Nature documentary

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Shooting of a wildlife film in Namibia

A nature documentary or wildlife documentary is a genre of documentary film or series about animals, plants, or other non-human living creatures. Nature documentaries usually concentrate on video taken in the subject's natural habitat, but often including footage of trained and captive animals, too. Sometimes they are about wildlife or ecosystems in relationship to human beings. Such programmes are most frequently made for television, particularly for public broadcasting channels, but some are also made for the cinema. The proliferation of this genre occurred almost simultaneously alongside the production of similar television series which is distributed across the world.

Contents

Cinema

Robert J. Flaherty's 1922 film Nanook of the North is typically cited as the first feature-length documentary. [1] Decades later, Walt Disney Productions pioneered the serial theatrical release of nature-documentaries with its production of the True-Life Adventures series, a collection of fourteen full length and short subject nature films from 1948 to 1960. [2] Prominent among those were The Living Desert (1953) and The Vanishing Prairie (1954), both written and directed by James Algar.

The first full-length nature-documentary films pioneering colour underwater cinematography were the Italian film Sesto Continente (The Sixth Continent) and the French film Le Monde du silence (The Silent World). Directed by Folco Quilici Sesto Continente was shot in 1952 and first exhibited to Italian audiences in 1954. [3] The Silent World, shot in 1954 and 1955 by Jacques Cousteau and Louis Malle, was first released in 1956. [4]

Television

In 1954, the BBC started airing Zoo Quest, featuring David Attenborough. Other early nature documentaries include Fur and Feathers shown on CBC from 1955 to 1956 and hosted by Ian McTaggart-Cowan., [5] and Look, a studio-based BBC magazine-program with filmed inserts, hosted by Sir Peter Scott from 1955 to 1981. The first 50-minute weekly documentary series, The World About Us, began on BBC2 in 1967 with a color installment from the French filmmaker Haroun Tazieff, called "Volcano". Around 1982, the series changed its title to The Natural World , which the BBC Natural History Unit in Bristol continued to produce as of 2023. In 1961, Anglia Television produced the first of the award-winning Survival series.

Between 1974 and 1980, the Spanish nature documentary television series El Hombre y la Tierra (The Man and the Earth), produced by TVE and presented by naturalist Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente used 35 mm film, which posed significant logistic and technical challenges at the time. The show gained international recognition. [6]

During the late 1970s and early 1980s, several other television companies round the world set up their own specialized natural-history departments, including the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in Melbourne, Australia and TVNZ's unit in Dunedin, New Zealand — both still in existence, the latter having changed its name to "NHNZ". ITV's contribution to the genre, Survival, became a prolific series of single films. It was eventually axed when the network introduced a controversial new schedule which many commentators have criticized as "dumbing down".

Wildlife and natural history films have boomed in popularity and have become one of modern society's most important sources of information about the natural world.[ citation needed ] Yet film and television critics and scholars have largely ignored them.[ citation needed ]

The BBC television series Walking With, narrated by Kenneth Branagh, used computer-generated imagery (CGI) and animatronics to film prehistoric life in a similar manner to other nature documentaries. The shows ( Walking with Dinosaurs , Walking with Beasts , and Walking with Monsters ) had three spinoffs, two of which featured Nigel Marven: Chased by Dinosaurs and Sea Monsters: A Walking with Dinosaurs Trilogy. Robert Winston presented Walking with Cavemen .

Content

Most nature documentary films or television series focus on a particular species, ecosystem, or scientific idea (such as evolution). Although most take a scientific and educational approach, some anthropomorphise their subjects or present animals purely for the viewer's pleasure. In a few instances, they are in presented in ethnographic film [7] formats and contain stories that involve humans and their relationships with the natural world, as in Nanook of the North (1922), The Story of the Weeping Camel (2003), and Grass: A Nation's Battle for Life (1925).

Although almost all have a human presenter, the role varies widely, ranging from explanatory voice-overs to extensive interaction or even confrontation with animals.

Most nature documentaries are made for television and are usually of 45 to 50 minutes duration,[ citation needed ] but some are made as full-length cinematic presentations.

Such films include:

In addition, the BBC's The Blue Planet and Planet Earth series have both been adapted by BBC Worldwide and Greenlight Media for theatrical release. [8]

In some cases, nature documentaries are produced in the short subject form and are subsequently screened in theaters or broadcast on television. Often they are about the relationship between humans and nature. Notable examples include:

Every two years the Wildscreen Trust, of Bristol in the UK presents the Panda Awards for nature documentaries.

