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Nature Filmmaking

Peter Osinski

Peter Osinski

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I don't know if I should even be posting something like this in this thread....so if its in the wrong place I apologize.

I was wondering what would be the best way to break into nature filmmaking. I think that ideally my dream job would be to film for a project on discovery or national geographic, but I don't even have the first clue about how someone would get into that.

If anyone has any ideas or tips I would really appreciate it.

thanks
 
It's a relationship driven business. Put together an amazing reel, take it around to as many shops as you can find who work on these projects (there are at least 4 that I can think of, off the top of my head, in my town...), and make some new friends. Offering yourself up as an intern to these shops is a good idea as well - it is a pursuit where your team frequently has to trust you a lot, sometimes in challenging, even life-threatening situations, so proving your reliability and talent is a good idea.

Most of the great Discovery/Nat Geo shooters that I know are athletes, climbers, alpinists, skiers, triathletes, etc., so if you know those communities of people in your area, you'll be able to find the shooters, because they hang out more in the dirtbag athlete/adventurer community than they do in the general shooter community...

Go to the Jackson Hole Wildlife FF (or Banff, or Telluride, etc etc - any of the film festivals devoted to shooting nature, outdoors, sports, etc.) - you can meet a lot of industry people there, as well.

You won't get too far without the reel, though, even if you meet the right people, so that is a good place to start. Everyone will want to know that you have the chops to do the job. Shooting for Discovery/Nat Geo is starting towards the top, and their shooters usually have a lot of broadcast experience already...but there are lots of other jobs out there that include shooting nature imagery, so you might want to figure out what those are, as well, and who is doing them.

I run this: www.uwolchallenge.com - and half a dozen of our regular players have landed pro jobs shooting nature projects, just by crafting remarkable reels from their multi-year participation - and not a single one of them attended film school to do it, although there are certainly good programs out there - so it is entirely about 1) doing it and then 2) shopping it around
 
Meryem, that is some great information there. Thank you. Can you explain what you mean by "take it around to as many shops as you can find who work on these projects"? By shops, do you mean production companies? How do you find them? Thanks again.
 
I'd say do your very best to apprentice to a cameraman who is already in the industry. Start by making tea, carrying heavy boxes, being a gopher. Be prepared to do that for 2 years for zero money. If you have determination and talent, one day someone will let you carry a camera. Do that for a while reliably. Then, if you are real lucky, and you have learned everything that has gone on in front of you, someone might even let you look through that camera eyepiece and roll a test shot! If you get this far, you are doing fine ... its all uphill from there! Film school will teach you almost nothing about the skills you need for wildlife filmmaking - those are - massive determination, unbreakable spirit, passion for a challenge, interminable patience, an genuine love of the discomforts of living out-doors, and a reasonably creative eye. These are things you are born with - all the rest can be taught.
 
mike holding said:
I'd say do your very best to apprentice to a cameraman who is already in the industry. Start by making tea, carrying heavy boxes, being a gopher. Be prepared to do that for 2 years for zero money. If you have determination and talent, one day someone will let you carry a camera. Do that for a while reliably. Then, if you are real lucky, and you have learned everything that has gone on in front of you, someone might even let you look through that camera eyepiece and roll a test shot! .
Click to expand...

Really? I find the folks that I know in this industry to be much warmer than this description, much more willing to help the other person get a leg up, if they have the will, the integrity, and the talent. Maybe that is just the community that I live in, but I hang out with a lot of these types of shooters, some of whom operate at the highest levels...

Every shooter that I know would agree that the pathway to being a good shooter is to shoot, not by making tea and carrying boxes. As long as you have access to a camera, any kind of camera, shooting is something that you can ALWAYS do in your own time, on your own dime, and learn to do better.

Mentorship is great, but if your mentorship consists of making tea and carrying boxes, then, I would say, you would be better off shooting anyway, hellooooo....

And - sorry for the delayed response, Tom, I just saw this thread again and didn't realize you had directed a question to me - but, yes, by "shops," I mean production companies - find the movies that you like, find out who makes those movies, track them down, and talk to them about what they do and see if you jive. We don't do Discovery or Nat Geo, like, say Serac Adventure or Sender Films in my area (usually once a shop starts down that road, then that is all they do...), but I'm shooting a Grand Canyon doc, editing a doc on Tibet, and shooting a sports documentary that will require traveling to Mexico. We get a lot--A LOT!-- of this type of work, but we don't put ourselves out as specialists in this niche - it is just who we are.

