Short Documentary Research
Idea Two (Back Up Idea) - Summary
My idea two will be about Gordon Buchanan who is a Scottish Wildlife filmmaker and presenter. I will be interviewing Buchanan about his career as a whole, from how he got into it, projects he’s worked on such as some of his series ‘The Bear Family & Me’, ‘The Polar Bear Family & Me’, and ‘The Elephant Family & Me’ to name a few. I will also explore what made him interested in shooting wildlife specifically and how he got his start. As well as that I will ask him about what it is like to be face to face with wild animals such as when he was petting a wild pack of wolves or when he was feeding a bear cub in the American wilderness and therefore what has been his proudest moment in his career thus far. In terms of target audience for this documentary, I think it is suitable for all age groups as there is no adult humour involved or it being hinted at unlike my idea one. This documentary is fact based and appropriate for all.
May not be in the country – Travels often due to career.
-Where was the most difficult location to film at?
-Did he ever feel like he should have stopped something bad happening? Why didn’t he?
What would you do for this visually – Could use Victoria Park as location as it is outdoors which goes with the theme of his career and could get some interesting cut aways by using the Fossil Grove walk path and the pond.
He is based locally when in Scotland therefore it would be minimal travel costs. He also has a passion for his work which may mean he will be interested in sitting down and talking to younger filmmakers, discussing his experiences and knowledge that he has gained from his specific field. In terms of the location idea of filming in the park, it is a great idea and I can see it looking really good However, it would be tough to film outside for both shoot days as the weather might be bad making it almost impossible to film. Also, the weather for both days could very different which could make it look odd. Therefore I think the more practical thing to do would be to film at least the interview indoors and then get some shots outdoors on the second day of shooting and if we were able to film in his house it would be great because he would have some of his equipment and any other props which are relevant to the documentary (eg a jacket he had to wear when he was in the North Pole) close to hand. However, after my idea one subject got back to me and as have other back up ideas, I am somewhat convinced that Gordon will not be getting back to me as unfortunately I am still yet to hear anything back from him, therefore as time ticks on it seems more and more likely that this idea won’t be able to come to life for my Graded Unit. This is unfortunate as the subject matter is so interesting.
Concept Adapted due to feedback
From the feedback I have received I have considered more visual ideas when shooting the cut aways, for example I would film any of his camera equipment he has handy and ask for b-roll of his which include some of his work as well as photos of him in resort places. I have also considered more question ideas to really create a capturing short documentary about his work such as what was his scariest experience he’s had during his career? From some of the research I have done by watching many of the documentaries he is in involved I am confident he as many to choose from.
Analyse of Other TV shows/Short Films/Documentaries
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOlryIvYoCc
I have analysed Netflix’s ‘Our Planet – Behind the Scenes’ instead of the actual documentary ‘Our Planet’ as it is a more exact insight to Gordon Buchanan’s job role. The documentary show cases just how long it takes, how much patience and determination it takes to be a wildlife filmmaker. To create ‘Our Planet’ it took 4 years there were 3376 days of filming in 60 countries. To get all the sea footage there was 911 days spent at sea and 2,000 hours of diving. The audience gets to see the danger and equipment issues that often come along whiles shooting in wilderness and how they overcome these issues. An example of how extreme the job becomes is what the camera men filming in Eastern Russia had to live like when they were trying to get shots of Siberian tigers, they lived in induvial huts for the next two winters – for six days at a time they won’t even open the door. Its shows the times where crews will get sent out to a certain part of the world and return home empty handed such as, one crew was sent out to Canada to film bears fishing for food in a new way due to climate change which is something never before been filmed but there had been too much rain which meant the polar bears could fish and the crew had been sent home. The documentary also exposes the more heart-breaking side of it, the part which you have to watch animals suffer while standing aside and filming it. This is another aspect I would like to ask Buchanan about, has he ever experienced that and how did it affect him. However, of course the documentary highlights the triumphs of when a crew would get the shot, through the triumphs we see the relief and joy in the filmmakers faces which is in its self an amazing thing to see. I think ‘Our Planet - Behind the Scenes’ is the perfect documentary to get inspiration due to how similar the subject matter is.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWI1eCbksdE
I Have analysed this 5-part series ‘dynasties’ from BBC iPlayer as it also shoots wildlife, each episode follows a different endangered animal as the audience follows these animals and see some of the struggles they are faced with the audience become attached to individuals. This is something which this documentary does very well, creating emotion which is an aspect that I think must be rather hard to convey when it is all fact based. There is no room for exaggerating or manipulating the truth with this genre. Again, this is something I would be keen to ask Gordon Buchanan on, if this is something, he finds challenging.