Criticism

The "naturalness" of nature documentaries has been disputed. [9] [10] [11] Some, particularly those involving animals, have included footage of staged events that appear "natural" while actually contrived by filmmakers or occurring in captivity. [12] In a famous example, Walt Disney's White Wilderness (1958), lemmings were herded to their deaths from a cliff by the filmmakers. [12] [13] Examples also occur in modern nature documentaries, such as Hidden Kingdoms (2014) [14] and Blue Planet II (2017), [15] indicating that such practices are still routine. [16] [17] Due to the difficulties of recording sounds on locations, it is common for nature documentary makers to record sounds in post-production using Foley and to use sound effect libraries. [18] [19] Compositing and computer-generated imagery are also sometimes used to construct shots. [20] [21] Wild animals are often filmed over weeks or months, so the footage must be condensed to form a narrative that appears to take place over a short space of time. [22] Such narratives are also constructed to be as compelling as possible—rather than necessarily as a reflection of reality—and make frequent use of voice-overs, combined with emotional and intense music to maximise the audience's engagement with the content. [23] One common technique is to follow the "story" of one particular animal, encouraging the audience to form an emotional connection with the subject and to root for their survival when they encounter a predator. [10] In 1984, David Attenborough stated:

There is precious little that is natural … in any film. You distort speed if you want to show things like plants growing, or look in detail at the way an animal moves. You distort light levels. You distort distribution, in the sense that you see dozens of different species in a jungle within a few minutes, so that the places seem to be teeming with life. You distort size by using close-up lenses. And you distort sound. What the filmmaker is trying to do is to convey a particular experience. … The viewer has to trust in the good faith of the filmmaker. [23]

Nature documentaries have been criticized for leaving viewers with the impression that wild animals survived and thrived after encounters with predators, even when they sustain potentially life-threatening injuries. [24] They also cut away from particularly violent encounters, [10] [25] or attempt to downplay the suffering endured by the individual animal, by appealing to concepts such as the "balance of nature" and "the good of the herd". [26]

Notable filmmakers

Among the many notable filmmakers, scientists, and presenters who have contributed to the medium include:

Notable series

Sir David Attenborough

Sir David Attenborough's contributions to conservation are widely regarded, and his television programs have been seen by millions of people throughout the world. Series narrated and/or presented by him include:

Steve Irwin

Steve Irwin's documentaries, based on wildlife conservation and environmentalism, aired on Discovery Channel, and Animal Planet. The series comprises:

Other

See also

Further reading

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Attenborough</span> British broadcaster and naturalist (born 1926)

Sir David Frederick Attenborough is a British broadcaster, biologist, natural historian, and writer. He is best known for writing and presenting, in conjunction with the BBC Studios Natural History Unit, the nine nature documentary series forming the Life collection, a comprehensive survey of animal and plant life on Earth.

<i>Life on Earth</i> (TV series) 1979 British nature documentary television series

Life on Earth: A Natural History by David Attenborough is a British television natural history series made by the BBC in association with Warner Bros. Television and Reiner Moritz Productions. It was transmitted in the UK from 16 January 1979.

The BBC Studios Natural History Unit (NHU) is a department of BBC Studios that produces television, radio and online content with a natural history or wildlife theme. It is best known for its highly regarded nature documentaries, including The Blue Planet and Planet Earth, and has a long association with David Attenborough's authored documentaries, starting with 1979's Life on Earth.

<i>Natural World</i> (TV series) 1983 British TV series or programme

Natural World is a strand of British wildlife documentary programmes broadcast on BBC Two and BBC Two HD and regarded by the BBC as its flagship natural history series. It is the longest-running documentary in its genre on British television, with nearly 500 episodes broadcast since its inception in 1983. Natural World programmes are typically one-off films that take an in-depth look at particular natural history events, stories or subjects from around the globe.

