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| WELCOME TO THE WILDLIFE FILM ACADEMY NEWSLETTER
If you are passionate about wildlife and want to pursue a career in wildlife filmmaking, then the course offered by the Wildlife Film Academy is for you. Inspire yourself!
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| JUNE AND JULY COURSES The June course runs from 6 June – 6 July and there is 1 place available. Students on this course will be taken to a beautiful game reserve in the
Visit www.wildlifefilmacademy.com for detailed information about the course. |
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FREE ENTRY TO DURBAN WILD TALK AFRICA - WILDLIFE,
TRAVEL AND CULTURAL FILM FESTIVAL Register now - The 4-day Festival runs from 27-30 August 2007, in For more details about this festival and conference, visit
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NEWS FROM FILMMAKERS IN THE FIELD
The
What are you currently working on and who commissioned it?
"We recently completed a one hour film “Search for the Coast Wolves” for ZDF and Discovery. We are now developing a follow up programme “Running with Wolves” in which we will travel the northern hemisphere on a journey of discovery about wolf behaviour. Our story is told by a wolf expert, an ex world champion cross country skier who is recovering from a life threatening brain tumor. Her love of wolves is what is driving her recovery as she is determined to once again run with wolves. The launch of our unique gyro stabilized aerial camera platform, Wing Cam One, has meant that we are concentrating more and more on aerial photography. But most recently I have been involved in filming for the BBC feature film on meerkats of the Kalahari." What has been your most memorable/ hair-raising experience whilst out there filming? "I try and keep hair raising experiences to a minimum since as one gets older one normally has less hair to raise anyway! However, the first film I worked on as a cameraman still remains the most dangerous wildlife encounter I have ever had. I was making a film about the big cats in the Maasai Mara,
One morning I saw a really badly wounded adult hippo walking across the plains. The hippo had deep gashes all over its body and, knowing that these could have been caused either by another hippo or perhaps lions, I thought I should follow and film it. Anyhow, it wandered into the riverine forest and after a while sat down. By this time I had gotten all the shots I could possible think of, of its wounds and, quite frankly it was all pretty gory, and rather boring material. I really couldn’t see it ever making it into my programme. What I really needed was something a lot more dramatic, like a really low angle close up of the hippo!
Now as a stills photographer I knew a wide angle lens would do the job so I put my 5.9mm onto the 16mm Arri and stepped out the car. Big mistake. What I didn’t quite appreciate (or have the experience to know) was just how close I would have to get to the hippo to get that shot. The hippo was lying perhaps 50 feet away and my assistant could only watch in disbelief as I moved further and further away from the car. As I crawled closer and closer to the hippo I kept looking into the viewfinder only to discover the hippo was still a tiny dot in the picture. Then the hippo started to threat gape, opening its jaws wide to warn me not to come closer. What a shot that would be, but I was still too far away. I had to get closer. Slowly I edged forward. The hippo was less than 15 feet in front of me when it stood up. It was either going to sit down again or charge. Now I had the potential for a good shot, but I was far too close to the animal and in serious trouble.
Luckily I was crouching and that probably saved my life as it enabled me to move quickly. The next moment the hippo charged. I dived to the side and the hippo rushed past so close I could have patted it on the bottom. It was now right in front of the car and inches away from my ashen-faced assistant. I was right behind it tucked in behind a little tree. Then it attacked the Suzuki biting straight through the bonnet and then rushed off into the forest. In the heat of the moment my camera had been ripped from my hand and, by some incredible fortune, the hippo had not stood on it. But I never did get that shot for in saving myself I had not had the time to even turn the camera on! None of the footage ever made it into my programme and none has ever been sold – it is just too dull and gory for TV."
What is your advice for newcomers to the industry? "I think newcomers to wildlife filmmaking have fantastic opportunities today, especially if they want to become camerapersons. The range of progammes being commissioned has never been greater and the advent of video equipment has meant one can shoot and gain experience at minimal expense. However, as has always been the case, the profession is highly competitive and those that succeed are the people who are highly motivated, who never take no for an answer, who don’t mind working hard for little monetary reward, who get along with their colleagues, and who are prepared to do any job, however menial, if it provides an inroad into the industry.
Nothing beats experience and one way to gain a foothold in the industry is to try to get work experience with a renowned production company, offer ones assistance to a cameraperson, or perhaps even join up with the Wildlife Film Academy in Cape Town where you will learn a few tricks of the trade and get some hands-on practice at making films. The bottom line is.. have faith and belief in your own abilities but remember everyone is expendable. You may need the film industry but it does not need you!"
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| NEWS FROM PAST STUDENTS
News from past student, Khuthala Chelesi,
khuthala.chelesi@etv.co.za
“I attended the I was lucky enough to see an advertisement in the paper about a wildlife filmmaking course and I told myself that I could not miss this opportunity. When I attended the course, everything was new to me, I had never used any of the filming equipment, and the terminology used was foreign to me. However, the lecturers were very motivating, patient and understanding, especially for people like me who had never used/touched cameras before. When we went on our 1 week practical field trip, everything was so beautiful in such a way that I was tempted to film everything I came across, but because I had script (I wrote it myself) that was guiding me, I was restricted. I ended up with three full tapes! We got back to Out of three full tapes I had to edit my movie to only 5 minutes long. I now have my own movie that I am very proud of, because I did everything by myself from synopsis, shoot and editing. I thank the
After attending the course, the
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| THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS
NFVF – www.nfvf.co.za
National Geographic Television - www.nationalgeographic.com Dimension Television Facilities – www.dimensiontv.co.za Lizard Entertainment – www.lizardentertainment.co.za |
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CONTACT DETAILS
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| www.wildlifefilmacademy.com |
