BEHIND THE LENS – an exploration of wildlife filmmaking, hidden wildlife, and secret stories
June 10 – 11, 2017
On the top floor of At-Bristol Science Centre, entrance from Millennium Square.
All talks are free and drop-in for Festival visitors
Age – Suitable for 6+ although all ages are welcome!
Saturday June 10, 2017
10:00 – 10:30 Protect the Eels!
Pupils from Victoria Park Primary have helped make a wonderful animated film, on the subject of eels in the River Avon, and their long-distance migration journey to the Sargasso Sea. Stories will be shared about the ‘making of’, and some the insights gained by the children into Bristol’s hidden ecology.
10:30 – 11:00 Lizzie Daly – “Hidden Wildlife”
Lizzie Daly is a presenter for BBC Earth Unplugged! She will be exploring the world of “Hidden Wildlife,” telling stories of how wildlife adapt and sharing her own experiences with elusive species. You will also be able to meet her in BBC Natural History Unit’s tent on Millennium Square, and she will be doing a live interview on the BBC Big Screen. Make sure to stop and say hello!
11:00 – 12:00 Laurence Whitaker – “Make your own Wildlife Film on your Iphone”
Get tips from the experts with this interactive and family-friend talk and workshop on creating your own wildlife film using the smartphone in your pocket. Learn free tricks, and then spend the rest of the day exploring the Harbour. Don’t forget to pop back into the BBC tent and show us what you have found!
12:00 – 13:00 Paul Williams – “Mud, Sweat and Tears – The ups and downs of a wildlife TV producer”
During 14 years at the BBC Natural History Unit, producer / director Paul Williams has filmed in more than 30 countries. Join him as he takes us behind the scenes of some of his most challenging shoots, revealing the technology used to capture extraordinary behaviour, and how sometimes things don’t go to plan. Fresh from the edit for his new series, Paul will show a sneak preview of Wild Cats, due to be shown on BBC One in Spring 2018.
Sunday June 11, 2017
11:00 – 11:30 Ferne Corrigan, Presenter, Cbeebies – “Urban Wildlife”
Join Ferne for a look at her favourite hidden wildlife, and hear some stories about the importance of wasps in our neighbourhoods and green spaces. Make sure you bring along some of your own stories!
11:30 – 13:00 Justin Anderson – ‘From Pole dancing bears to singing snow leopards’ – Behind the scenes with Planet Earth 2 Mountains.
BBC NHU Producer / Director Justin Anderson reveals the stories behind the making of Planet Earth 2’s Mountains episode. Featuring never before seen footage and stills from location to take the audience closer to the action then ever before. Find out what it took to fly like an eagle over the alps, dance like a bear in the Rockies and to film the world’s most illusive big cat, the snow leopard!
Producer / Director Justin Anderson has 18 years of documentary experience and has made programmes for the BBC and the Discovery channel. He was a sequence director and Assistant producer on the Emmy Award winning first Planet Earth series where he achieved notoriety for spending 2 months working in a huge pile of bat guano! He was lucky enough to present an acclaimed radio documentary for BBC Radio 4, where he tracked arctic wolves across the frozen wastes of Canada. His work has led him on many varied adventures, from 10 days underground in Lechuguilla cave, to camping on a Nunatuk in an Arctic ice field. As Producer / Director for Mountains on Planet Earth 2 he has traveled from Ladakh and Everest in the Himalaya, to the remote mountains of Peru. He has directed stories as diverse as the first ‘snow leopard love story’ to ‘pole dancing bears’ and ‘extreme sports speed riders’ in the Alps.
13:00 – 14:00 Emma Brennand – “Take to the High Seas with Planet Earth 2: Islands”
Join BBC Natural History Assistant Producer Emma Brennand for an exclusive ‘Behind the Scenes’ of the ‘Islands’ episode of David Attenborough’s Planet Earth II. Four years in the making with over 25 expedition shoots to the world’s greatest wildernesses; she has plenty of stories to share. Join her as she takes you in search of the Mollymawks of the Southern Ocean, up the reptilian back bone of Indonesia looking for a real life dragon & to the ancient island of Madagascar in pursuit of the world’s largest lemur.