<i>Planet Earth</i> (2006 TV series) 2006 British nature documentary television series

Planet Earth is a 2006 British television series produced by the BBC Natural History Unit. Five years in the making, it was the most expensive nature documentary series ever commissioned by the BBC and also the first to be filmed in high definition. The series received multiple awards, including four Emmy Awards, a Peabody Award, and an award from the Royal Television Society.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neil Nightingale</span>

Neil Nightingale is a British freelance wildlife filmmaker, executive producer and creative consultant with over 35 years experience at the BBC. From 2009 to 2018 he was the creative director of BBC Earth, BBC Worldwide's global brand for all BBC nature and science content.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alastair Fothergill</span> British TV producer

Alastair David William Fothergill is a British producer of nature documentaries for television and cinema. He is the series producer of the series The Blue Planet (2001), Planet Earth (2006) and the co-director of the associated feature films Deep Blue and Earth.

John Michael Salisbury, is an English documentary filmmaker specialising in natural history programmes for television. In a career spanning four decades, he spent over 30 years working for the BBC Natural History Unit where he produced a string of award-winning series, many in collaboration with David Attenborough. He retired from the Unit in 2006 but continues to work as a freelance producer. In 2007, he was made an OBE in the New Year Honours List for his services to broadcasting.

William Goodchild is a composer, orchestrator and conductor who produces music for film, television and the concert hall.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Honeyborne</span>

James Honeyborne is the creative director of Freeborne Media, he previously worked as an executive producer at the BBC Natural History Unit where he oversaw some 35 films, working with multiple co-producers around the world. His projects include the Emmy Award and BAFTA-winning series Blue Planet II, the Emmy Award-nominated series Wild New Zealand with National Geographic, and the BAFTA-winning BBC1 series Big Blue Live with PBS.

<i>Life</i> (2009 TV series) British nature documentary series

Life is a British nature documentary series created and produced by the BBC in association with The Open University. It was first broadcast as part of the BBC's Darwin Season on BBC One and BBC HD from October to December 2009. The series takes a global view of the specialised strategies and extreme behaviour that living things have developed in order to survive; what Charles Darwin termed "the struggle for existence". Four years in the making, the series was shot entirely in high definition.

The following is a chronological list of television series and individual programmes in which Sir David Attenborough is credited as a writer, presenter, narrator, producer, interviewee, etc. In a career spanning eight decades, Attenborough's name has become synonymous with the natural history programmes produced by the BBC Natural History Unit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Gunton</span> British television producer

Mike Gunton is a British television producer and a senior executive at the BBC Natural History Unit, the world's largest production unit dedicated to wildlife film-making. In November 2009 he became the Unit's first Creative Director.

Keith Scholey is a British producer of nature documentaries for television and cinema, and a former television executive. He is currently a joint Director of Silverback Films Ltd and Studio Silverback Ltd.

Attenborough: 60 Years in the Wild is a three-part BBC documentary series chronicling the 60 years career making wildlife programmes of Sir David Attenborough. The first hour-long programme, titled "Life on Camera" was broadcast on Friday 16 November 2012 on BBC Two at 9pm. The second part, "Understanding the Natural World" and third and final part, "Our Fragile Planet" were broadcast on following Fridays, 23 and 30 November 2012.

<i>Planet Earth II</i> 2016 British nature documentary television series

Planet Earth II is a 2016 British nature documentary series produced by the BBC as a sequel to Planet Earth, which was broadcast in 2006. The series is presented and narrated by Sir David Attenborough with the main theme music composed by Hans Zimmer.

Planet Earth is a television and film documentary franchise produced and broadcast by the BBC. The franchise began in 2001 with the success of The Blue Planet. As of 2017, The Blue Planet has spawned 5 series and one feature film.

Justine Evans is a British wildlife filmmaker featured in many BBC Natural History Unit productions such as Planet Earth, Life, and Frozen Planet. She is a canopy specialist and an expert on filming nocturnal animals.

<i>Our Planet</i> Nature documentary

Our Planet is a British nature documentary series made for Netflix. The series is narrated by David Attenborough and produced by Silverback Films, led by Alastair Fothergill and Keith Scholey, who also created BBC documentary series Planet Earth, Frozen Planet and The Blue Planet, in collaboration with the conservation charity World Wildlife Fund (WWF). The soundtrack was composed by Steven Price.

<i>Seven Worlds, One Planet</i> BBC documentary series

Seven Worlds, One Planet is a television documentary series from the BBC Natural History Unit. The seven-part series, in which each episode focuses on one continent, debuted on 27 October 2019 and is narrated and presented by naturalist Sir David Attenborough. Over 1,500 people worked on the series, which was filmed over 1,794 days, with 92 shoots across 41 countries.

