{"id":19684,"date":"2023-05-24T08:50:32","date_gmt":"2023-05-24T12:50:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dev2.worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/worldscreen.com\/"},"modified":"2023-05-25T11:45:26","modified_gmt":"2023-05-25T15:45:26","slug":"wildlife-in-focus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/wildlife-in-focus\/","title":{"rendered":"Wildlife in Focus"},"content":{"rendered":"

Wildlife programming has been a key component of broadcasters\u2019 slates for many years. Sweeping, high-quality pieces that survey an area\u2019s species are loved by audiences everywhere. It\u2019s a crowded market, however, and it\u2019s only becoming more so. Standing out can be tough. Distributors tell\u00a0TV Real <\/em>\u00a0one way they have achieved breaking through the overly saturated genre: offering focused, single-species programs.<\/p>\n

Valent\u00edn Romero, managing director of 3Boxmedia International Sales, says, \u201cI believe that nature documentaries should always show us new perspectives and new stories in order not to be repetitive.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPremium wildlife content was formerly defined by high-end camerawork, but 4K and even 8K filming is not enough anymore to make a film stand out,\u201d notes Mirjam Strasser, head of sales and acquisitions at Autentic Distribution. \u201cNow, it is either never-before-seen animal behavior, access to an animal habitat that hasn\u2019t been shown before or fresh storytelling that stands out. By focusing on a single species that is mysterious, elusive and has not yet been covered by many wildlife programs, films can still compete for viewership.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou need to find your special approach and what makes your film different,\u201d concurs Anne Olzmann, managing director of Albatross World Sales. \u201cThis can be a new way of storytelling, for example, in an in-depth portrait of a particular species that the audience might even be very familiar with or through unique access to a specific topic or area. Find the unknown in the known, and for this, you need to dive deeper into the subject matter (or species, in this case).\u201d<\/p>\n

Olzmann offers\u00a0Superbirds\u2014The Secret Life of Tits<\/em>, produced by Altayfilm, as a prime example. \u201cIt is a species that almost everybody knows, and you think there\u2019s nothing special or surprising about them, but we now know that they have individual character traits and show different behavior.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is still so much to learn about the different animals in their beautiful and varied forms,\u201d Strasser adds. \u201cFocusing on a single species allows viewers to fully immerse themselves in the world of an individual animal, a world they may not have known much about before. These documentaries get up close and are therefore captivating and emotional.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Autentic catalog features an array of films that fit the bill:\u00a0The Himalayan Ibex\u2014Monarchs of the Mountains<\/em>,\u00a0Spirit of the Mountains\u2014The Snow Leopard<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Lynx\u2014Close Up<\/em>, to name just a few. It also includes the Terra Mater Studios slate, which features its own single-species programs such as\u00a0Alien Contact<\/em>\u00a0about manta rays and\u00a0American Ocelot<\/em>\u00a0about one of the U.S.\u2019s most endangered wild cats.<\/p>\n

While a compelling feature of wildlife documentaries is the cutting-edge technology used to produce them, all three executives agree that storytelling is the most important element.<\/p>\n

\u201cStorytelling is crucial,\u201d Olzmann stresses. \u201cAs a filmmaker\/producer, you have to find the personal, emotional story that the audience can relate to but still learn something new. In addition to that, you have to make this interest last for 50 minutes. The story needs strong characters, fresh insights and, in combination with cutting-edge technology, this can be a real winner.\u201d<\/p>\n

In both\u00a0Superbirds<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0Wolf\u2014Wanderer Without Borders<\/em>, one lead animal is followed the entire time.\u00a0Superbirds<\/em>\u00a0sees an individual male fly from his origins in Germany to Southern France, where he starts his own family. \u201cHe is established as our bird-hero, and the audience can relate to him and get emotionally involved,\u201d Olzmann explains.<\/p>\n

Wolf\u2014Wanderer Without Borders<\/em>, meanwhile, follows a wolf named Scout, who roamed from Eastern Germany all the way to the Netherlands. \u201cGiving the lead character a name is another way to get an audience emotionally attached, and anthropomorphizing seems to be a bit of a trend at the moment throughout the wildlife industry,\u201d Olzmann notes.<\/p>\n

These types of documentaries also allow filmmakers to \u201craise awareness of the threats these specific animals are facing and the conservation success stories that exist around them,\u201d Strasser says.<\/p>\n

\u201cBees. The Invisible Mechanism<\/em>\u00a0goes inside the beehives to explain with unique images what the pollination process is like, which is essential for the production of 75 percent of the fruit and vegetables we eat,\u201d 3Boxmedia\u2019s Romero says. \u201cThe number of bees and other pollinators is decreasing dramatically worldwide, which can lead to a critical situation. It is therefore very important to focus on and understand how the pollinating mechanism works.\u201d<\/p>\n

And all manner of broadcasters and platforms are interested in this hyper-focused genre. \u201cThere is widespread interest among television channels, as nature documentaries work very well no matter what region of the world we are talking about,\u201d Romero says. He also adds, however, \u201cthis genre is surprisingly one of the most popular on AVOD and FAST channels.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAVOD and FAST buyers are currently standing out, as interest from these clients is increasing rapidly and more and more clients join the queue,\u201d Strasser concurs.<\/p>\n

\u201cVOD platforms tend to be more open to experiment,\u201d Olzmann explains. \u201cWhen it comes to single-species films, I do believe there is a difference between VOD platforms and public broadcasters. Broadcasters have a few fixed slots\u2014and the market for these is very competitive\u2014so they have to be more selective, as the offer to their audience is simply limited.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the moment, she notes, \u201cbroadcasters usually decide to go with the \u2018safer\u2019 wildlife docs,\u201d meaning those centered on the Big Five and other predators, which could be a single-species documentary, and programs that cover wide areas.<\/p>\n

For distributors, producers and broadcasters alike, though, \u201cit is a very rewarding genre,\u201d Olzmann says. \u201cIt is universally attractive to a global audience, does not really seem to age and has a long shelf life.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Distributors share one way they have achieved breaking through the overly saturated wildlife genre: offering focused, single-species programs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1412,"featured_media":19685,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[79,69],"tags":[7560,3564,4073,849,5672,7561],"class_list":["post-19684","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-features","category-top-stories","tag-3box-international-sales","tag-albatross-world-sales","tag-anne-olzmann","tag-autentic-distribution","tag-mirjam-strasser","tag-valentin-romero","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\nWildlife in Focus - TVREAL<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/wildlife-in-focus\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Wildlife in Focus - TVREAL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Distributors share one way they have achieved breaking through the overly saturated wildlife genre: offering focused, single-species programs.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/wildlife-in-focus\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"TVREAL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-05-24T12:50:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-05-25T15:45:26+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2017\/07\/AlbatrossWorldSales-Superbirds-TheSecretLifeofTits-0523.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"311\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jamie Stalcup\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jamie Stalcup\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/wildlife-in-focus\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/wildlife-in-focus\/\",\"name\":\"Wildlife in Focus - TVREAL\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2023-05-24T12:50:32+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-05-25T15:45:26+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/#\/schema\/person\/0da12602224807cc7b179b8405018deb\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/wildlife-in-focus\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/wildlife-in-focus\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/wildlife-in-focus\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Wildlife in Focus\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/\",\"name\":\"TVREAL\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/worldscreen.com\/tvreal\/#\/schema\/person\/0da12602224807cc7b179b8405018deb\",\"name\":\"Jamie Stalcup\",\"description\":\"Jamie Stalcup is the executive editor of World Screen. 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