Some shops will be more open to this approach than others, but you'll figure out who you will vibe with, very quickly. I find that if you have some great work behind you, you have the true fire in the belly for your craft, and you know your stuff (and YOU definitely seem to...), then you will find good people, and they will find you.

Attend stuff like this, ask questions, and meet people:

http://redpinestudios.wordpress.com...lm-festival-outdoor-video-producers-workshop/

Better yet, find a similar festival near you, and organize one of these. I have met a ton of people in my filmmaking community from organizing this forum for the past three years. You meet the panelists, the audience members, you get your name out...and it is a bit of work, but it is also a lot of fun. When you give a little bit to your community, they begin to seek you out.
 
Thanks for the advice, Meryem. It's very much appreciated.
 
Meryem
Perhaps you took my reply a bit too seriously :wink5:- I was trying to let Peter know from the outset that getting into this business is actually NOT easy (especially if you want to do it at top level) and that anyone starting out must be prepared to work their way up a ladder that will test the determination of the most resilient. Really my point was for newcomers to get "hands on" experience, rather than going to film school etc....
 
When I started in the film business in 1985, it was a really tough industry to break into without the helping hand of nepotism. Not only was there an impregnable union, but education and training was non-existent. Knowledge was won slowly and guarded like gold. The industry was small and insular.

Today, there is a huge market for high quality film and video. Many of the techniques and practices once reserved for the high end are now easily attainable on the most modest budget. The barriers to entry have crumbled and there is the internet where a wealth of knowledge and experience is freely shared.

My advice to Peter is make a film. Use what ever you can get your hands on and choose a subject close to your heart, but make a film. Shoot it on a borrowed camcorder if you have to, but make something that can showcase your storytelling. It could be about what your pet cat does at night or the wildlife that visits your neighborhood. But the film must be compelling and show that you are passionate about filmmaking.

Then, show it to as many people as you can, attend the workshops and network like Meryem has suggested and be prepared to take some knocks and work your way up like Mike says.

There's no one path, I hope find yours.

Good luck,

Liam.
 
I would like to ask a follow-up question if I may:

What kind of role, if any, does a director have in these productions?

By director I mean how that term is applied to feature films, TVCs, music videos etc.; someone who has an overall creative vision that directs the shooting and editing process from start to finish.

And with regards to the productions themselves I am more interested in the higher-end 'blue chip' productions, the BBC's David Attenborough series being the benchmarks imo, but I suppose you would also want to include anything made for IMAX, and the larger budget National Geographic and Discovery Channel projects.

Do these productions even have directors in the typical sense of the term? Or are they more like say reality television shows that are more loosely 'directed' by executive producers? I am completely ignorant of how this niche operates and would love to learn more.
 
To answer your question briefly D,Arcy - there is no credited director role in wildlife/nature films for the BBC. Having spent the past 18 years as a freelance producer/cinematographer for the BBC working on various Attenborough series and Planet Earth the role of the director is usually ascribed to whomever might be on location with the cameraman - sometimes the producer, sometimes an AP sometimes even a researcher but most often its just the cameraman self directing.

Through post the role of the director from feature films and TV, as applied to Nature Films at the BBC, is always filled by the producer. There is typically no credited director in any BBC Natural History Unit film production like Planet Earth. When you watch the credits just realize that the person doing most of the director work in these productions at the BBC is the producer.
Hope that helps,

Cheers,

Jeff

Jeff and Sue Turner
River Road Films Ltd.
Box 356
Princeton BC
V0X 1W0
CANADA
Ph 250-295-3517
Fax 250-295-3146
Cell 250-295-1677
Email: skyfilms@xplornet.com
 
D'Arcy,

Nature is one of my key production genres, and I produce, direct, and shoot the size programs you're asking about - which air on National Geographic, Discovery, etc.

