WILD WORLD For wildlife cinematographer Bertie Gregory, “the animal always comes first”. This principle is clearly evident in his BAFTA-nominated series, now streaming on Disney+. As Animals Up Close with Bertie Gregory unfolds, you can see his relationship with his subjects is one of profound respect, even when they kill other animals to survive. This … Read more
WILD AT HEART Meet the organisations, charities, festivals and more who play their part in making the world of wildlife filmmaking a roaring success. BBC Studios Natural History Unit (NHU) is the best-known producer of natural history content in the world, responsible for some of the most globally successful factual content of the past 10 … Read more
WORLD UNITED Find out how some productions are combining visual effects flair and natural history expertise to create the next generation of wildlife documentaries. In 1999, Tim Haines, BBC Studios Science Unit, Discovery Channel, and Framestore released an ambitious six-part nature documentary television miniseries, Walking with Dinosaurs, that mixed real locations with CGI to give … Read more
TAKE TO THE SKIES Aerial filming – whether by helicopter or drone – may be more mobile than shooting from a hide on the ground, but dynamic and useable footage of wildlife requires just as much patience and experience. “There’s a lot of animal behaviour that you can only see and understand from an aerial … Read more
SMALL BUT MIGHTY From shrimps to spiders, capturing the natural world’s smaller inhabitants calls for specialist kit and knowledge. Macro cinematography demands meticulous control, with a mix of studio-based and on-location work. Veteran filmmaker Richard Kirby says most macro cinematographers build a simple set “and take that anywhere,” blending the back of the set and … Read more
ALONE AND UNAFRAID In wild shooting, nothing is more difficult or challenging than working solo. Dealing with wildlife in extreme conditions requires constant risk assessment. We asked three cinematographers what steps they put in place to ensure their safety on solo shoots. Originally from Australia, Kirsten Slemint has a background in science and journalism. She … Read more
INTO THE BLUE Join the cinematographers taking the plunge into our oceans as they strive to capture the world beneath the waves. It used to be that simply taking a camera to an unusual place – the top of a mountain, space, or the depths of the sea – would satisfy producers of high-end documentaries. … Read more
CLIMBING THE LADDER It’s no secret that wildlife filmmaking is a competitive field, but new talent is welcomed, whether you choose the film school route or an alternative path into the industry. Finding work in almost any part of the film industry has never been easy, and a discipline as specific as natural history narrows … Read more
THE ROAD WILDLY TRAVELED The wilderness is filled with paths; deer trails, hikes across mountains or into rainforests, or anywhere else leading, as Shel Silverstein once wrote, “where the sidewalk ends.” But if you want to wield a camera and document all those non-human spaces and their inhabitants, where does the trailhead start for your … Read more
KITTED OUT FOR SUCCESS Film and TV projects have long combined custom-built equipment with the latest high technology, and that seems even more common in natural history work. The natural history field demands material that’s novel and achieves the sort of high-end gloss that’s become a baseline. Katie Mayhew describes it as “the blue chip … Read more
NATURE KNOW HOW Providing a definitive overview of how to shoot wildlife is a near-impossible task. However, with help from a selection of brilliant and very experienced cinematographers, we can cover some of the ground rules. In terms of kit, many cinematographers say the smaller the creature tends to be, the more things you need … Read more
A wildlife cinematographer doesn’t only capture the results of evolution in the natural world – they also experience it in the very tool boxes they take into the wild: Shifts from film to digits, terrestrial radio to satellite phones, paper maps to GPS systems, and more. None of that means it’s necessarily easier to grab … Read more
We’ve ventured to virtual worlds and delved deep into lighting and lenses; but now our Focus On series is highlighting the intrepid and passionate filmmakers capturing the natural world in all its wonder. Take a walk on the wild side as we guide you through the evolution of natural history production, exploring developments in technological … Read more
The concept of image-based lighting on set is relatively new, but innovations and education pioneered by Quasar Science are bringing the technique to the mainstream. The quest for realistic lighting that is emotive and immersive and that complements an actor’s physical attributes in an environment has been the goal since the first lighting technician flipped … Read more
Over three years since a pivotal virtual production (VP) thinktank came together, Universal Pixels looks at how the UK industry was able to not only hone the discipline, but become confident in supporting productions in using VP. In 2022, the British Film institute estimated that the HETV sector was worth over £6 billion, and that … Read more
Integrating LED walls in virtual production has brought a transformative shift in the filmmaking industry. Integrating the LED wall and managing colour rendering, accuracy, and consistency is paramount for film production. Visuals that look great on your monitor during the design process can look different on the actual LED screen, which is essential in any … Read more
AV Stumpfl’s PIXERA real-time media server platform is becoming increasingly popular with leading studios and production companies who integrate it into their existing virtual production workflows. AV Stumpfl’s award-winning 64-bit system for real-time media processing, compositing and management was designed to thrive in both 2D and 3D environments. Since its initial release in 2019, the … Read more
Cinematographer and virtual production specialist Andreas Neo shares how he achieves final pixel images on a VP stage with Kino Flo MIMIK image-based video lighting tiles. Final pixel imaging is all about walking onto a virtual stage and being able to shoot and treat it creatively as if you were shooting on location. And while … Read more
Filmmakers are in for a treat at CVP’s new flagship virtual production showroom, where state-of-the-art technology meets creative vision. CVP has launched a new showroom and events space on Great Titchfield Street, housing the latest in virtual production solutions. As you would expect from CVP, this remarkable space is designed to immerse customers comfortably in … Read more
Racquet Studios delivers a flexible approach to virtual production. Despite housing a sizeable community of production talent and with a significant heritage as a location for film and TV shoots, Eastbourne, East Sussex and the South Coast, in general, have lacked specialist studio infrastructure. That is until now. Opened in June 2023 and set to … Read more