In this issue:
Introduction to Wildlife Film-making Due to popular demand Wildeye have set up an additional Introduction weekend course this year: 29-31 August 2008. Note that this will be the last Introduction course until spring/summer 2009. 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 filming wildlife at the Animal Ark and Country Park (formerly the Norfolk Wildlife Centre). Wildlife you will see and film at the park include otters, meerkats, wallabies, peacocks, whooper swans and much more. 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. Costs: £195 per person. This includes tuition, entrance to Park, camping, breakfast and evening meals (the park has a snack cafe for lunches). Full information at www.wildeye.co.uk/ukweekends.html. To book a place contact info@wildeye.co.uk asap Wildeye have set up new dates for a number of weekend courses this autumn including Creative Wildlife Video Editing, Wildlife Camera Operator Course , and Intermediate Final Cut Pro . Please see the relevant websites below for full information and contact us at info@wildeye.co.uk if you would like to book or have any queries. Course update:
Executive Producer Needed for Orchid Film Red Zebra Productions are looking for an Executive Producer for an ambitious documentary: In Search of Harket's Orchid. Liparis Harketii, the world's most recent rare orchid find, is named after Morten Harket, lead singer of iconic 1980's band A-Ha. His personal passion for the flower has taken him across the world, but this personal journey, to bring the orchid with his name out of its native Rwanda amongst an endangered Gorilla Sanctuary, this takes him on a journey of self discovery, intrigue and danger. Contact
Steve Mackay - Director/Producer Red Zebra Productions smacktelevision@googlemail.com Best Practices in Green Filmmaking What are you doing – or not doing – to go green? The Center for Environmental Filmmaking (CEF), which Chris Palmer founded and directs, has joined forces with the Center for Social Media (CSM), founded and directed by Pat Aufderheide, to write The Documentary Filmmaker’s Code for Best Practices in Green Filmmaking. The Code is an initiative of the Future of Public Media Project Funded by the Ford Foundation. It is the first comprehensive green code for filmmakers to be backed by scientific review and academic analysis. As a part of the research, CSM and CEF are conducting a confidential survey to help establish a baseline of what documentary filmmakers are doing – and not doing to go green. Please take a minute to take the survey. Your honest and candid answers are most appreciated. To respond to the
survey please go to: Big Cat Live comes to BBC One, CBeebies, and bbc.co.uk One of the BBC Natural History Unit's most ambitious live projects is coming to BBC One, bbc.co.uk and CBeebies this autumn. Big Cat Live will be a one-week live TV event but the whole production will span three weeks on bbc.co.uk. The series is set to explore the hidden side of Kenya's Masai Mara Reserve – its wildlife, its secrets and the perils of the dark. With cutting-edge filming techniques and live communications, Big Cat Live will bring all the danger and exhilaration of being out on the African plains 24/7. Kate Silverton and local Masai guide Jackson Looseyia join Simon King and Jonathan Scott at their camp, in the heart of Africa's most famous reserve. Camping next to the Mara River, in the middle of lion territory, the team will be surrounded by African wildlife including elephants, buffalos, crocodiles, zebras and over one million migrating wildebeest in a landscape where anything can happen – day or night. By day, the team will follow the life-and-death fortunes of the lion, cheetah and leopard families. Then, nightly transmissions bring the latest news from the previous 24 hours as well as live images of the nocturnal life in the reserve, using specially designed remote cameras capable of broadcasting live action as it happens in the dark. The team will also reveal the bigger story of the Masai Mara neighbourhood – uncovering the day-to-day activities of a whole range of animals, from hyenas to baboons and elephants to aardvarks. bbc.co.uk will begin the Big Cat Live experience with the launch of a fully interactive website two weeks before the series goes on air. From the heart of Africa to the desktop, the site will enable Big Cat fans to monitor live activity as it happens on the reserve. Through the multiple live streaming webcams set up around the Mara reserve this unprecedented three-week long event will feature both updates on the lives of the cat stars and the thrum of African wildlife at night. CBeebies joins the Big Cat Live event