Stained Glass Windows and Mini-Pixars: The Two Poles of Natural History Storytelling.

High-end natural history series like Our Planet and Blue Planet 2 tend to be made up of five to six one-hour programs.

Each program in turn is made up of eight to ten individual sequences, with each sequence lasting anywhere between 3 to 12 minutes.

Each sequence has its own story, location and set of characters.

Broadly speaking, these sequences come in one of two forms.

The Stained Glass Window: An Ode to Nature:

• More of a spectacle than a story.
• The editorial intention is to evoke awe and wonder in the audience.
• Music and visuals play the dominant role in delivering this intention.
• Not unlike an action movie in the features world.

THE Mini Pixar: The Heros Journey in Bonsai Form:

• All about the character and the challenge they have to overcome.
• Strong emphasis on the interaction between characters.
• Often exploring a human theme dressed in animal clothing.
• Often end as expected but ideally with surprises along the way.
• Not unlike a drama in the features world.

Series tend to have a predominance of one form over the other depending on who the Executive Producer is.

That said, most programs will have some blend of both to create emotional breathing space for the audience.

As a cinematographer its important to know which form your director is favouring, as this will influence your approach to filming the sequence.

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