Interviews

How did Wild Safari 3D come about?

BS: Three years ago, I made a 3D/4D theme park film in association with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in the Netherlands. Seeing the power of 3D, executives in the organization thought a 3D wildlife documentary would be a very powerful vehicle to spread a strong conservation message to worldwide audiences. Having no wildlife filmmaking experience and knowing how difficult it would be to shoot 3D in the wild, I did not think much of it at the time. But when the opportunity presented itself in early 2004 to do a 3D film in South Africa, I went for it.

How did you approach making this film?

BS: Most wildlife documentaries we see on TV focus on animal behavior, it was my ambition to use the experience of the giant screen to bring the audience face-to-face with the animals, and to try to capture the excitement of observing these extraordinary creatures from very close range, and, in their own habitat. It has been my own experience that watching a sleeping lion from a short distance in the wild can be far more exciting than viewing a spectacular chase on TV. As the saying goes, the giant screen experience is the next best thing to being there. So, I decided to tackle the challenge of creating the first ever 3D wildlife film, to put audiences literally on safari.

How did you make it work?

BS: Since I wanted to shoot the entire film from the perspective of people going on a safari in an open-air vehicle, it was crucial to find a way to shoot 3D in a moving 4 x 4 over very rough terrain.

Sean Phillips, Director of Photography, designed a 3D rig that would fit on Libra head (a stabilizing gear) mounted on a crane so that we could do a lot of moving shots. It was tricky and nerve racking at first since it had never been tried, but the feedback, from the first days of filming, from our colleagues watching the dailies in Los Angeles was very encouraging. It looked like we might pull it off after all.

What other 3D technology did you use?

BS: We used innovative 3D satellite imaging technology. With the help of Wavegen/Terratracer, Inc., a company specializing in space imaging, we created a number of sequences that look like helicopter shots over South Africa which were actually captured by a set of 3 satellites orbiting high above the Earth.

How many different 3D rigs did you have to shoot with?

BS: We went into the field with five different 3D rigs. While as a team we are probably the most experienced 3D crew in the world, we knew very little about wildlife filmmaking. So not knowing what gear we would need, we took pretty much everything available except for the traditional mirror rig which would never have survived the heavy beating we took on the South African dirt roads. In the end we primarily used two rigs designed and built by Sean.

How close could you get to the animals?

BS: We got incredibly close to the animals. At first most rangers and advisors told us it would be very tough to do this kind of filming. The animals could react aggressively or simply run away in the presence this kind of bulky and noisy equipment. As it turned out, the animals were OK with it. Each time we got to a site, we moved in slowly to allow the animals to get used to our presence. Most of the time after a few hours, they let us get quite close; sometimes within a few feet.

How did the animals react to your filming them?

BS: Despite all the equipment we had, the animals recognized us as a non-threatening presence. This was truly amazing considering our unorthodox behavior in the field. When you go on a safari in the wild, you are supposed to sit down, keep quiet and stay still. Well, we stood up most of the time, operating the equipment. We moved around constantly and talked a lot.

The typical shot went like this: We’d get into position and using his laser pointer, Scott Hoffman (AC) would measure the distance between the animals and the camera. He’d shout the reading to Sean (DP) who could barely hear us since he had his head under the camera hood. Sean would then mentally calculate the inter-axial distance and shout the offset back to Wayne Baker (AC) who’d set up the camera at the proper distance. While this went on I’d shout at everyone to hurry up lest we miss the shot.

Not exactly the typical behavior of wildlife filmmakers who often sit still for hours waiting for the perfect shot. The animals must have sensed we were trying to achieve the impossible. They left us alone.

Did you get some wildlife advisors on the crew?

BS: To start with, Liesl (our on-camera host) is a very competent field guide and zoologist. Her presence was invaluable as an advisor on animal behavior and as a safety instructor. Everywhere we went we picked up additional help, ecologists, trackers and local experts.

What about John Varty?

BS: John Varty is the best known South African wildlife filmmaker. When we first met, John did not take us very seriously. He thought our crew of 12 was much too big and that our lack of experience would be a serious handicap in filming the most elusive of all predators, the leopard. But when he saw our impressive equipment and the professionalism of our crew, he became determined to help us achieve the impossible.

