The Art of Wildlife Documentary Filming

Slow-motion film showed details the human eyes could not
perceive, transforming our undestanding of nature..
Image Copyright Janet Cameron

Sir David Attenborough's easy, friendly style has made him a familiar face on our TV screens and has endeared him over the years to millions of people. Part of his success is surely due to the sense of genuine wonder he conveys at each new discovery. Even after such a long and distinguished career, he is charmed by every new creature he encounters, no matter how bizarre.  Attenborough truly loves his subject in all its many facets and it feels like a privilege to share in his enthusiasm.

Attenborough says that the revelations of the past sixty years have transformed not only our understanding of the natural world but our attitude towards it.

Early filming

Sir David Attenborough describes his delight at seeing his first wildlife film when Cherry Kearton was making friends with some jackass penguins in 1934. At the time, young David was only eight. In those days, cameras were huge, cumbersome items and had to be driven by hand. Attenborough remarks on how unscientific yet how entertaining Cherry Kearton's presentation appears to us today, as he waffles on about a penguin flip, flopping and flapping about like the female she was. Somewhat non-pc by today's standards!

As time passed and camera technology advanced, wildlife photographers were able to achieve better and better shots. During the 1950s, most wildlife was still unfilmed and also unseen except by explorers. Most people were thrilled and surprised because, whatever they were shown, it was new and exciting.  At this time, filming was in black and white, but gradually, further technical innovations revealed more detail.  Attenborough had to describe accurately all the colours and markings of the exotic creatures presented to the public for the first time.

Filming Underwater - Hans and Lotte Hass Swim with Sharks

There was a breakthrough in the 1960s when Australian biologist and film-maker, Hans Hass, constructed a special housing for his camera so he could take it underwater and film sea life. Along with his wife Lotte, he scuba dived with his underwater camera. The young couple swam among sharks, creatures that, at that time, had a fearsome reputation. Attenborough says of the public reaction to the filming: "The nation was astounded"  and he remarked that this film changed our collective perception about sharks.

Wildlife in Colour and then ~ video!

During the 1960s a second TV network introduced colour, an amazing breakthrough, especially for art, science and wildlife programmes. Sir David Attenborough filmed thirteen one-hour programmes in his Life on Earth series, covering thirty countries. He explains how thrilling it was to be able to present a programme where he could be seen skipping from one continent to another within several short sequences. Filming took place, for example, in Morocco, Japan and Australia and the films were watched by 500 million people.

The documentary was interspersed with amusing anecdotes, for example, the time the naturalists were attempting to talk underwater by using a "bubble helmet" and microphone. Attenborough's bubble helmet was faulty and started filling up, much to his horror. He explains the joy of watching dolphins and realising the extent of their sociability and their intelligence. These beautiful, curious creatures adored playing with any bits and pieces, like twigs, that they could find to toss about.

Until 1980, it was only possible to film for about ten minutes underwater, but then the new video cameras changed all that, and the film could run for 30 minutes, recording extraordinary behaviour never before seen.

Night-time Filming Reveals Uncomfortable Truths

Night-time filming was problematic, as if you shone a spotlight in order to film an animal, all you captured was the sight of your subject running away. On one occasion in 1972, bats were flying around Attenborough's head in a panic while the smell of ammonia from their droppings assailed his nostrils. Then the lights were turned out to calm the bats, and, despite the team being convinced of the bats' infallible radar, one flew straight into Sir David Attenborough's face! 

All of these problems were eventually solved by the use of infrared light. Most of lion activity takes place at night, and in 1990 a pride of lions was filmed chasing and bringing down an elephant, something people might not otherwise have known. Nevertheless, it was a distressing sequence to watch. A kiwi looking for sandhoppers was also filmed, and the bird never knew anyone was there. Iguanas in the Galapagos were shown to lose all their heat when they dived for food. After the hunt, they had to bask in the sun to "recharge" their energy. A rattlesnake stalked an unsuspecting mouse, and a springtail jumped 15 cm into the air, equivalent to a human leaping over the Eiffel Tower.

Slow-motion and Filming at Speed

Slow motion produced further amazing footage, including the flight of a kestrel, showing movements that could never be perceived by the naked eye. Speed helped us to see the struggle for survival among plant life. Most cameras use 25 frames per second. One frame per second speeds everything up 25 times, revealing that the most aggressive plant is probably the bramble, waving from side to side.

"The wonderful thing about wildlife film-making is that there is always something to surprise you," says Sir David Attenborough. "No matter how much you've seen and filmed."

Aerial Filming

Filming in the air from small planes in order to get an overview, for example, of wildlife in Africa, proved difficult. The noise of the engine would frighten the animals so researchers started to use balloons. That wasn't too successful as the wind frequently blew them in the wrong direction. Helicopters were able to fly high but the vibration of the plane would affect the quality of the filming. A stabilising mount was invented that kept the camera vibration-free.

Now it was possible to film successfully regardless of whether you were on land, in the sea or up in the air! 

One of the pinnacles of wildlife success was that of Mark Smith, who in the winter of 2007 went to Pakistan to try to film the snow leopard. It took a long time and lots of patience, but eventually, at the turn of the New Year, he captured shots of a snow leopard lying sphinx-like on the mountain. Altogether, he was in Pakistan for eight months.

Not only did he get shots of the snow leopard, but the animal turned out to be a new mum. The result was a euphoric victory for Mark Smith, who secured beautiful images of both mother and cub.  

Source: 

Attenborough, David, "Life on Camera" Part 1, 60 Years in the Wild, BBC and THIRTEEN in association with WNET New York Public and Media. Produced and Directed by Miles Barton, First broadcast: 16 November, 2012.