 Wildlife Film News
     
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Welcome new full members of June! Take your shoes off Productions – An independent film company based in Sweden and Norway, making films to inspire people to get up, go outside and explore. Founded by Grethe Hillersöy and Tony Meyer in 2013. AnimalBytesTV – The first online animal network produced for animal lovers by animal lovers. With weekly shows produced by animal and wildlife experts from around the globe. Nature TTL – A free resource for nature photographers looking to improve their technique and get closer to the perfect shot from Will Nicholls. There's basic FREE membership for all here or for a much more comprehensive listing and additional benefits, become a full member: Wildlife-film.com/freelancers or Wildlife-film.com/companies |
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Fancy being a Wildlife Film-maker? There's places available on our Introduction to Wildlife Film-making Course, 8-10 August! Start your Wildeye journey this Summer!!
No experience or equipment is required. More HERE! NB. This course, as with all courses, requires a minimum number of participants if it is to proceed. In this case, by the 4th of July. So, please book before then! Thank you. Booking: If the home page shows that there are places available for the course of your choice - please complete the online application form and send in the deposit as detailed. Also, check out the home page for availability on our Wildlife Camera Operator Course, this Autumn, 31 Oct - 2 Nov 2014. |
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'Wildlife filming: What producers should know', by Wildeye principal, Piers Warren So, you need some wildlife sequences for your production but don’t know where to start? Don’t panic! There are numerous professionals out there who can help you. The first thing to bear in mind is that filming wildlife on location is a specialist activity.
Read the full article, including many top tips and a focus on ethics, on thelocationguide.com Learn from the great man himself, by joining the Introduction to Wildlife Film-making Course, 8-10 August! See above. |
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Tutoring in Norway: Wildlife and the Northern Lights using Canon I recently travelled to Norway with Canon kit to help tutor aspiring wildlife filmmakers for UK based wildlife filmmaking group Wildeye and our Norwegian host Bernhard Paussett of Norsk Naturfilm. Our mission – to film the wildlife and Northern Lights. We stayed at Sandsøy Fort (an abandoned coastal fort now fitted out for visitors) on the northwest coast of Norway, where the wild landscape would not have been out of place in Lord of the Rings. Here mountain ranges cloaked in thick snow roll out as far as the eye can see, while all around, sister islands reach from the waves to the sky in equally epic proportions. Surrounded by such rugged beauty this white wilderness is truly a stunning place to visit. The conditions at this time of the year are extreme to say the least. With temperatures dropping to -11° it was going to be a challenge. At these temperatures communication from brain to fingers can be short lived so the right clothing is essential if fingers are to remain in good working order around a camera. |
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Nominations for natural history film ‘Oscars’ announced! Today, Thursday 19 June, the nominations for the bi-annual international wildlife TV and film awards have been announced.
Over 30 UK-made wildlife programmes have made the shortlist across 22 different categories. David Attenborough’s Natural History Museum Alive (Colossus Productions) is shortlisted for awards in six categories acknowledging the series’ musical score, accessibility for younger viewers and technological innovation.
