{"id":17898,"date":"2022-04-06T08:50:22","date_gmt":"2022-04-06T12:50:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev2.worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/worldscreen.com\/"},"modified":"2022-04-07T11:05:19","modified_gmt":"2022-04-07T15:05:19","slug":"wild-side","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/wild-side\/","title":{"rendered":"Wild Side"},"content":{"rendered":"

Chelsea Regan hears from leading executives about trends in natural-history content.<\/em><\/p>\n

The United Nations\u2019 latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report offered a grim outlook for the years to come should the global community fail to address the unchecked warming of the planet. Among the many considerations in the report are the potential effects on wildlife. Almost half of all species have already lost a portion of their populations because of climate change.<\/p>\n

Despite the report\u2019s dark forecasts, there is still time for course corrections\u2014with natural-history programming playing no small part in turning up the dial on awareness for the need to turn down the temperature and protect the planet and its diverse inhabitants.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s essential that wildlife filmmaking is used as a hook to make people understand how climate change is impacting the world,\u201d says Jorge Franzini, VP of original content, development and programming at Curiosity. \u201cWhen you see wildlife, I think people are much more emotionally aware and empathetic to the fact that this is happening\u2014fast.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anne Olzmann, managing director at Albatross World Sales, also believes that wildlife and nature programming have a significant role in raising awareness about climate change\u2014but notes that it\u2019s essential to fit the approach to the audience in question. \u201cTypically, public broadcasters attract an older audience,\u201d says Olzmann. \u201cAnd I would say many of these viewers often need to be \u2018picked up\u2019 by showing them the beauty of our planet first and then reaching them via a protect-what-you-love approach. They first want to fall in love with nature and its species and need some kind of feel-good moment before they will become active.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for the younger audiences, they\u2019re keener for media that pulls few punches when it comes to worst-case scenarios for the planet, as they\u2019re also prepared to take action to avoid them. \u201cThey want the full truth, direct and without any whitewashing,\u201d says Olzmann. \u201cThey are also interested in learning about the beauty of our planet, but at the same time eager to learn how to protect and, what\u2019s more important, ready to act on it. Wildlife programs should feel much more inclusive for the younger audience.\u201d<\/p>\n

WaterBear Network, a factual VOD service backed by ZDF Studios and Off the Fence, \u201cis more than just a video platform for sustainability; it is the only platform that unites almost all NGOs on the subject of animals and environmental protection worldwide,\u201d says Ralf R\u00fcckauer, VP Unscripted at ZDF Studios. \u201cIt has already formed a large community after only slightly more than a year after launch, and it\u2019s constantly growing and evolving.\u201d<\/p>\n

R\u00fcckauer also mentions the ZDF Studios-distributed documentary Going Circular<\/em>, an Off the Fence production. \u201cThis is not a wildlife program in the traditional sense,\u201d says R\u00fcckauer. \u201cBut ultimately, it is about us humans and our place in this world and our relationship to resources of the Earth, nature and our role and responsibility in this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tom McDonald, managing director of factual productions at BBC Studios, notes, \u201cThere is no question that our natural-history content plays a part in raising awareness. The Blue Planet<\/em> effect changed behaviors and policy internationally, and we were invited to open COP26 in Glasgow with The Green Planet<\/em>, attended by representatives from the Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change to the UN.\u201d<\/p>\n

McDonald adds that audiences are clamoring for this kind of content. \u201cIn a [July 2021] BBC Pulse survey, 75 percent of the U.K. think the media should do more around protecting the environment and transitioning to a more sustainable world. This is a massive creative opportunity for all of us\u2014not just within natural history, but the entire industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

NATURAL DEMAND<\/strong>
\nThis increased interest in the planet directly affects natural-history titles\u2019 performance in the marketplace. \u201cI am observing an ever-growing appetite for natural-history and wildlife content, which we are ready to fulfill by increasing our yearly output by 50 percent,\u201d says Gernot Lercher, the head of natural history for ORF\u2019s UNIVERSUM strand. \u201cThis is closely related to the general interest of our society in any kind of ecological issues and conservation topics. I am now 56 years old, and I have never experienced a time when all generations have been focused on saving this planet we call home.\u201d<\/p>\n

The proliferation of new platforms has strengthened and diversified an already strong market for natural history, observes BBC Studios\u2019 McDonald. \u201cThe Natural History Unit\u2019s (NHU) ambitious production collaborations with the likes of Jon Favreau, James Cameron and Warner Bros.\u2019 Wizarding World just demonstrate the global appeal and influence of natural history\u2014but also how rich in innovation the genre is at the moment. We\u2019re working on over 25 NHU productions, spanning linear, SVOD, digital, audio and live events.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBlue-chip documentaries are still king,\u201d reports Sabine Holzer, head of specialist factual at Terra Mater Studios. Holzer confirms that demand remains strong for natural history and wildlife across free- and pay-TV channels alike. \u201cA huge amount of broadcasters air natural-history programs in very prominent slots or even dedicate their whole output to these genres, so there\u2019s a huge demand for high-quality content from the international market. In addition, in the last years, there\u2019s been an even broader variety of takers due to all the streaming services.\u201d<\/p>\n

