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WELCOME TO THE WILDLIFE FILM ACADEMY NEWSLETTER
Learn the art of Wildlife filmmaking in Cape Town, South Africa. This intensive one-month course, offers lectures by industry professionals, includes a spectacular all expenses paid field trip to a premier game reserve, and each student produces their own unique five-minute short film. |
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UPDATE FROM THE WILDLIFE FILM ACADEMY
Alexander Sletten, from Norway, completed the course in November, and the Wildlife Film Academy organised a job for him at www.wildearth.tv as a cameraman. Wild Earth broadcasts 24 hours a day from the African Wilderness. They are currently in the Sabi Sands, Kruger National Park.
Film screenings showing at the Labia: All films produced by future students will be shown at the Labia Theatre, in Orange Street, Cape Town at the end of every course. Should you be interested in attending the screenings email info@wildlifefilmacademy.com
A successful course was held in December 2007, with a field trip to the Sanbona Wildlife Reserve. Here’s an update from some of the students on the course:
Sunil Gunaratna from Sri Lanka, produced the film “ Birds of Sanbona”. Having already published a book on “The Birds of Sri Lanka”, Sunil’s future plan is to produce an encyclopedia of birds on DVD.
Katy Johnson from the UK, produced the film, “The quest for the Riverine Rabbit” and managed to get footage of the Riverine Rabbit, which has never been filmed before at Sanbona in the Renosterveld.
Jennie Stenhouse from New Zealand, used to be a computer games programmer and decided she needed a career change. Jennie produced a film for children, “ABC Africa”, which gave a fresh approach to learning the alphabet…A is for Africa!
Marna Cilliers-Hartslief from South Africa, produced the film “Sanbona Reincarnated: the story of the Ancient African Journalists”, and her immediate plans are to develop a visual digital repository for the National Heritage Council of South Africa, whilst pursuing her career in wildlife, cultural and natural history filmmaking. Marna played an instrumental role in the publishing of the book - “Essence of a land: South Africa and its World Heritage Sites”.
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COURSE DATES FOR 2008 To maximize the professional tuition, each course can accommodate 10 students. The course dates are as follows:
23 January – 22 February– fully booked. 5 March – 4 April 16 April – 16 May 28 May – 27 June 9 June – 9 July 16 July – 15 August 30 July – 29 August 3 September – 3 October 8 October - 7 November 12 November – 12 December
To book your place on a course email info@wildlifefilmacademy.com
For more
detailed information about the course visit
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NEWS FROM FILMMAKERS IN THE FIELD
The Wildlife Film Academy spoke to filmmaker
David Curl,
one of the founding directors of the Australasian Natural
History Unit (www.anhu.com.au)
1 What are you currently working on and who commissioned it?
I do occasionally work on simple commissions as a cameraman/DOP. I’ve just come off a stint shooting 35mm film on Australian director Baz Luhrmann’s epic feature “Australia”, starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman. If you haven’t heard about the film yet, I’m sure you will over the next year! It makes a weird contrast, a cast and crew of hundreds, when you’re used to working on your own in the bush!
The Australasian Natural History Unit is also just launching
a couple of major series about Australia’s wildlife on which
I’m working – hopefully, the definitive portraits of some of
Australia’s wildest and most beautiful locations. All HD, of
course. And all shot by Australians with an in-depth
knowledge of each of the locations.
2 What has been your most memorable / hair-raising experience whilst out there filming?
Filming in Australia is probably a bit tame, on the whole.
No charging hippos. No filming animals with sharp teeth
under a polar ice cap. I did get charged by a water buffalo
once, I suppose, and did, for a moment, wonder what I was
doing wading through mud up to my thighs, with camera gear,
when approaching a crocodile nest on the riverbank. And,
come to think of it, this morning wasn’t all that much fun
filming a crow’s nest, 15 metres up in a cherry picker (or
whatever you call them in South Africa. “Robots”, or
something, I imagine!), when the wind picked up violently
and some dust-devils blew straight through. They tell me
these cranes can’t fall over, but it certainly didn’t feel
that way.
The most memorable moments, though, are really whenever your time out in the bush is rewarded by the unexpected: bits of animal behaviour that you’d never think to write into a script – and no-one would believe you if you did!
3 What is your advice for newcomers to the industry? Really, there are as many ways into the industry as there are people in it. But I suppose there may be a few general rules:
1. Persistence.
Well that’s the same whatever you do, isn’t it?
2. Get
as far as you can on your own (try writing that script, or
making a promotional video clip, rather than talking vaguely
about something you’d like to do). And don’t undervalue your
own “intellectual property”, your own knowledge and
experience, when trying to sell an idea, or yourself.
3. Don’t
leave the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival on a small
plane to Denver! What a trip that was last year: at least
50% of the passengers were violently ill and even the
hostess was strapped in her seat almost the entire trip.
Seriously, though, taking part in any conferences, festivals
or on sets or locations is one of the best ways to learn
about all sorts of aspects of the industry.
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INTERNS AVAILABLE
The Wildlife Film Academy has a number of international students who have completed the filmmaking course and are available for internships in South Africa and abroad. Should you be interested in employing an intern please email info@wildlifefilmacademy.com |
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WILDLIFE
PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR EXHIBITION
Here’s a fantastic opportunity to visit this world class Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition in Cape Town…..the competition owned by the Natural History Museum of London and BBC Wildlife Magazine, and brought to South Africa by NHU AFRICA, attracted an overwhelming 32,000 entries from 78 countries both from amateur and professional photographers. The photographs are exceptional. Together they create a powerful window of life on Earth. The exhibition, sponsored by Animal Planet will run until 12 March at the Iziko South African Museum in Cape Town. This year the exhibition will not be showcased in Johannesburg. For more information visit www.nhuafrica.com
The photographs are so inspiring, you’ll be tempted to take more photographs and enter this year’s competition. Entries open on 17 January, for more information visit www.nhm.ac.uk/wildphoto
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THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS
NFVF –
www.nfvf.co.za
Lizard Entertainment –
www.lizardentertainment.co.za
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CONTACT DETAILS
Wildlife Film Academy
Ph/ Fax: +27 21 422 5363 Email: info@wildlifefilmacademy.com |
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The Wildlife Film Academy - inspire yourself!
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