The Panda Awards – dubbed the ‘Green Oscars’ – forms the centrepiece of the Wildscreen Film Festival which celebrates the very best in natural history film making and takes place in Bristol, England from 19-24 October. The awards ceremony will be held on Thursday 23 October. Read more and see the full list here... Congratulations to members Silverback Films, Humble Bee Films, Brian Leith Productions, Table Mountain Films, Verity White/Five Films, Chris Watson (sound for Enchanted Kingdom), Alex Jones/Wildlife Film Productions and Tom Mustill (director on The Bat Man of Mexico) for their finalist films! :) |
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Wildscreen Festival 2014 Earlybird Tickets on sale now! We are delighted to announce that passes are now on sale for the Wildscreen Film Festival 2014! Early bird and concession delegate passes are available here, so get them while they're hot. Once you've bought your pass you will also be able to purchase your ticket to the glittering Panda Awards! Roar Talent The deadline for applications to the ROAR Talent bursary is July 5 2014, and successful applicants will be notified by August 5 2014. The Wildscreen Film Festival ROAR Talent bursaries aim to provide aspiring wildlife filmmakers aged 17-24 with an opportunity to attend the Festival that they may not otherwise have had. Applications to the ROAR Talent bursaries are open to anyone who meets the eligibility criteria. We will award six bursaries to the applicants who best demonstrate their passion for, and commitment to, the wildlife filmmaking industry. The bursary recipients will be issued with complimentary passes for the duration of the Festival, enabling them to attend industry seminars, talks, masterclasses and other daytime programme sessions. This pass will also grant them access to the delegate lounge and networking breakfasts, plus attendance at up to two Festival workshops each day, free of charge. Recipients will also be assigned a leading industry mentor who specialises in their area of interest, to guide and support them through the week, and receive an invitation to the renowned Panda Awards ceremony. Entry docs (and more info) here: www.wildscreenfestival.org/about/roar-talent.aspx Questions should go to: ROARTalent@wildscreen.org.uk Call for Wildscreen Fesival Volunteers coming mid-July! Wildscreen will be looking for festival volunteers in mid-July, so if you're interested in doing this, make sure you sign up to their mailing list as they will send out a newsletter as soon as the call is live. Alternatively, you could email events@wildscreen.org.uk to show you are keen! We highly reccommend that anyone wanting to break into the industry do this, as it's a fantastic way of meeting your peers, forging strong friendships/alliances, and you'll get the opportunity to meet many of the big players too! |
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Wildscreen appoints new Chief Executive Wildscreen, the award-winning wildlife conservation charity, today announces the appointment of Caroline Copsey as its new CEO. Caroline joins Wildscreen following 3 years at Dyson Ltd where she most recently held position as the head of marketing for international business development. She started with the company in 2011 as group marketing controller. Her career to date has given her extensive commercial, marketing and management experience both nationally and internationally working across a wide range of industries. Before Dyson, she was responsible for the introduction and marketing of several national food brands to the consumer market. Caroline’s experience puts her in an ideal position to spearhead the expansion of existing Wildscreen platforms and to drive forward the development of innovative new projects and the international ambitions of the organisation. She replaces Richard Edwards, who stepped down as chief executive in November last year to take up a new opportunity with WWF-UK. |
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Wild Talk Africa Showcases Best of Environmental and Wildlife Films at 35th DIFF 17-27th July 2014 For the second year running, Durban Wild Talk Africa will showcase a selection of both local and international natural history films during nine slots at this year’s 35th Durban International Film Festival (17 – 27 July). Durban Wild Talk Africa Film Festival now in its 9th year, brings a world-class television market and natural history conference to South Africa every two years. After the success of last year’s conference at DIFF, Durban Wild Talk Africa will again present a programme of nature films that are fast becoming a firm favourite in the festival’s diverse line up. This year, the strand once again offers entertaining and enlightening viewing for nature enthusiasts, animal-lovers, adrenalin junkies and environmentalists alike. Some not-to-be-missed films include: “Unearthed” – a shocking insight into the world of hydraulic fracking through the journey of a young South African journalist who starts asking questions when the fracking industry arrives in her hometown in the Karoo. Her questions take her into the dark underbelly of America’s gas industry. Other films in this strand include the award-winning Iranian astronaut-inspired “Sepideh”, Liz Marshall’s photographic revelation into the commodification of animals in “The Ghosts in our Machines”, an artistic voyage into water in “Watermark” and the world premier of “Lady Baboon”- chronicling the life of a woman who single handedly started the controversial baboon conservation movement in South Africa and who is often described as “the unknown Jane Goodall.” The partnership between Durban Wild Talk Africa and Durban International Film Festival is part of the City of Durban’s vision to position the city as Africa’s primary destination for film markets and festivals. For more information on the Wild Talk Festival contact shani@wildtalkafrica.com or call +257 (0)21 422 0023. |
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The The 37th Annual International Wildlife Film Festival is now on tour! Learn how to bring the longest running wildlife film festival into your hometown, organization, business, agency, or school by downloading the Post Festival Tour Packet HERE.Visit: www.wildlifefilms.org |
These
weekends, in the heart of Norfolk, provide a unique hands-on introduction
to wildlife film-making. The sessions cover all aspects of wildlife
film-making with opportunities for practical filming work as well as advice about how to get started and what equipment to use. This
course is the perfect start for those wishing to work in the wildlife
film-making industry, whether as a camera operator, producer, researcher,
script-writer, presenter and so on. It is also suitable for those
wishing to pursue wildlife film-making as a fascinating hobby. 