Like many other genres of production, the use of a dedicated director is usually determined by the size and complexity of the project. Large budget nature programs will have a director, but quite often the director also functions as an executive producer, producer, or commonly as a field producer. But generally, the larger and more complex a production, the larger the overall staff and crew, and the more separate the jobs are.

In medium to small budget nature productions the duties tend to be combined, where you frequently find someone wearing many of the job hats, or even all of them for real small budget projects.

In nature production you tend to find lots of multi-skilled workers, who've spent tons of time and effort to become equal parts artist, techie, manager, and journalist. If need be, they can do all things on a small project, but happily pass out a few of those jobs as the complexity (and budget) of a production grows.

Nature is a narrow niche of production to begin with, and if someone is targeting being only a director in the nature niche, that's even more limited in access and opportunities. If someone wants to direct in nature programs, I'd suggest they first learn the camera technology, how to use it and shoot well, how to edit, and in the process they'll be learning how to direct. After that, I'd also suggest they learn how to produce and field produce. On a good production all jobs dance in unison - thus the more of them you understand and are skilled in, the better your work will be at the separate jobs you're performing on that particular production.

Nature production at a high level requires you to have broad skills and experience, plus depth in each of those skills. I'm not professing becoming a "jack of all skills and a master of none of them", but rather "a jack of multiple skills and a master of each of them" :)

In short, if you want to be a good nature director, plan on learning all facets of nature production in order to become a good director in the genre. Then plan on very seldom, if ever being a separate director with no other job duties on a production.

As others have mentioned earlier in this thread, be a knowledge sponge, network heavily, work hands-on continuously, attend seminars, participate in forums like this, learn from "How To" DVDs, etc. All the "book learning" in the world won't be a substitute for a myriad of hours actually out in the field doing production. Plan on definitely paying your dues so to speak. But where there's a will - there's a way!

When I'm not working on a specific project, I am still constantly out shooting with one of my RED cameras. My idea of a "day off" is to head out into the bush by myself and shoot some good images. If you're working by yourself, you're equal parts cinematographer, DP, director, and producer, plus you're "shooting for the edit". Back at your office or studio you turn into a data wrangler, and ultimately an editor as you process, correct, and edit that day's footage. This all prepares you well for those bigger productions where you do just a few, or even just one of those jobs or skills.

Hope this info helps you...
 
And let's not forget that you need to have a love of nature and the outdoors, and be a fairly tough, independent, rugged individual. And how will you know that you are rugged and really love nature until you have actually spent the time doing it?
 
That's a great point Tom...

Someone with passion for their subject matter will easily put their heart into their work. Then it really doesn't seem like work at all! The nature and wildlife production industry is chock full of people who have figured out how to, or are in the process of figuring out how to make their living at their inherent lifestyle and passion.

James Thurber's excellent book about about a fictional character Walter Mitty is a good example of the opposite. Walter constantly would be doing one mundane thing (his job), while continuously daydreaming about doing something else he wished he could be doing. In my experience there are no Walter Mitty types in nature and wildlife production. We're all in it because it is a burning passion, we like creating enlightening images for the world, and it was our lifestyle before we ever got into the production business.

If you have passion for your work, and you do it well enough for long enough, money generally takes care of itself
 
mike holding said:
Meryem
Perhaps you took my reply a bit too seriously :wink5:-
Click to expand...

Perhaps. But I've done a lot of educating in this field (outdoor video producer's workshops for the Boulder Adventure Film Festival, teaching outdoor filmmaking classes at REI, not to mention my own previously mentioned video contests...), and I know first-hand that the information is not that easy to access. We shouldn't make it harder by making it less transparent through overstatement.

For anyone in Colorado, or the surrounding states, this annual event is coming up:

http://redpinestudios.wordpress.com/2009/10/23/coming-up/

I can't announce the complete schedule until it shows up on the Boulder Adventure Film website, but it is a great event and will help anyone getting started in the field. Every year, I put together a discussion/presentation panel of 3 people doing "adventure film" styled shooting - these are either people at the top of their game or people doing something totally unique in the field.

There is Q & A and free gear, and you can directly access professionals who shoot for all kinds of venues. The audience is often full of working professionals who share their knowledge as well. The only discussion of its kind, that I know of, with this kind of direct access...
 
Hey Jeff, nice to see you here!