And he did. In a half hour period at the end of our 3rd day in Kruger Park, we captured the most amazing sequence of the entire film: a pair of leopards mating. John told me it took him several years to capture such a scene in his early days as a wildlife filmmaker. Beginner’s luck I guess…

How difficult was it to film in the wild?

BS: After the rainy season, the vegetation was quite high, so it was difficult to see the animals in the tall grass. It was winter. The days were much shorter and the sun was much lower on the horizon, so even at high noon we had decent light. We were not obliged to shoot everything at sunrise and sunset to get spectacular photography.

The shoot was pretty hard physically because we were doing a lot of driving. We were driving hours and hours every day under very tough conditions on very rough roads. The equipment was rattled about quite a bit.

What does 3D bring to the experience of the film?

BS: Wild Safari is not a traditional documentary about wild animals, but rather an attempt to recreate the real experience of searching the bush to find them, taking audiences on a real life safari. 3D is a crucial component to create the total immersion; the feeling of being there. I would never have wanted to do it as a traditional 2D film.

How does the film send the conservation message?

BS: Throughout the film, we try to lay out some of the basic scientific and educational aspects of African wildlife. But most importantly, by showing these majestic animals in their wild habitat we want people to see that they are real treasures worth saving. My ambition was to take audiences and transport them to South Africa. I wanted them to get excited about what they saw and to be left with an impression of a very worthwhile cause.

How did you prepare for wildlife filming?

SP: I built two new 3D 35mm systems to work on the project. One was a zoom rig that used two 10:1 zoom lenses. The key to this rig was its use of expanded interaxials to reduce the 'cardboard cut-out effect' of longer focal length lenses. I knew we'd need to use long lenses to capture the wildlife. The other was a narrower, lightweight system that could fit into a Libra head, a wonderful remote head that stabilizes shots taken from a shaking, off-road vehicle.

Wild Safari 3D is the first wildlife film to be shot in 3D. How did shooting in 3D affect the cinematography?

SP: Audiences are used to seeing amazing wildlife footage in TV documentaries, footage made possible by lightweight field cameras. Our goal was to take that aesthetic and do it in giant screen 3D. To achieve that I knew we couldn't use any of the existing 3D camera systems.

In shooting photography for large format with 35mm cameras, how did you frame the images with these formats for the giant screen?

SP: For the 35mm camera systems I had a special ground glass made up with markings I use to frame films for the giant screen. Fortunately, all these formats share an aspect ratio that is close to the 1.41:1 of the 15/70 giant screen projection format.

What particular challenges did you and the crew face filming the unpredictable actions of wildlife?

SP: By far, the hardest thing for me was getting a good framing, an exposure, and a pleasing lighting direction while simultaneously figuring out the proper stereo convergence on the fly. This was a constant issue on the zoom rig, as we were always changing our distances and focal lengths. I didn't have time to run convergence and interaxial numbers on my laptop, as I would if I were in a studio setting. The rest of the camera crew was constantly scrambling to get focus, position, or build the next camera mount we'd need.

What actions did you and the crew take for protection from wild animals during filming?

SP: None of the crew wore any special form of protection, as the animals are unlikely to attack a vehicle unless provoked. People are not their natural prey, so the most basic rule is really the best: stay in the vehicle. The Land Rovers are quite high off the ground, so the most ferocious of the Big Five--leopards and lions--would be at a severe tactical disadvantage when trying to leap up onto a vehicle. These cats can't afford to be injured, so they tend to be rather conservative when they go for a kill, and won't chance an unfamiliar dining experience unless they're really hungry.

Which animal of the Big Five was the easiest to shoot? Which was the most difficult?

The experience of all of our many rangers and trackers told us the leopards would be the hardest to film, and the buffaloes the easiest. Ironically the opposite turned out to be true. A big factor is luck, timing, weather, and the skill of the rangers and trackers. We were lucky to work with a noted wildlife photographer, John Varty, who, with his trackers, knowledge, and support allowed us to get some amazing shots, particularly one at sunset of two mating leopards.

What did you learn from your experience of wildlife 3D filming?

I have a profound respect for wildlife photographers. They are really behaviorists and conservationists who use film to not just capture behavior but to promote sensitivity to life. The tools we used are still crude, but I believe they will allow new and ever more immersive 3D wildlife films to be made for the giant screen.