with an exciting new series, Little Big Cat, which will follow a lion, leopard or cheetah cub as the star of each show. As well as giving a charming insight into the lives of cats, the programme is going to offer children a chance to encounter the many other animals that live on the Mara, including elephants, giraffes, zebras and crocodiles. The programme will introduce young viewers to Swahili and CBeebies presenter Sid will be on location filming his very own journey on safari for CBeebies Presentation. The CBeebies website is set to feature some of the action and adventures of the little cats. Neil Nightingale, Head of the BBC Natural History Unit, says: "Big Cat Live is the BBC's most ambitious ever live international wildlife event. Audiences will be transported into the heart of wild Africa to experience the action in one the world's most dramatic wildlife location, as it happens." Sara Ford, Executive Producer, adds: "To bring the show live to BBC One we are aiming for nothing less than 24-hour surveillance throughout the Masai Mara on a number of different platforms. For the first time we invite the audience to feel part of the Big Cat operation as we share with them the logistics and fieldcraft required to launch such a bold live project." Big Cat Live is being made by BBC Vision Productions and was commissioned by Emma Swain, Head of In-house Commissioning, Knowledge. The Series Producer is Nigel Pope and the Producer is Colin Jackson. BBC Multiplatform Comissioner is Lisa Sargood. Little Big Cat was commissioned by Michael Carrington and the Executive Producer is Wendy Darke. The series will go out this autumn on BBC One, CBeebies and online. BBC announces a major season marking the life and work of Charles Darwin The BBC announces a season of landmark content to mark one of the most astonishing and influential scientific ideas ever conceived. February 12 2009 is the 200th anniversary of the birth of Charles Darwin, and 24 November 2009 is the 150th of the publication of his book On the Origin of Species, which laid out the theory of evolution by natural selection. David Attenborough, Andrew Marr and Jimmy Doherty are just some of the well-known names who will be helping the BBC and the nation to mark the life and work of Charles Darwin on the BBC Winter 08/09. The season sets out to explore evolution, regarded as one of the most far-reaching and influential scientific ideas ever. A range of BBC content from BBC Science, Natural History Unit, Religion and Ethics and CBBC will deliver across television, radio and online an array of stories and voices about this mould-breaking scientific theory. BBC One kicks off the season with a one-off special from David Attenborough and the Natural History Unit (NHU) in Bristol. Tree of Life (working title, 1 x 60-minute) explores the origin of Darwin's great idea. David Attenborough makes a powerful case for the importance of the science of evolution. Andrew Marr On Darwin's Legacy (working title) is a landmark new 3 x 60-minute series for BBC Two. Marr will explore the radical impact of Darwin's theory not only in science, but also society, political movements (capitalist, Marxist and fascist) and religion. BBC Four will present two specially commissioned one-off documentaries: What Darwin Didn't Know and Darwin: In His Own Words. What Darwin Didn't know is a new 1 x 90-minute film exploring a new field of genetics, 'evo devo' – the combined study of evolution and development in the womb – which is allowing us to solve some of Darwin's unanswered questions. Darwin: In His Own Words will use newly-released documents from Cambridge University to chart Darwin's thoughts during the long period before he made his theory known to the public. BBC One has also commissioned Life (10 x 60-minute) from the NHU, a natural history spectacular which captures the most extraordinary and awe-inspiring animal survival behaviours ever shown on TV. Four years in the making, Life is filmed in the most extreme environments across the globe. Co-funded by the OU. A co-production with BBC Worldwide and Discovery. Us human beings may like to think we are the most adaptable species on earth but how do we fare when taking on creatures at their own game? We may be able to survive at both poles, up Mount Everest or in the hottest deserts, but even with all the tools of civilisation we would struggle to match Mother Nature's specialists. For example, the African cartwheeling spider has developed the perfect technique for getting around and escaping predators - it literally cartwheels down the dunes at up to 44 revolutions per second. Naturalist Jamie Crawford presents In Too Deep, a new Animal Planet series