Professional
wildlife film-makers with a wide range of experience will be your
guides and tutors throughout the weekend. You will find it a fun
and valuable experience, and will enjoy mixing with other people
enthused by wildlife films. The
location is 
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Wildlife Film job based at WWT Welney – Media Production Officer - Great Ouse Wetland Project. WWT is seeking an enthusiastic videographer to join our team, producing a series of engaging short wildlife videos, depicting the story of a year in the life of a stunning wetland region. Our ideal candidate will be a persuasive and engaging communicator, very interested in wildlife and happy to work around its schedules, and will have good news & media sense. Based at Welney in Norfolk, the person will be able to work independently with loads of initiative, with guidance and support from a main team at WWT HQ at Slimbridge and local staff at WWT Welney. This post is within the Ouse Washes Landscape Partnership, supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund. Find out more here: jobs.wwt.org.uk/vacancies/388/media_production_officer_great_ouse_wetland_project_fixed_term_contract Job description: Media_Production_Officer_Great_Ouse_Project2.pdf Closing Date: 12/07/2014 Contact media.production@wwt.org.uk |
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Tom Mustill - Director of The Bat Man of Mexico An interview with member, Tom Mustill, the director of The Bat Man of Mexico, a Natural World Special, first shown on BBC Two at 9pm on Friday the 13th of June 2014.
It's about a man called Rodrigo Medellin, who is a Mexican conservationist. His great passion is bats, and the film charts the end of his twenty year effort to pull a species called the Lesser Long-Nosed Bat back from extinction, and follows his journey alongside the bats on their migration, which takes them 1500 miles across Mexico from giant underground volcanoes to desert islands. What's rather special about the film is that it is a pretty audacious success story - Rodrigo and his team have brought the bats back from a very precarious level, and now their populations are thriving.
BATMOSPHERES: Wild tracks from filming 'The Bat Man of Mexico' by Oimustill on Mixcloud The film is up for the Wildscreen Festival People and Nature Award!! :) Watch the film (signed version!) on iPlayer whilst you still can: www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b046tnw3/sign/natural-world-20142015-6-the-bat-man-of-mexico |
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Wild Canada by member Brian Leith Productions to air on Eden Channel, July the 9th! A look at Canada's beautiful scenery and wildlife where we see humpback whales feeding on schools of capelin, travel from the Pacific temperate forests to the snow-dusted peaks of the Rocky Mountains, meet beaver in the boreal forest and see polar bear cubs discovering ice for the first time. Produced with award-winning filmmakers Jeff and Sue Turner (River Road Films, Vancouver) for CBC Canada, where it premiered on March 13th (www.cbc.ca/wildcanada) and Terra Mater. Also working on the series are award-winning Producer/Directors Phil Chapman (‘Wild China’) and Sacha Mirzoeff, and Assistant Producer and Director, Ben Wallis. Narrated by Sir David Attenborough.
