largest wildlife crossing one step closer to becoming a reality
It was a balmy Los Angeles evening in February 2012 and wildlife biologist Miguel Ordeñana was seated behind a glaring screen, ritualistically flipping through trail-camera photos captured in California's Griffith Park. As Ordeñana scrolled through a seemingly endless gallery of raccoons, rabbits, and "deer butts", he came across something truly startling: the unmistakable rear end of a mountain lion. "It was like finding Bigfoot," he recalled in P-22: The Cat That Changed America, a documentary about the now-famous puma. This was the start of life in the limelight for the Griffith Park puma, a celebrity cat who has become the face of conservation in Los Angeles and a prime motivator in efforts to build the world’s largest wildlife crossing.
This film tells his remarkable story and the efforts of Los Angelenos to help mountain lions in the Santa Monica Mountains by building the largest wildlife crossing in America.
Griffith Park – a 4,310-acre green haven at the eastern end of the Santa Monica Mountains – is flanked on all sides by busy highways and residential homes. The idea of a mountain lion secretly stalking through the popular recreational hangout seemed implausible if not impossible. But Puma 22 or P-22 – a name given to the cat by biologists working with LA's mountain lions – shifted all expectations. Follow Mick on Twitter: @Natureonfilm
Since his discovery, like many Hollywood hopefuls before him, the "Brad Pitt of pumas" shot to stardom and quickly become ingrained in Los Angeles culture. "Since that first headline in 2012 announced 'Mountain Lion in Griffith Park,' P-22 and his cougar kin in the area have enjoyed increasing celebrity around the world," Beth Pratt, the California director for the National Wildlife Federation and driving force behind the #SaveLACougars campaign, explained to us via email.
Steve Winter's now-famous photo of the cat strolling down a trail with the Hollywood sign visible in the background helped boost P-22's public image, as did Tony Lee Moral's documentary which captivated audiences across the country (and globe). "P-22 truly is the cat that changed America, and the world – that isn’t just hyperbole," Pratt adds.
Ellen DeGeneres Inks Deal With Discovery For Natural History Content, Will Narrate ‘Endangered’ Documentary
Ellen DeGeneres, an animal lover and supporter of wildlife conservation, has signed an exclusive multi-year deal with Discovery to produce natural history content across all platforms. Under the marquee pact, the comedian and talk-show host will develop and produce specials, series and documentaries in the natural history space for Discovery Channel and the Discovery+ streaming platform through her A Very Good Production.
The first project under the deal is Endangered. DeGeneres will narrate and executive produce the documentary from Discovery and the BBC Natural History Unit, which will begin streaming on Earth Day, April 22, on Discovery+.
Endangered marks the first time DeGeneres has narrated a documentary as well as the BBC Studios Natural History Unit’s first non-BBC commission. It follows the effort of dedicated wildlife conservationists across the globe as they work to compile the latest version of The Red List – the most comprehensive record of the state of the world’s wildlife that has ever been created.
Ed says: "If I could go back in time and tell my past self that I was going to go vegan, I would have laughed. You see to me, vegans were all protein deficient, hippy tree huggers, who loved forcing their extreme views onto other people. Why did vegans have to be this way?
This is the story of how I went vegan, and how the seeds had been planted in my mind long before I made the change."
Animals in fashion: everything you need to know in 12 minutes
The fashion industry is changing all around us. Fur farming has been banned in many countries including The Netherlands, Austria, Croatia, Serbia and Slovenia, among others and there are calls to ban the importation of fur into the UK. H&M have just announced a new collection using vegan cactus leather and ASOS have dropped clothing made from cashmere, mohair and silk. But why?
This is a round up of some of the most common animal derived clothing and the reality of what these industries are like.
John Gussman – A Washington State-based film-maker, along with his production company Doubleclick Productions, offering Photography, Video Production and UAV/Aerial Filming Services.
Razorbill Films – a production company that creates wildlife documentaries for television broadcasters around the world, with Producer/Director Iain Mitchell at the helm.
Gijs van Amelsvoort – a film & TV composer based in The Netherlands, with a BIG love for nature, Wildlife & Natural History films, interesting stories, traveling, hiking, and good vegan food.
His music has been a score & underscore for numerous TV programmes, varying from BBC docu-series such as Gordon Buchanan's Cheetah Family & Me, Grizzly Bear Cubs & Me, to Earth's Great Rivers and Planet Earth UK, all the way to short films and popular TV shows.
Ivana Ancic – a freelance Composer/Sound Designer/Orchestrator for Film/TV/Animation with great passion for nature, Wildlife & Natural History films.
She is an Alumna from Berklee College of Music – Master in Scoring for Film, TV, and Video games and currently works on film, animation, video games and other media projects.
Ivana has entered the semifinals at the Film Music Contest (FMC) Kosice 2020 for the Original Music for Film, TV, and Video games.
She was the recepient of Berklee’s 6-month International Career Mentorship Program with Pieter Schlosser (Award winning film, TV, and video games composer, worked in Hans Zimmer studio).
She is open for collaboration, respects the deadlines, and enjoys working with creative people.
Ryan Rosen – a composer of music for film, television, video games, as well as other digital media.
As an MFA in Media Scoring graduate at the Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema, Ryan works hard to realize the creative vision of the talented directors he works with.
Ryan's influences include the works of film composers such as James Horner, Jonny Greenwood, and Christopher Tin.
Umingmak Productions Inc. – Cinematography and photography services (Cinema, Video, Drone, Timelapses) and Arctic advisor (Wildlife, Communities and field logistic).
Umingmak Productions Inc. is dedicated to document the environment, wildlife and people of the Arctic.
Owner, Mathieu Dumond is a Cinematographer, Drone Operator, Timelapse Photography and Arctic Consultant.
As a full member of the site, you get a listing in all appropriate sections, a profile page and priority on your news across the site, this newsletter and our social media accounts.
Membership fees help to keep the site going too ... Your support is much-needed! Hoping to relaunch the site this year ... Updated for the new decade ... Will be looking for help from all over the world!!
Since the late 1990s Wildlife-film.com has been the leading source of information for the wildlife filmmaking industry worldwide. For over twenty years the site has been Google's number one ranking site for 'wildlife film' and related searches. Our site is viewed in over 195 countries. Our newsletter, Wildlife Film News, is read every month by thousands of people involved in wildlife filmmaking - from broadcasters and producers, to cameramen - we encourage readers to submit their news. We also serve as an online resource for industry professionals and services. Find producers, editors, presenters and more in our Freelancer section, and find out about festivals, training and conservation in Organisations. We encourage amateur and professional freelancers to join our network and welcome all wildlife-film related organisations to join our team.