looking at the wonders of evolution and tries to emulate them using stunts and ingenious devices. In an effort to match the cartwheel spider's ability Jamie attempted his own downhill run strapped into a device made out of inflatable car inner tubes - showing us visually how impressive the spider's abilities are. Jamie has been all over the world travelling through the world's harshest climates and terrains in search of the most intriguing animal adaptations - whether discovering out how the fog basking beetle finds water in the driest deserts or just how strong the electric shock produced by an electric eel in the Amazon is. He's experienced hissing cockroaches in Madagascar, Lions in Tanzania, poison dart frogs in Costa Rica and went hypothermic in Alaska... Click here for an interview with presenter Jamie Crawford. Realscreen Summit: February 1-4, 2009 We’re delighted to announce that the event is being co-chaired by two very highly-respected senior execs – Ann Julienne, currently on sabbatical from her position as Head of Acquisitions and International Coproductions for France 5, and John Ford, President and General Manager, Discovery Channel. Along with their stellar advisory panel, they’ll be helping us elevate the conference to a new level, inject some fresh ideas and create an experience that delegates can refer to throughout the year. For information on registration, please contact Angelina Litvinova at 1-888-278-6426 ext. 491 or e-mail alitvinova@brunico.com. For sponsorship info, please send Claire an e-mail at cmacdonald@brunico.com. Check for session updates at http://www.realscreensummit.com/2009 Realscreen online initiatives August 18th marks the launch of a new and improved realscreen.com and our newsletter, which will be published every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. Specifically designed to be your home for all things non-fiction, realscreen.com will give you access to current news that affects how you do business, in-depth profiles on industry personalities, a community area featuring blogs, opinions and a classified bulletin board, as well as a comprehensive directory and the best screening room out there. You will receive 12 trial issues of the newsletter starting on August 18th, and will be prompted to log in to ensure continued delivery. It’s FREE, so don’t hesitate to sign up. If you are interested in being a founding advertiser on the realscreen: the newsletter, please send Claire a note. MIPCOM (Sept/Oct) issue: Bonus Distribution at MIPCOM, Wildscreen, Sheffield doc/fest and AFM Chock-full of the usual must-read features, including the highly-anticipated MIP-Picks, premium positions are quickly being assigned. We’re also publishing a very special in-depth Q&A interview with Ann Julienne who surprised the international non-fiction community at Sunny Side of the Doc in June, announcing that she was taking a year’s sabbatical from her role as Head of International Coproductions and Acquisitions at France 5. Over the course of the past twenty years, Ann has taken her commitment to the world of factual programming very seriously. She is a mentor to countless French producers and their co-pro partners, a tutor at Discovery Campus and an impassioned member of the board of the World Congress of Science and Factual Producers. If you’re interested in offering Ann well wishes, please be in touch with either Claire or your account manager. In addition to MIPCOM coverage the issue also includes our annual Wild Guide -- your premium natural history and wildlife programming marketing opportunity. Distributors, producers, post-houses, advocacy groups and footage companies alike will get their message into the right hands with an ad in this special pullout section. In addition to our standard features in the special section we’ll be saluting NHNZ as they celebrate their 30-year anniversary. For advertising opportunities around any of these features, please be in touch with Claire, or your account manager – either Melissa Giddens at mgiddens@brunico.com or Kerry LaiFatt who has just joined our team klaifatt@brunico.com Wild America launch new Website Marty Stouffer has spent much of his life producing the “Wild America” Nature film programs. He has just launched a new website: www.wildamerica.com. It's a good example of a forward-looking site from an independent, allowing you to download (for a fee) 120 programs and 12 specials, as well as buy DVDs. There are also free photos to download and free MP3 music that you can use in your home videos. America Wins Ecovision with a Border Story Stars and Stripes EcoVision. The more desired prize of EcoVision 2008, the International Festival of Environment & Cinema, directed by Daniele Ottobre, crosses the ocean. The best film of the fourth edition of EcoVision is “Coyote” by the Californian director Brian Petersen. The film, produced by Side Street Production, distributed by Ondamax Films, and played also by the director and by Brett Spackman, Carley Adams, Marina Valle, wins the “Great Prize Fondazione Banco di Sicilia” of € 20.000. See other winners at www.ecovisionfestival.com 12th International Underwater Film Festival Announcing the 12th International Underwater Film Festival in Belgrade, Serbia. This event will be held, like every year, during the beginning of December, from 12th to 16th 2008. Films for the contest would have to be 2007. or 2008. production, with at least 30% underwater shots and formats are BETA SP, DV Cam or MiniDV (PAL), ONLY if it is an hardship to enter those formats, you may subit film on DVD. Similarly, we will accept NTSC if it is a hardship to submit PAL format. All the information about registration and contest can be found at www.kpa.co.yu. Fostex FR2LE chosen for blast off with NASA Fostex is pleased to announce that the FR-2LE Field Recorder has been selected by NASA to travel on the Space Shuttle (STS) and International Space Station (ISS) in the autumn of 2008 as the primary audio capturing device. The FR-2LE was also a hit at the previous Wildeye Wildlife Sound Recording Courses with Chris Watson where it was voted best sound quality in the price region. Greg Smith, who for over 20 years has been working with IMAX Space Systems developing sound recording systems to fly aboard the Space Shuttle and International Space Station, notes that his role was "to choose a workable recorder and train the astronauts who would be doing the actual recording in space." Having graduated from analog cassette to a DAT recorder, NASA deemed that IMAX was ready to fly again after a long hiatus, and needed to update the recorder. The factors considered were: small (hand-held best), weight; ease of operation; Alkaline battery powered and easy to swap out batteries; rugged recorder shell; XLR mic inputs with good mic preamps; flexibility in recording formats; ease and clarity of monitoring; CF-card based; responsiveness from manufacturer to solve problems; and getting questions answered quickly. Smith says, "The FR-2LE was, as Goldilocks says, 'just right'." After extensive testing by NASA, it passed with flying colors and IMAX approved it for the project. The maiden flight of the Fostex FR-2LE in currently scheduled for sometime in the Fall of 2008. Smith says, "IMAX is extremely excited to see how the unit performs in the challenging and forbidding environment of space travel. We have high hopes...as high as the stars and wherever our travels take us."
Price and availability: The
Fostex FR2LE is available now through SCV London’s network of
dealers. RRP is £399.00 inc VAT plus delivery. http://www.scvlondon.co.uk/catalog/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=34&products_id=673.
Wildlife-film.com entry for Freelance Editors We have just set up a new directory for freelance editors at www.wildlife-film.com. Click
on Freelancers on the left hand menu, then Editors
at the top of that page. If you would like to be added to the directory
please fill in the appropriate form on the How to Join page
- there are free and paid options as described. Selling Equipment at Wildlife-film.com Advertising second hand equipment suitable for wildlife film-makers via Wildlife Film News and on Wildlife-film.com has proved very successful, so we have set up a new Gear for Sale page at the site. If you would like to advertise your gear simply email the text for the ad to info@wildlife-film.com:
The latest winner of our monthly photo competition is Young Humpback © Michael Nolan/Splashdown Direct. Taken in SE Alaska, the young humpback whale was breaching close enough to the boat to soak the wheel house with the splash. Each month we feature a new photo on the home page of wildlife-film.com (*Google's no. 1 ranking website for 'wildlife film' and many other related searches) with a credit and link to the photographer's homepage - a great way to drive traffic to your own site and promote your stills work. The photo will also feature in the next issue of Wildlife Film News. To
enter the competition email your chosen photo to info@wildlife-film.com
with your link at the following spec: Judging takes place on the 15th of each month and the winning photo will be set live on the same day.
Disclaimer: If you wish to unsubscribe from this newsletter send a blank email to info@wildlife-film.com with 'unsubscribe' as the subject
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