Played out in four, back-to-back episodes, from 8pm on July the 9th. |
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Wildlife Film-maker, Bob Campbell dies "It was with great sadness that we heard of the passing of Bob Campbell on 12 June. One of our ‘Africa’s Big Five’, Bob was a gentleman in every way, modest and unassuming. We shall miss his reassuring presence and treasure the memory of his visit to our office to be interviewed for Wild Film History. Our thoughts and deep sympathy go out to Heather." Jean Hartley, Viewfinders |
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Wildlife Film-maker, Adrian Luckhurst, shot in Kenya Adrian Luckhurst, known for his work on Africa: The Serengeti(1994), The Blood of the Rose(2009) and Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom (2002), has been viciously attached at his home in Kenya. His wife, Vicky, was thankfully unharmed. We understand that Adrian is out of danger but seriously injured with lasting consequences. We send him him and his family all best wishes for a speedy recovery. Read more here: www.kenya63.org.uk/listing/adrian-luckhurst |
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Wildscreen Arkive Arkive has a fresh new look! Have you seen their beautiful new homepage yet?
Check it out: www.arkive.org also Celebrate ARKive’s Highlights from the past year! |
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Wildscreen Exchange group is looking for submissions! Attention all Flickr users! Wildscreen is developing an exciting new initiative, the Wildscreen Exchange, and they are looking for contributions. Are you interested in donating images to empower conservation organisations and support their campaigns, education and storytelling? Head on over to the new Wildscreen Exchange Flickr group to find out more! www.flickr.com/groups/wildscreenexchange |
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Wildscreen Photography Festival tickets are on sale now! Tim Laman will be presenting the Saturday night keynote talk at Wildscreen Photography Festival 2014! (formerly WildPhotos) and tickets are already on sale... Get them whilst they are still hot! www.wildphotos.org.uk |
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New broadcaster member AnimalBytesTV's call for content! AnimalBytesTV are looking for producers that might be interested in us distributing their work on their new network! They launch this week, on Tuesday the 2nd of July 2014, and have weekly series being produced from wildlife experts from around the globe, but they are looking for wildlife documentaries for each Sunday... Email: bhb@comcast.net Website: www.animalbytes.tv AnimalBytesTV is the first independent animal network produced by animal lovers for animal lovers. AnimalBytesTV is a network of entertaining and educational shows produce by people that live and breath wildlife each and everyday of their lives. Each show is filmed, produced and edited by animal lovers, so there’s no pressure from network executives to have overly sensational shows just for ratings. Our mission is to bring you along on our journey to the wild side. Whether it’s wrangling reptiles or playing with big cats, we’ll welcome you into our lives and see what it’s like to get up and close to a wide array of amazing creatures . Conversation is a large part of the goal here at AnimalBytesTV and we’ll make sure to highlight the topics that effect animals around the globe. So check back each weekday for new videos and remember to keep that passion for wildlife!
Member The Adventurer – Alex Jones is getting involved, so why not join him and get your films broadcast on AnimalBytesTV!? See: www.animalbytes.tv for more! |
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Please Support The Solitary Bees campaign (Take 2) with member James Dunbar 90% of Britain's bees are Solitary Bees. They are crucial pollinators yet are little known or conserved. This film aims to change that.. Please visit: www.kickstarter.com/projects/thesolitarybees/the-solitary-bees-take-2
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Please support member Abbie Barnes on her fund-raising mission, as she heads to Africa for the first time! It's official - IM GOING TO AFRICA!! I've been offered a life-changing opportunity, but boy is it going to be a challenge. Commissioned by PATT (Plant a Tree Today), I've been assigned the role of producing a 3-part series following a 7 day climb up Kilimanjaro. The group includes a number of internationally renowned wildlife conservationists each seeking to raise awareness about global climate change. Funds donated to PATT go directly towards environmental education and planting trees directly in Kilimanjaro National Park and Dubai. But I need your help! With under 30 days to go, I need to raise a final £600 to fund some final camera equipment - GoPros, camera cases, SD cards, batteries - basic equipment that will really allow this project to be the very best that it can be. Please please please click the link below to find out how to can become a part of our story, and help spread the message about global climate change. Thank you, and please share! Abbie Visit: songthrushproductions.co.uk/projects
