Research and Production for Wildlife Documentaries

Research and production are essential elements of the wildlife film industry but the activities involved and techniques required are not always obvious. This course combines presentations from experienced researchers and producers, who can guide you through the pitfalls and teach you the tricks of the trade, with practical work and examples from real productions.

Working as a wildlife researcher or production assistant is often the first step in the wildlife film-making industry but getting a job can be hard. This course will give you a thorough grounding to all the skills required and be a valuable addition to your CV. If you are planning on 'going on your own' as a researcher/producer the information gained from this course will be invaluable. The skills learned are applicable to team members or solo film-makers.

The course is taught by Caroline Brett, who is a highly experienced and award-winning producer/ director, Alan Miller, an accomplished director, writer and editor, and professional researcher Sarah Barber.

The location is Hall Farm House in North Norfolk, UK. Accommodation: a limited number of shared rooms are available for an extra £10 per night in the farm house (allocated on a first come first served basis), B&Bs nearby and campers welcome. There will be excellent home-cooked food. No experience or equipment is required, but do bring your laptop if you have one.

Itinerary

Friday: Aim to arrive by 6pm on the Friday the course starts, directions will be sent when you have booked your place.
7pm - Evening meal served (no problem if you arrive later)
8pm - Introductory chat - who we are, who you are, and what we will be doing this weekend.

Saturday:
8am - Breakfast
9am - Introduction to research, what the producer wants, getting the best out of a vast resource.
11am - Coffee break
11.30am - Analysis of various film treatments (proposals) both successful and unsuccessful. Which ones were commissioned and why?
1pm - Lunch
2pm - Research practical - internet research, approaching scientists, presentation, writing treatments/proposals.
4pm Tea Break
4.30pm - Presenting the research proposals.
7pm - Evening meal served followed by the showing of wildlife films relevant to the course

Sunday:
8am - Breakfast
9 am - Pre-production - including recces and what to look for, how to collect information, meeting scientists; how to make promos; writing budgets. Viewing a selection of promos - which helped sell the film and why?
11am - Coffee break
11.30am - Production - co-ordination, logistics, verifying figures for the budget, booking flights, equipment and accommodation. Call sheets, people skills. Filming behind-the-scenes footage, sound recording. Logging, transferring footage to computer. Location and consent forms. Preparing credit lists.
1pm - Lunch
2pm - Post-production - the editing treatment, sorting sound files. Graphics, maps and organising facility houses. Commentary writing and fact checking. Booking narrators and studios. Music and rights. Grading, pre-mix, the dub. Titles and credits. Production of versions. Final print and DVD/Blu-Ray design and production.
4pm - Course ends

Staff/Tutors

Caroline Brett - a highly experienced and award-winning producer/ director. Caroline worked for twenty one years for the prestigious Survival series making programmes in numerous locations including out on the ice in Arctic Canada, in the rainforests of Sierra Leone, high on the tundra in Alaska and on a remote Vietnamese island in the South China Sea. She produced the highly successful ‘Predators with Gaby Roslin' and directed some of the ‘Wild about Essex with Tony Robinson’. She is now employed by the Save Our Seas Foundation as their film director/producer.

Alan Miller has been directing, writing and editing wildlife documentaries for almost twenty years. BBC trained, Alan started editing wildlife programmes at Partridge Films and worked on many of their Wildscreen Panda award winners. He has worked for many companies, including Granada, BBC, NHK Japan and Nature Conservation Films for whom he edited two wildlife feature films. He has also written and directed many documentaries.

Sarah Barber has around 3 years experience working as a researcher. She completed a degree in Zoology followed by an MSc in Science Media Production before becoming a researcher. She has since worked for a number of companies including Tiger Aspect, Endemol and Two Hand Productions on wildlife and science series for both children and adults. She is currently trying her hand at producing and directing short films for a conservation organisation.

Booking Information

Costs: £250 per person
This includes tuition and meals. Accommodation: a limited number of shared rooms are available for an extra £10 per night in the farm house (allocated on a first come first served basis), B&Bs nearby and campers welcome.

Dates:
30 April - 2 May 2010

To be informed of future courses please add your email address in the column on the right to receive Wildeye Bulletins.

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 your deposit/fee as detailed.

Research and Production Staff and Students - January 2010