CASE STUDY JASONHENWOOD
Lippmann at Miller took on the challenge to support the project and was able to come up with a solution, in the formof an ArrowX 7 fluid head and Solo 100 3 Stage Carbon Fibre Tripod. This combination, with its wide payload range, precision fluid drag and counterbalance, delivered the flexibility, speed of set up and accuracy of shot that was exactly what was needed in the production environment Jason and Katie knew they would be working in. Filming in a Sanctuary While, through necessity, filming in an animal sanctuary was the only way to go for shots of the wildcats, both Jason and Katie still wanted their film to have a realistic feel, and for this to happen they relied heavily on support from the centres they visited. “Fortunately the enclosures we were working in were incredibly spacious,” says Jason, “which allowed us tomove around freely without disturbing the cats, and we then just had to sit and wait for our opportunities. This also helped us to cheat our footage and almost make it look as though we were shooting on location, and the use of a shallow depth of field disguised things still further. Filming this way, however, did bring its own issues, in that we had to work hard to judge movement and retain focus on the cat whenever it did any suddenmovements.” In terms of what the filmmight achieve, both for its subject and for Jason’s wildlife aspirations, it’s still early days. The Last Highland Tiger debuted at the New York Wildlife FilmFestival last October and will be entered into the Wildscreen Festival in Bristol next October. Then the charities involved will have the opportunity to release the film through their social networks. Jason and Katie have already undertaken their next project in New Zealand, a film entitled Bounce Back that explores the impact of earthquakes on wildlife. The aimwill be to keep pushing the boundaries and to get their names out there in terms of specialising in this genre. “Wildlife has always been the direction I’ve wanted to pursue,” confirms Jason. “However, I realise how niche and difficult this part of the industry is to get into, so for now I’ll be pursuing things slowly in the hope that life guides me in the right direction. There’s somuch going on in my life and, as much as I love wildlife filmmaking, I also love working withmy DPs and being around film sets, so we’ll have to wait and see where life eventually takes me.”
“Much as I love wildlife filmmaking, I also lovemy DPs and being around filmsets”
More information The Last Scottish Tiger trailer: www. youtube.com/watch?v=Mb8_iJRT6_M
ABOVE Jason and Katie made their film about wildcats in a wildlife sanctuary, but also shot footage in the creature’s habitat.
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PRO MOVIEMAKER SPRING 2018
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