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An investor is needed to complete a one of a kind film. Gil Arbel is a wildlife filmmake, looking for a producer/investor for his new film. Please watch the trailer and contact him directly at gilarbel@hotmail.com if you can help! |
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Requiem for Kevin from member Patrick Rouxel Thank you to all of you who have made a donation for this project and who continue to do so. Your help is greatly appreciated and still needed to be able to pay the final bills. The construction of the main enclosure’s wall is now in its finishing stages, another few days are needed to finish the plastering of the wall and the making of a pool for the bears to enjoy when it gets too hot. Then there is still quite a lot of work needed to put up the wires for the electric fencing and to get the electric system up and running. Unfortunately, I have very sad news: Kevin, the big strong male sun bear we see on all the videos of the project, died on May 11th. He was gone in less than 24 hours from showing the first clinical symptoms. Acute necrotic pancreatitis it seems, there was nothing we could do.... After a life behind bars, Kevin died just a few weeks before being able to enjoy a bit of forest and some space. Fate is so unfair sometimes. At least the girls, Desi and Hilda are doing well. The enclosure will be for the two of them now. Here is a short video to honour Kevin’s memory: www.youtube.com/watch?v=HicYy5zaGCA&feature=youtu.be
Visit: help3sunbears.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/requiem-for-kevin.html |
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Ol Pejeta Conservancy - Protecting Endangered Species from Member Tom Aveling Discover what it takes to protect rare species at a conservancy in Kenya. From tracker dogs to armed response - ensuring rhinos, elephants, big cats and other iconic species can survive and thrive.
Visit: www.olpejetaconservancy.org |
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Satao – a legend by wildlife film-maker Mark Deeble When I last wrote about Satao, I felt that I couldn’t use his name. I could refer to him only as a ‘magnificent tusker’ or an ‘iconic Tsavo bull’. I feared that naming him would risk revealing where he lived. Now that I can use it, I wish that that I couldn’t. On the 30th May, poachers finally caught up with Satao. An arrow smeared with Acokanthera poison hit him in his left flank and penetrated his body cavity. It travelled right through to his vital organs. To begin with, he might have run, to get deeper inside the park, where he felt safe. Running would have made the poison work faster. He didn’t get very far. Eventually he stood still in open ground, not a mile from the park boundary – with the potent cardio-toxin coursing through him. Without any cover to hide his tusks, he’d have felt exposed and vulnerable. He would have stayed on his feet as long as he could. When the end came, it was probably quick. He collapsed, his legs splayed out – slumped in the macabre likeness of a sleeping puppy. He never got to his feet again. I hope he died before the poachers got to him. Read more here: markdeeble.wordpress.com/2014/06/15/satao-a-legend-2 |
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The Sussex Wildlife Trust's 2014 Photography Competition is now open for entries. The theme of this year's competition is Simply the Best. We are looking for 12 stunning photographs capturing the best of the wildlife and landscapes of Sussex to feature in our 2014 online calendar. We want your best, most stunning, most awe-inspiring shots - the ones that make people go 'WOW'.Visit: www.sussexwildlifetrust.org.uk/photocompetition Closing Date: 10 September 2014 |
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Wildlife Sound Recording Society Sound of the Month! The Oystercatcher is July's Sound of the Month - have a listen soundcloud.com/wildlife-sound-recording/oystercatcher. www.wildlife-sound.org Facebook: www.facebook.com/WildlifeSound Twitter: @WildlifeSound |
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United for Wildlife celebrates the official launch of #WhoseSideAreYouOn
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The Native Pony Stallion by member Caroline Brett is out now! The Native Pony Stallion, published by Wildeye, is a guide to handling and working with an entire pony. The book covers each stage from foal to maturity, and offers advice on how to care for a stallion and prepare him for various disciplines including showing and breeding. It contains detailed veterinary guidance, information about stallions from the Native Pony Societies, useful tips and helpful insights on each British native pony breed gleaned from interviews with experienced pony people. The book costs £11.95 plus postage. It is available directly through Caroline by emailing carolinebrett@mac.com, through Suffield Highland Ponies, The Highland Pony Society and on Amazon. Caroline has also produced a film called The Highland Pony: A Celebration - See the Facebook Page. |
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Got your copy of Wild Pages: The Wildlife Film-makers' Resource Guide 2014/15 yet?
