27 NATURAL HISTORY FOCUS NHNZ
“That’s a difficult one,” he admits, “because over the last 40 years our crews have filmed just about everywhere, from the top of Everest to the bottom of the ocean – inside volcanoes, in the coldest places on Earth and high up on the jungle canopy. If scientists discover new environments or new species, chances are our crews will be looking for any excuse to go there and film great stories.” TECHNICAL TRENDS The unique circumstances that are encountered in the natural world often demand specialist equipment. Wayne Poll, NHNZ technical and IT systems manager, says: “We use many camera brands and models, each one chosen to match the specific requirements of the show being shot or the type of footage being gathered. Some shows can use as many as 30 or 40 different cameras. Technology evolves so quickly that our kits are constantly changing. This year is UHD HDR kits, next year it could be 8K.”
TECHNOLOGY EVOLVES SO QUICKLY THAT OUR KITS ARE CONSTANTLY CHANGING. THIS YEAR IS UHD HDR KITS, NEXT YEAR IT COULD BE 8K
He elaborates: “Some cameras are customised, but we don’t do as much of this as in the past, due to the recent increase in availability of specialist camera technologies. We occasionally shoot 360 video as support material for higher budget shows and have embarked on small 360 video jobs in the local market.” Tom Koykka, the post-production manager for NHNZ, says that Avid Media Composer is employed as the primary editing platform, with Avid Nexis used as the editing storage system. “That said, we do use Adobe Premiere and Final Cut Pro for I/O work and DaVinci Resolve
for transcoding, finishing and colour grading,” he adds. With so much brilliant wildlife history behind NHNZ, what does the future hold for this award-winning organisation? “That is a very difficult question to answer,” says Murdoch. “It’s probably too far out to be accurate, and it really depends on what platform data and audiences want to watch at that time. Certainly technology will drive change. Currently, we are seeing a move toward more intimate connections with animals and environments, more emotional stories. Hopeful conservation is a topic of the moment.”
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