LEARNING ABOUT WILDLIFE FILMMAKING FROM TOP TV PROFESSIONALS
Bristol Wildlife Filmmakers have teamed up with Avon Wildlife Trust to offer a rare chance to learn wildlife filmmaking skills in the peaceful setting of the 250-acre nature reserve at Folly Farm between Bristol and Bath.Our three-day Introduction to Wildlife Filmmaking course is open to all - we welcome complete beginners and those who have some experience of filmmaking but want to learn more about the challenges of filming wildlife. Our tutors all work in the internationally acclaimed natural history film industry and there will be specialist camera people, producers and editors teaching on each course.
Our spring course this year is from May 5th to 7th and takes you into ancient woodland to film the mass flowering of bluebells and badgers emerging from their den to begin a night's foraging (they appeared right on cue last year!).
On our summer course from June 23rd to 25th Folly Farm's wildflower meadows take centre stage. Unspoilt by pesticides and fertilisers, they brim with flowers such as heath spotted orchid, betony and ox-eye daisy, bees and butterflies such as the rare marsh fritillary, small tortoiseshell and marbled white.
Our late summer course is from September 1st to 3rd and you'll be filming in and around Folly Farm Nature Reserve and at nearby Chew Valley Lake - an important site for wintering and migrating wildfowl.
Working on location in small teams you'll learn about the field craft that will help you get closer to animals in the wild. You'll gain hands-on filming experience under the watchful eye of expert tutors and learn about different camera techniques. Workshops will introduce you to the importance and practicalities of research and storytelling, and to the ethics and legal considerations of filming wild animals. And finally, working with your team alongside professional editors you'll produce a short film, which will be transferred to DVD for you to keep. Tutors are on hand at all times and there'll be an opportunity for you to have a one-to-one to discuss your own film projects.
But this course is not all about work. Evenings are for enjoying good food and good company and for hearing Tales from the Bush. Guest speakers from the world of natural history filmmaking share their tales of filming from the Antarctic to the Kalahari, the highest peaks to the deepest underground caves and with fearsome predators to some of the smallest creatures on Earth ...
If you're a wildlife enthusiast, an amateur film and video maker or a wildlife educator come and share the joy of close encounters with wildlife and discover how to transfer your passion for nature to the screen.
You'll stay in highly rated accommodation at Avon Wildlife Trust's Folly Farm Centre. Comfortable and spacious bedrooms, carefully restored using traditional construction methods and materials, overlook the nature reserve and beautiful Chew Valley Lake. Meals are home-cooked using organic, locally sourced ingredients.
Feedback from our previous courses has been outstanding. One student found it a ‘life-changing, inspiring experience, something that will stay with me forever. It's re-established my passion and inspiration for wildlife filmmaking, nature, wildlife and conservation'.
Price: £510 + VAT (£599.25) includes 2 nights single occupancy accommodation at the beautiful Folly Farm Centre, all meals and expert tuition and equipment with a maximum of 16 participants on the course.
For more information contact Folly Farm Centre
E-Mail: info@follyfarm.org
Tel: 01275 331590
Website: www.follyfarm.org
Who are Bristol Wildlife Filmmakers? ...
Bristol Wildlife Filmmakers is a group of professional wildlife filmmakers with a wide range of experience in producing natural history films for television channels around the world. We include producers, directors, camera-people and editors and we want to share our skills and inspire people of all ages to engage with nature through filmmaking.
What we do ...
Bristol Wildlife Filmmakers provide wildlife filmmaking courses that are open to everyone - we welcome complete beginners and those who have some experience of filmmaking but want to learn more about the challenges of filming wildlife. Our courses are designed to be fun and informative - a chance to meet others enthused and inspired by nature, to socialise with industry professionals and to discover how to transfer your passion for wildlife to the screen. People who have attended our courses include wildlife enthusiasts, amateur film and video makers and wildlife communicators.
We work on location and our courses are timed to coincide with a variety of wildlife events, enhancing the likelihood of close encounters with animals. We offer training in camera techniques and field craft, hands-on filming experience, workshops designed to give students the skills and understanding to approach, make and deliver a wildlife film, and the opportunity to work alongside an award-winning team of professionals.
Our Objectives ...
Bristol Wildlife Filmmakers believe that learning more about the craft of wildlife filmmaking enables individuals to share with others the joy of close encounters with nature and also to document the threats and challenges that face the natural world. We aim to equip our students with the knowledge and skills they need to tell wildlife stories most effectively. Communication in the digital age offers many opportunities for everyone to showcase their work on a whole variety of different platforms.
Why Bristol ...
Bristol is a world-class base for wildlife filmmaking. The internationally acclaimed industry began with the creation of the BBC Natural History Unit in the 1950s and has grown to include many highly regarded independent production companies and freelances. Producers, directors, camera people, graphic designers and editors as well as composers, sound designers and post-production specialists make Bristol's wildlife film community vibrant and exciting.
Bristol Wildlife Filmmakers are able to draw on this vast wealth of skills and experience for the courses we run, offering our students the opportunity to learn from some of the most respected and talented individuals working in natural history filmmaking today.
Avon Wildlife Trust (AWT) is a Bristol-based charity dedicated to inspiring people of all ages about wildlife, acting as a wildlife champion, creating wildlife havens and encouraging sustainable living in Bath, Bristol and the surrounding areas. With 16,000 local supporters, it is the area's largest membership-based organisation. Folly Farm, in the Chew Valley, is one of 39 nature sites managed by the Trust.
www.avonwildlifetrust.org.uk
Folly Farm is a 250-acres nature reserve in North Somerset on the outskirts of Bath and Bristol. More than 100 acres of the reserve is designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) because of the national significance of its wildlife habitats and species, especially its ancient woods, wildflower meadows, bats, butterflies and barn owls.
The Folly Farm Centre opened in May 2008 after a £4.5m restoration and redevelopment of the Georgian farmhouse at the heart of the nature reserve and associated outbuildings. The Centre offers high-grade, climate-conscious, facilities for day and residential courses, corporate team building, conferences, weddings and other events. The Centre's bothy bedrooms offer highly rated accommodation and can be booked for tranquil holidays. www.follyfarm.org
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