Order your copy direct from us here: www.wildeye.co.uk/wildpages/order.html Thank you!! :) |
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Made in Bristol Welcome to the Hollywood of wildlife film making IN some ways we are the Hollywood of wildlife film making," Mike Gunton tells me, without an ounce of irony. The sheets of drizzle raking across Whiteladies Road make it seems a long way from Sunset Boulevard – but he may have a point. Since the 1970s Bristol has become a hub for natural history television, attracting talent from around the world. After Life on Earth first graced our screens, the city developed into the beating heart of a booming and evolving industry. Bristol now holds a core crew of innovative and dedicated film makers whose work has been seen by billions. And Mike, 55, who lives and works on Whiteladies Road, is one part of that crew. Having first joined the BBC's natural history unit in Bristol in 1987 to work with Sir David Attenborough, he has gone on to make dozens of films and has become creative director at the prestigious department. Read more at: www.bristolpost.co.uk |
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Andrew Jackson departs Discovery Channel Two years after becoming Discovery Channel's EVP of production and development for landmark series and specials, Andrew Jackson (pictured) has left the company. A veteran director and producer, Jackson joined the company’s UK office from the BBC’s Natural History Unit and reported to Discovery, Science and Velocity group networks president Eileen O’Neill. Over the past two years he oversaw Discovery programs such as North America, Monster Squid – the Giant is Real and Winged Planet. Read more: Realscreen.com |
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Discovery Int'l picks up "Bahama Blue" Discovery Networks International has picked up Bahama Blue (pictured), an underwater factual series from Canadian indie Parallax Film Productions, to air in 2015. Read more: Realscreen.com |
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BBC2 orders honeybee special UK broadcaster BBC2 has commissioned a two-parter looking at the world of British honeybees, from prodco Impossible Factual. Hive Alive (2 x 60-minute) will be fronted by Chris Packham, Martha Kearney, and bee expert Professor Adam Hart. Filmed over two consecutive weeks in rural England, the program is being billed by the BBC as “a lively television event which will reveal the world of the honeybee as we’ve never seen it before.” Read more: Realscreen.com |
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France 2 promises wild nights in color French pubcaster France 2 and China's CCTV9 are lining up A Night on Earth (pictured), an ambitious multi-million dollar international wildlife copro that promises to use new technology to film night-time wildlife, in color. Read more: Realscreen.com |
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SeeSense offer another quality CS-mount HD camera Get High Quality Content and Save Money with 1/3” CS-mount HD-SDI miniature camera systems exclusive from SeeSense. Read more: www.seesense.eu |
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WILDAID'S WORLD CUP MESSAGE
The Duke of Cambridge, David Beckham, and Yao Ming are speaking out to protect rhinos for future generations in this WildAid message. The trio met in London in September 2013 to film two messages that began airing globally, with targeted outreach in China and Vietnam, beginning in January 2014 as part of WildAid's demand reduction campaign and the Royal Foundation's United for Wildlife Collaboration. Visit: www.wildaid.org |
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Polar Bear Pestering by GoPro?
It's been pointed out to us that the bears in the film look stressed and harrassed. Great images but possibly at the expense of the the subjects' well-being? The energy expended getting away from the camera operator(s) may have been better spent elsewhere? Were they stressed? Was this an ethical shoot? Was the behaviour of the bears altered? Did the camera operator(s) get too close? We'd be interested to hear your opinions: news@wildlife-film.com Visit: gopro.com/videos/featured/polar-bears-the-quest-for-sea-ice |
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