One in a Million

Did I ever tell you about my amazing wildlife filming experience? One that didn't involve otters or falling into a smelly river? Well, I was lucky enough to go on a Wildlife Filming Course in Bristol last weekend and rub shoulders with the creme de la creme of those in the industry. I got to meet, work with and be tutored by the likes of John Waters, Sarah Pitt and Rob Harrington. For those of you not in the know (oh what an expert I have become!), these guys are good. Really really really good. For example, John's amazing camera work appears on David Attenborough's Planet Earth and the Life Of Birds while producer Sarah Pitt spent a year filming on the Prince of Wales' estate in Gloucestershire. But enough with the gushing. Lets get down to filming business!

Besides staying on a gorgeous 250 acre reserve and feasting on organic food at Folly Farm (owned by the Avon Wildlife Trust) I got to make a real-life wildlife film. Over two days we filmed thousands of starlings swarming on the Somerset Levels and the wildfowl on Chew Valley Lake. We then had the ominous task of editing our footage into a 3 minute film. Sounds easy. Trust me it wasn't. It took us 6 hours to edit about four hours of footage and even then, we could have done with a lot longer (and we had an expert with us!). And don't even get me started on the cameras. They were amazing. Amazingly expensive. Although I don't think WildPlaces will be blowing it's budget on one camera, it was really great to be able to use such a high tech, high definition camera (not that I don't love using the cameras that I already have). I had serious camera envy all weekend. Oh what a geek I'm turning into!

So folks, crank up the volume (it's a 'mood piece' with lovely classical music don't you know!) and enjoy my debut into the wildlife filmmaking world - One in a Million.

My film will appear here once I figure out (or more likely David figures out!) how to get it on here. The delay will be worth the wait though (maybe).

Heres the rough and tough Derwenthaugh otters (looking surprisingly cute - I love the paw tapping action) to whet your appetite.

Guess the Ouseburn Otter didn't get to them after all, or maybe they just missed the comfort of their floating pontoon too much to care. Either way, I got the footage, so I'm happy.

So yes, that weekend was great. I learnt all about the process of film making from conception to completion (the cliches are just rolling off my tongue here), I got to see the spectacle of starlings flocking and I got inspired to buy a tripod. A good weekend all in all.