I have had many 'Road to Damascus" experiences while working as a wildlife cinematographer.
Here are three of them.
1. Watching The Planet Earth Boxset:
- This definitive nature series blew my mind.
- It was the first to utilize the cinematic power of the Cineflex Camera System.
- It redefined what "Blue Chip' meant.
2. Visiting the BBC NHU for the first time:
- The BBC Natural History Unit used to be based in Whiteladies Road In Bristol.
- Bristol is the Hollywood of Natural History Filmmaking.
- My first visit there was in 2009 and I remember the delight it gave me to think that I was now working in this industry!
3. Viewing Jamie McPherson's footage of wild dogs
- Cinematographer Jamie McPherson has pioneered the use of gimbals for long-lens natural history filming
- His tight close-up footage of the faces of hunting wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) shot off a 4x4 for The Hunt set a new benchmark for wildlife cinematography.
- The imagery utterly thrilled me and inspired me to try and mimic that look underwater.
To watch Planet Earth or The Hunt, and tuck into some nature documentary dopamine, find them via the links below:
- https://www.amazon.com/Planet-Earth-Complete-David-Attenborough/dp/B000MR9D5E
- https://www.amazon.com/Hunt-Sir-David-Attenborough/dp/B013WN2M7U
To view more of Jamie's work, visit his website, https://www.jamiemcpherson.com/
