Cameras in the Nature – Making Wildlife Films

Mother Nature looks beautiful and graceful while watching over the television.

But, it is not so in real life.

Filming natural documentaries in forests or jungles are very risky and, at times, life-threatening.

They also offer valuable and educational insight to their viewers.

Well, one might wonder about the time it takes to shoot a nature documentary.

Filming Mother Nature always has to be on its terms and not on ours.

Nature is unpredictable.

A simple one-hour wildlife documentary might prolong its production to about two years. 

Sir David Attenborough is a well-known natural historian who has struggled to catch on camera some farthest animals and even human beings on the planet.

By traversing over all the seven continents and through 50 countries, the film "Our Planet" finally became a reality over a span of four years.

In our nation, the “Wild Karnataka” nature documentary received several praises from its viewer audiences. It revealed the natural diversity of the state.

Although the film has a less-than-an-hour runtime of 52 minutes, it took 1,500 days in its production, involving 15,000 field hours and carrying about 2,400 minutes for footage.

Wild Karnataka also involved the use of 50 sequences from 20 different cameras.

The Right People for this Job

People who film these shots love Nature and are passionate about wildlife – known as "wildlife cinematographers".

They can outlast the unforgiving circumstances that occur in Nature.

Wild animals possess a sharp sense of awareness and to be successful among them demands loads of patience and effort.

Despite having artistic knowledge and technical skills, wildlife cinematographers must learn to camouflage themselves when the situation calls for it.

However, in the world of professional photography, skills do not always favour specializations.

Catching up with rare wild animals like soaring birds or escaping leopards can often prove to be complicated.

Filming certain predators can put one’s life at risk.

The good news is, the advancement in modern camera technology has enabled wildlife photographers to use deceptive and sneaky methods to film nature.

Earlier, cameras came in large sizes that made it difficult to adapt to the surrounding environment.

Nowadays, cameras can be placed on mountains or fixed on a tree to get the perfect “close-up” shot.

The Role of Technology in a Wildlife Documentary

The availability of drones has made photography cheaper, easier and better.

Aerial view recordings are now much more accessible.

Professional wildlife photographers can use drone photography techniques with better zooming capabilities to make the best documentaries.

Camera traps attached with motion detectors can help photographers take pictures of rare animals like the endangered snow leopard.

After enduring a long day (or days) of continuous shooting, the crew must add a storyline to it.

The separate scenes come together with a narrative to them.

The viewer experience is enriched by the vocal expressions of emotions involving interest, suspense, fear, fight, death and victory.

The advancement in science and technology has enabled professional photographers to shoot better shots.

They are now able to take “birds’ eye-view” photos with the help of drones.

These nature cameras have helped professionals to make some of the best documentaries.