Nature documentary
A nature documentary or wildlife documentary is a genre of
History
In cinema
The first full-length nature-documentary films pioneering colour
In television
In 1954, the BBC started airing
Between 1974 and 1980, the Spanish nature documentary television series
During the late 1970s and early 1980s, several other television companies round the world set up their own specialized natural-history departments, including the
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
Content
Overview
Most nature documentary films or television series focus on a particular
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:
- Among the Great Apes with Michelle Yeoh (2009)
- Animals Are Beautiful People (1974)
- Chang: A Drama of the Wilderness (1927)
- Coral Reef Adventure (2003)
- The Cove (2009)
- Encounters at the End of the World (2007)
- Grizzly Man (2005)
- The Last Paradises: On the Track of Rare Animals (1967)
- The Leopard Son (1996)
- The Living Desert (1953)
- March of the Penguins (2005)
- Microcosmos (1996)
- Sharkwater (2006)
- Serengeti Shall Not Die (1959)
- The Silent World (1956)
- The Story of the Weeping Camel (2003)
- Grass: A Nation's Battle for Life (1925)
- The Vanishing Prairie (1954)
- The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill (2003)
- White Wilderness (1958)
- Winged Migration (2001)
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
- Agafia's Taiga Life (2013)
- Grand Canyon (1958)
- In Beaver Valley (1950)
- The Land (1942) 45-minute documentary made for the U.S. Department of Agriculture
- The Plow That Broke the Plains (1936)
- The River (1938)
- Seal Island (1948)
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 nature documentary filmmakers
Among the many notable filmmakers, scientists, and presenters who have contributed to the medium include:
- James Algar
- Sir David Attenborough
- Harry Butler
- Gordon Buchanan
- Richard Brock
- Jacques Cousteau
- Jeff Corwin
- Gerald Durrell
- Alastair Fothergill
- Robert Flaherty
- Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente
- Bernhard Grzimek
- Tim Haines
- Judy Irving
- Steve Irwin
- Hugo van Lawick
- Jasper James
- Nigel Marven
- Greg MacGillivray
- Ian McTaggart-Cowan
- Desmond Morris
- Neil Nightingale
- Marlin Perkins
- Coyote Peterson
- Jacques Perrin
- Louie Psihoyos
- Eugen Schuhmacher
- Heinz Sielmann
- Marty Stouffer
- Mark Strickson
- David Suzuki
- Valmik Thapar
List of notable nature documentary 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:
- Zoo Quest (1954–1964)
- Life on Earth (1979), 13 episodes
- The Living Planet (1984), 12 episodes
- The Trials of Life (1990), 12 episodes
- Life in the Freezer (1993), 6 episodes
- The Private Life of Plants (1995), 6 episodes
- The Life of Birds (1998), 10 episodes
- The Blue Planet (2001), 8 episodes
- The Life of Mammals (2002), 10 episodes
- Life in the Undergrowth (2005), 5 episodes
- Planet Earth (2006), 11 episodes
- Life in Cold Blood (2008), 5 episodes
- Life (2009), 10 episodes
- Nature's Great Events (2009)
- Frozen Planet (2011), 7 episodes
- Kingdom of Plants 3D (2012), 3 episodes
- David Attenborough's Conquest of the Skies 3D (2015), 3 episodes + Extra
- Planet Earth II (2016), 6 episodes
- Blue Planet II (2017), 7 episodes
- Our Planet (2019), 8 episodes
- Seven Worlds, One Planet (2019), 7 episodes
- The Green Planet (2022), 5 episodes
- Prehistoric Planet(2022), 5 episodes
Steve Irwin
Steve Irwin's documentaries, based on wildlife conservation and environmentalism, aired on Discovery Channel, and Animal Planet. The series comprises:
- The Crocodile Hunter (1992–2004), 74 episodes
- The Crocodile Hunter: Collision Course (2002), Movie
- The Crocodile Hunter's Croc Files (1999), 52 episodes
- Ten Deadliest Snakes in the World (2001)
- The Crocodile Hunter Diaries (2001–2003), 30 episodes
- New Breed Vets (2005), 6 episodes
- Ocean's Deadliest (2006)
Other notable documentaries
In addition to those listed above, the following is a sampling of the genre:
- Andes to Amazon (2000)
- Animal Atlas (2004–)
- Ark on the Move (1982)
- Banded Brothers (2010)
- The Bear Family & Me (2011)
- Big Cat Week (2013)
- British Isles – A Natural History (2004)
- Corwin's Quest: Animal Planet 2005.