References

  1. ↑ Rothman, William (January 1997). Documentary Film Classics. Cambridge University Press. p. 1. ISBN   9781139172691.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  2. ↑ True-Life Adventures
  3. ↑ Sesto Continente as mentioned at the IMDB website
  4. ↑ In 1956 The Silent World was released in three different countries: France (May 26, 1956), Japan (August 15, 1956) and the United States (September 24, 1956). See the release information page at the IMDB website.
  5. ↑ Ian McTaggart-Cowan bio shines light on pioneering TV nature program host
  6. ↑ "Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente, el divulgador más mediático". 13 March 2020.
  7. ↑ Ethnographic film
  8. ↑ BBC Press Office: Planet Earth set for movie release
  9. ↑ Malnick, Robert; Malnick, Edward (2011-12-18). "BBC accused of routine 'fakery' in wildlife documentaries". Daily Telegraph. ISSN   0307-1235 . Retrieved 2019-10-09.
  10. 1 2 3 Lopatto, Elizabeth (2016-08-15). "How natural are nature documentaries?". The Verge. Retrieved 2019-10-09.
  11. ↑ Ivakhiv, Adrian J. (2013). "Writing, Seeing, and Faking Nature". Ecologies of the Moving Image: Cinema, Affect, Nature. Waterloo, Ontario: Wilfrid Laurier University Press. ISBN   9781554589050.
  12. 1 2 D'Amico, Lisa Nicole (2013-07-19). Ecopornography and the Commodification of Extinction: The Rhetoric of Natural History Filmmaking, 1895-Present (Thesis).
  13. ↑ Mikkelson, David (27 February 1996). "Did Disney Fake Lemming Deaths for the Nature Documentary 'White Wilderness'?". Snopes.com. Retrieved 2019-10-14.
  14. ↑ Lawson, Mark (2014-01-08). "BBC telling us it staged sequences makes Hidden Kingdoms hard to watch". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2019-10-09.
  15. ↑ Carrington, Damian (2017-10-23). "Blue Planet 2: Attenborough defends shots filmed in studio". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2019-10-09.
  16. ↑ "FAKERY in Wildlife Documentaries". The Fifth Estate . CBC Television. Nov 26, 2008. Archived from the original on 2010-10-03. Retrieved April 18, 2012.
  17. ↑ Street-Porter, Janet (2018-04-06). "It's about time we recognised that nature documentary makers regularly deceive us – and we're partly to blame" . The Independent. Archived from the original on 2022-06-18. Retrieved 2019-10-09.
  18. ↑ "Sounds Natural". 99% Invisible. Retrieved 2019-10-09.
  19. ↑ Collins, Karen (April 2017). "Calls of the wild? 'Fake' sound effects and cinematic realism in BBC David Attenborough nature documentaries". The Soundtrack. 10 (1): 59–77. doi:10.1386/ts.10.1.59_1.
  20. ↑ "Using graphics when making wildlife films". BBC. 2016-04-29. Retrieved 2019-10-23.
  21. ↑ Dargis, Manohla (2011-06-23). "'Turtle: The Incredible Journey,' a Loggerhead Epic - Review". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2019-10-23.
  22. ↑ "Filming Wildlife: Producers Discuss the Challenges". PBS. 2007-12-11. Retrieved 2019-10-09.
  23. 1 2 Lopez, German (2017-04-29). "The tricks that nature documentaries use to keep you watching". Vox. Retrieved 2019-10-09.
  24. ↑ Norcross, Desli (2019-02-28). "Wildlife Documentaries: What Happens to the Limping Gazelle?". Nature Ethics. Archived from the original on 2020-08-04. Retrieved 2019-10-09.
  25. ↑ Rustin, Susanna (2011-10-21). "David Attenborough: 'I'm an essential evil'". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077 . Retrieved 2020-04-19. People who accuse us of putting in too much violence, [should see] what we leave on the cutting-room floor.
  26. ↑ Pearce, David. "The Post-Darwinian Transition". The Animal Rights Library. Retrieved 2019-10-09.
  27. ↑ Information on King of the Jungle series Archived 2008-09-17 at the Wayback Machine . Tv.com (2005-07-14). Retrieved on 2012-09-05.
  28. ↑ Official show page for Ocean Mysteries Archived 2014-01-29 at the Wayback Machine . Georgiaaquarium.org (2011-08-31). Retrieved on 2012-09-05.
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