Albatross\u2019s Olzmann has witnessed the enduring appeal of classic blue-chip \u201ccoffee-table\u201d programs. \u201cHowever, now that people are becoming more aware of the importance of an intact ecosystem, we now see a stronger demand for natural-history programs that are connected to conservation, sustainability and environmental protection efforts.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whatever the central topic of a natural-history title, \u201cit\u2019s essential to reach an audience on an emotional level,\u201d according to Olzmann. \u201cThis can be via a strong story that can captivate the viewers, or it can be via a humorous approach, but in any case, it needs to be strong visually, as the competition gets bigger with more affordable equipment to shoot films. The story now matters more than ever before.\u201d<\/p>\n

Advances in technology have indeed changed the filmmaking game, democratizing it and elevating the possibilities for everyone. \u201cThese tools are now becoming readily available to all filmmakers,\u201d says Curiosity\u2019s Franzini. \u201cNot just to the big production companies, not just to these big networks, but also to the storytellers who are on the ground in their locations and can now tell their own stories.\u201d<\/p>\n

Franzini points to the technology utilized in the Curiosity original David Attenborough\u2019s Light on Earth<\/em>, which enabled the filming of bioluminescence in a way that hadn\u2019t been done before. He also mentions the ubiquity of drones: \u201cIt\u2019s not just spending incredible amounts of money to be able to do helicopter aerials,\u201d says Franzini. \u201cNow, you can fly a drone anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n

As ORF\u2019s Lercher puts it, \u201cTen years ago, aerials without a helicopter? No chance! Today, you have different kinds of drones that can fly in high-alpine regions and just one meter above the ground. How lucky are we to get all these new perspectives that help us find new narratives, telling stories in the most compelling way?\u201d With a note of caution, Lercher adds, \u201cBut as much technology we have for our purposes, we shall never forget the impact of a good, unique story.\u201d<\/p>\n

UP-CLOSE<\/strong>
\nWhile story is paramount to hooking viewers, the evolution of wildlife content has been driven by the development of specialist filming equipment, according to ZDF Studios\u2019 R\u00fcckauer. \u201cWildlife filmmaking borrows and adapts the latest technologies\u2014hi-speed ballistics cameras, camera traps, drones\u2014but it also stimulates the innovations of videography\u2014GoPros, underwater housings, filming in low light\u2014as well. What has developed is a powerful arms race of invention, evolution and innovation to capture astounding images of elusive creatures in inhospitable habitats. Bring it on!\u201d<\/p>\n

Constantly pushing its storytelling and technology potential, BBC Studios used a slew of technical gadgetry and hacking in The Green Planet<\/em>, according to McDonald. \u201cUsing FPV drones is just scraping the surface of the extraordinary lengths our producers will go in pursuit of the perfect shot,\u201d he says. \u201cHaving found a plant photography tech enthusiast in the U.S., they promptly hired him for three years and set up a studio in the middle of Devon and built a bespoke time-lapse camera, which is named the Triffid, that can record and shoot from multiple angles. It\u2019s painstaking work that would involve 7,000 individual camera positions to make a 3-and-a-half-minute sequence. And what is more, the team managed to shrink the tech down to create a mobile time-lapse camera that they took on location with them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course, platforms are developing as quickly as tech is, and developments in the FAST space are creating new opportunities. \u201cWe will probably see considerable growth in the following months and years,\u201d says Albatross\u2019s Olzmann. \u201cFAST has opened up many possibilities to increase the shelf life of our titles and to give younger audiences a chance to experience them for the first time.\u201d<\/p>\n

For R\u00fcckauer, there\u2019s no doubt that FAST channels are already having a moment, as ZDF Studios currently has several partnerships in the space, with more to come this spring. \u201cAccording to our first experiences, wildlife programs are particularly suitable for [FAST platforms],\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

When Curiosity Stream first started back in 2015, Franzini recalls going to markets and explaining what SVOD rights were. \u201cPeople would say, Well, I used to just throw in my SVOD rights with my TV linear rights. And then you saw this amazing progression. I think you\u2019re going to see the same with FAST. People are starting to understand how to monetize those rights; how they can help grow a brand.\u201d<\/p>\n

BASIC INSTINCTS<\/strong>
\nThe entry of SVOD and AVOD players in natural history is evolving funding and distribution models, but the fundamentals of blue-chip wildlife remain the same.<\/p>\n

ZDF Studios\u2019 R\u00fcckauer observes: \u201cThe only answer to the question of how best to relate to the viewers is this: a lot of heart and great feelings and astonishing and empathetic observation. This is much more popular than lecture-like explanations and fact-based processing of charts and bar graphs.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to BBC Studios\u2019 McDonald, the scientists and field experts in the NHU network have helped its wildlife programming travel the globe, with working relationships that stretch back decades. \u201cThe same goes for our co-production partners and broadcasters across the world\u2014having a global reach and relevance is baked into the DNA of the Natural History Unit,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re convinced that even the seemingly dullest subjects can walk on global legs if they\u2019re wrapped into the right narrative and if they have something new to them and can delight an audience,\u201d adds Albatross\u2019s Olzmann. \u201cSomething never-seen or something never-before-filmed with state-of-the-art cinematography, allowing a new view on a certain species and an inviting\u2014maybe even humorous\u2014narration seems to be the key to success with broadcasters and the audience.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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