- Congo(2001)
- Cousins (2000)
- Dark Days in Monkey City (2009)
- Earth: The Power of the Planet (2007)
- Earthflight (2011)
- Escape to Chimp Eden (2008)
- Europe: A Natural History (2005)
- Eyewitness (British TV series) (1994-1997)
- The First Eden (1987)
- The Future Is Wild (2002)
- The Great Rift: Africa's Wild Heart (2010)
- Ganges(2007)
- Great Migrations (2010)
- Going Wild with Jeff Corwin (Disney Channel, 1997–1999)
- El Hombre y la Tierra(1974–1981)
- How the Earth Was Made (2009)
- How the Universe Works (2010, 2012, 2014)
- The Human Animal (1994)
- Human Planet (2011)
- In the Womb (2005–2010)
- Insectia (1999)
- Inside Life (2009)
- The Jeff Corwin Experience (2001–2003)
- Journeys to the Ends of the Earth (1998)
- King of the Jungle (Animal Planet, 2003–2004)[27]
- Land of the Tiger (1997)
- Last Chance to See (2009)
- Lemur Street (2007–2008)
- The Living Edens (1997)
- Madagascar (2011)
- Meerkat Manor (2005)
- The Most Extreme (2002)
- Nature(1982–)
- Natural World (1983–2020)
- The Nature of Things (1960–)
- Ocean Mysteries with Jeff Corwin (ABC, 2011–14)[28]
- Oceans (2008)
- Orangutan Diary (2009)
- Orangutan Island (2007)
- Penguin Island (2010)
- Planet Earth: The Future (2006)
- Really Wild Animals (1993–98)
- Talking with Animals (2002)
- The Really Wild Show (1986–2006)
- River Monsters (2009)
- Saving Planet Earth (2007)
- Sea Rescue(2012–2018)
- The Secret Life of Elephants (2009)
- South Pacific (2009)
- State of the Planet (2000)
- The Stationary Ark(1975)
- The Predators of the Wild (1992–1996)
- Super Cats: A Nature Miniseries PBS (2018) – 3 Episodes
- Supernatural: The Unseen Powers of Animals (2008)
- Survival (1961)
- Suzuki on Science (1971)
- Weird Nature (2001)
- Wild Africa (2001)
- Wild Caribbean (2007)
- Wild Down Under (2003)
- Wild Kingdom (1963–1988)
- Wild Russia (2009)
- Yellowstone(2009)
Current production
This section needs to be updated.(June 2020) |
In recent years, most traditional style 'blue chip' programming has become prohibitively expensive and are funded by a set of co-producers, usually a broadcaster (such as
Two recent examples of co-productions that were filmed by the BBC are Planet Earth II (2016) and Blue Planet II (2017).[29]
Production companies are increasingly exploiting their filmed material, by making DVDs and Blu-rays for home viewing or educational purposes, or selling library footage to advertisers, museum exhibitors, and other documentary producers.
See also
Further reading
- Bush, W. Stephen (1915) Wild Life in Films The Moving Picture World Vol 23 #10:1462-1463
- Gregg Mitman: Reel Nature: America's Romance with Wildlife on Film (Weyerhaeuser Environmental Classics), Paperback (Second Edition), Combined Academic Publishers, 2009, ISBN 0-295-98886-X
- ISBN 1578051487
References
- ISBN 9781139172691.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: date and year (link - ^ True-Life Adventures
- ^ Sesto Continente as mentioned at the IMDB website
- ^ 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.
- ^ Ian McTaggart-Cowan bio shines light on pioneering TV nature program host
- ^ "Félix Rodríguez de la Fuente, el divulgador más mediático". 13 March 2020.
- ^ Ethnographic film
- ^ BBC Press Office: Planet Earth set for movie release
- ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2019-10-09.
- ^ a b c Lopatto, Elizabeth (2016-08-15). "How natural are nature documentaries?". The Verge. Retrieved 2019-10-09.
- ISBN 9781554589050.
- ^ a b D'Amico, Lisa Nicole (2013-07-19). Ecopornography and the Commodification of Extinction: The Rhetoric of Natural History Filmmaking, 1895-Present (Thesis).
- ^ Mikkelson, David (27 February 1996). "Did Disney Fake Lemming Deaths for the Nature Documentary 'White Wilderness'?". Snopes.com. Retrieved 2019-10-14.
- ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-10-09.
- ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-10-09.
- ^
"FAKERY in Wildlife Documentaries". The Fifth Estate. CBC Television. Nov 26, 2008. Archivedfrom the original on 2010-10-03. Retrieved April 18, 2012.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Sounds Natural". 99% Invisible. Retrieved 2019-10-09.
- .
- ^ "Using graphics when making wildlife films". BBC. 2016-04-29. Retrieved 2019-10-23.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-10-23.
- ^ "Filming Wildlife: Producers Discuss the Challenges". PBS. 2007-12-11. Retrieved 2019-10-09.
- ^ a b Lopez, German (2017-04-29). "The tricks that nature documentaries use to keep you watching". Vox. Retrieved 2019-10-09.
- ^ 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.
- 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.
- ^ Pearce, David. "The Post-Darwinian Transition". The Animal Rights Library. Retrieved 2019-10-09.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Official show page for Ocean Mysteries Archived 2014-01-29 at the Wayback Machine. Georgiaaquarium.org (2011-08-31). Retrieved on 2012-09-05.
- )
External links
- Light & Shadow Productions: German nature documentary company Archived 2018-09-02 at the Wayback Machine
- "The Mysterious Bee" An award winning documentary about Honey Bees
- Trouble in Lemur Land – a professional 50 minute HD film about illegal rosewood logging in Madagascar and the impact on the silky sifaka lemur
- List of Nature Documentaries
- Nature at BBC
- Nature at PBS
- TV/Radio Programmes at BBC
- Outdoors Country, ca. 1957, Archives of Ontario YouTube Channel