D'Arcy - Jeff and Gibby are spot-on with their description of the 'roles' in natural history filmmaking. There are many cases (and I'm sure Jeff will bear(!) me out here) where the cameraman effectively is the 'director' for everything that happens in front of the camera, and often beyond, through the whole post-process. In some cases, the cameraman is the creative force from story development until the footage is shot, and then the producer takes over the rest of the film, or the two collaborate in the finishing stages. Obviously wildlife itself cannot be "directed" but every other creative aspect of the filming and finishing can, and thats where a "producer/cameraman" like Jeff or myself find ourselves a lot of the time. When Jeff or I make our own complete 50 minute film for the BBC, we act as Director/Producer/Cameraman (and just about everything else). When we shoot films, or specific sequences, for bigger productions like "Planet Earth" or "Natures Most Amazing Events", then we work with a BBC Producer, and serve multiple roles - story, planning, and filming the sequences, sometimes with the producer in the field, sometimes without. Often we will be called upon to review and advise at the edit stage too. In this latter scenario, some wildlife cameramen play a more narrow role, shooting to a shot-list under the 'direction' of the producer, who may or may not be in the field, and then handing over the rushes. It all depends on your level of skill and experience really.

Peter, I also agree with Liam - make a film! Perhaps Liam and myself (and Jeff) had a more difficult time back in the old days when we started 20+ years ago, and things may be different now. Certainly the advent of cheap video cameras gave everyone the opportunity to create a movie of sorts. What I can tell you is that any top end Producer or commissioning editor that looks at your work is looking for two things - 'sequence building' and 'storytelling' - which are two different things - the former happens largely in the field, often 'on the fly' and thats where whoever is shooting (or 'directing' the shoot) will either succeed or fail at a top international production level.

The other thing I advocate is multi-tasking - become competent as many different things as you can, even if they only relate slightly to wildlife filmmaking - you'll be amazed how often those skills will be called upon. Good luck!


Oh and Meryem, I think we are in very different areas of filmmaking which is perhaps where our perceptions are slightly different - I've never really done "adventure films" - only commercials and blue-chip natural history, so I'm sure the barriers to entry are different. Gibby's advice and yours are probably far more appropriate in that field. I would agree that we should all encourage newcomers as much as possible. There is a severe lack of really good people, particularly in the high-end wildlife game.

Cheers

Mike
 
Gibby - your advice about "Jack of all trades and MASTER of all" is 100% ! I've always believed that you can't really "direct" someone else at something in which you are not at least competent yourself!

Mike
 
Thanks to everyone for their very detailed information and the time they put into crafting their responses.

I should point out that I personally am not leaning towards this niche, I am more focused on the more traditional role of directing, working with actors, narratives etc. and trying to earn a living from it. But I absolutely adore anything wildlife, especially the high-end (which you all seem to call blue chip) BBC, Nat Geo, Discovery, IMAX etc. stuff. I devour all the Attenborough series whenever I can. I wanted to learn a bit more about how this side of the industry works and you've helped me do that.

One of the great things about the RED forum is how it brings together people from very distant corners of the greater 'screen industry'. But it's also a reminder that you have to specialise in one or two particular streams and there is not much movement across them. I understand why this is so but it's a bit of a shame.
 
D'Arcy - maybe your time has come! There's a big shift in the industry towards "wildlife features" for the big screen - something Disney used to do years ago (in the sixties), and which has been re-ignited by "March of the Penguins" "Earth" and others. This genre will definitely require the skills of "directors" in the more traditional sense of the word, and as the genre re-emerges, I'm sure it will embrace wildlife and people together. Carrol Ballard's "Never Cry Wolf" is perhaps my favorite example from quite a few years ago...
 
Many people mistake wildlife film making with having a great holiday in a remote location full of spectacular animals. Well, most of the time it is about survival and hard work in very demanding environment. It requires physical strength, endurance, planning and adventure. As Tom and Steve said, you really need to love outdoors and animals. Sometimes even your life will depend on your ability to understand and interpret what is happening.

Other than that, my friend Howard Hall wrote a very good answer for you here:

http://www.howardhall.com/stories/breakingin.html

I couldn't put it better.
 
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