WILDLIFE FILMMAKING TECHNIQUES pt 1 - Shot Variety and Micro-Storylines WILD! Vlog XL

[@michaelwallwork7482]

Brilliant 👏. Things that I would not of thought off. Great lesson 👍

[@SimonWattsWILDPresentationsUK]

Cheers Michael - really appreciate it. Si.

[@TeamTerrill]

Gorgeous share!

[@peterhudson8445]

Fabulous - thank you

[@SimonWattsWILDPresentationsUK]

A pleasure Peter - thank you! Si.

[@keithlevant9403]

That was really refreshing! Not often you fiind uploads like this that explain the art of creating stories from observation. Really very good Simon, have a good Sunday, Keith.

[@SimonWattsWILDPresentationsUK]

Thank you Keith! I was hoping to make it a little different from the average tutorial stuff as I've found personally different stuff was more important than the average generic content of other uploads. Really appreciate it, have a great week, Si.

[@JMMedia.Nature]

Brilliant Video

[@SimonWattsWILDPresentationsUK]

That's very kind, thank you. I will be resurrecting this series that never was. The channel content is going to be re-launched sometime in Spring '23 (UK!). Thanks again. Si.

[@Brunton_Media]

Hey Simon, love this! if possible would have personally added the bird flying in the air!

[@jaychambers7955]

Thank you mate. Really good

[@SimonWattsWILDPresentationsUK]

Cheers dude, reallyappreciated. Si.

[@TocTocTrax]

I really like what you do with your channel. Very interesting. Keep on going! Greetings from Belgium.

[@wildlifeexpedition9720]

Thanks. Very well explained.

[@jamieat8227]

Brilliant video! Very helpful as well

[@SimonWattsWILDPresentationsUK]

Thanks so much Jamie, really means a lot. Hopefully will continue to be! Have a great week, Si.

[@blutey]

Thanks Simon. Some great tips I hadn't considered before.

[@SimonWattsWILDPresentationsUK]

Thank you Blutey! There's a whole heap of sometimes seemingly obscure or random things I find myself doing that has just come from sheer repeatition and much failure! So hopefully more useful stuff to come! Thanks again, Si.

[@mockingfiles]

This was fantastic and there isn't nearly enough content of this type. So much of the wildlife photo/film space is about taking single images/clips or technical details like editing and camera setup. There's virtually zero content about how to string those clips together to create a story. Just your usage of "micro-storyline" is already probably going to make filming that much easier for me as I'm no longer just trying to capture everything and anything and hoping I can piece it together later. I can't wait for you to publish a part 2 (and 3 and 4 and ...). This really is important information to share!

[@SimonWattsWILDPresentationsUK]

Well thank you so much. Strangest thing is that I looked at this yesterday and given other comments similar to yours I thought I really need to return to this. So I will. In the new year, no more procrastination. Thanks again, have a great holiday. Si.

[@wildlifenet]

Superb tips Simon, I remember putting up over 100 Pied Flycatcher nest boxes in North Wales whilst at University there, it was great to return to observe them - Thanks, Stewart.

[@SimonWattsWILDPresentationsUK]

See, when I somehow miss comments like this and then catch up with them months later I left wondering if I'm getting old lol. Sorry Stewart. Beautiful bird, looking forward to their return! Have a great weekend, hope you and yours are keeping well. Si.

[@afieldofblue]

Brilliant, thanks for sharing this. I love the idea of trying to build an in-situ storyline when filming, rather than simply aiming to get different angles and behaviours. Cheers! Ben

[@NaturallyCuriousUK]

Graham Barker (or was it Graham Thompson) suggested I check your channel out a while back. On the strength of this excellent tutorial I have just subscribed. I think you've watched and commented on some of my videos in the past too. Excellent content which I am looking forward to trying to put into practice! Thanks for posting!

[@SimonWattsWILDPresentationsUK]

That's GB himself - Graham Barker, grateful that he's such a constant supporter of this channel! We often do collaborations when we hook up for a day out somewhere. Check out the B-roll 'biography' I did on him here; kzbin.info/www/bejne/iIDNqqN3nbV4bdk Thanks again for your brilliant comments and support. Si.

[@WillGoodlet]

Great video, really nice to see your process and learn from it.

[@SimonWattsWILDPresentationsUK]

That's really appreciated Will. Truly. Never did get around to follow-ups from this idea which bothers me and is certainly something I plan to amend in the new season of vlogs starting end of Feb. Really pleased you commented as I've now discovered your channel - I love that this community continuously throws up surprises. I grew up in Blantyre, Malawi. Those formative years I guess was what got me into a being a naturalist first and foremost. Have since spent 3 months touring SA with a month in Kruger. Yearn to head back with my son in the next few years. Thanks again, looking forward to exploring your uploads - and learning from them! Very best, keep safe, Si.

[@rsfox79]

Simple to the point, perfect

[@SimonWattsWILDPresentationsUK]

Thanks Romel, appreciated. Should be getting to part 2 soon ! Thanks dude. Si.

[@CoenradJMorgan]

Hello Simon, thank you so much for this sterling effort, most interesting and informative. Is there a part 2, 3 somewhere , it’s like eating one crisp or block of chocolate…..hard to stop there?

[@SimonWattsWILDPresentationsUK]

Hi, and thank you very much. This is a case of life getting in the way and I hear you and the other commentee's also wanting continuance. I'm glad to say that 2025 will definitely see me doing so - not sure yet whether to re-issue this first part - I think best if I seperate it from the home page under a filmmaking banner and go from there. Thanks again - subscribe and hit the bell to be sure to catch these when I get them up ✊👌Si.

[@macg33zr]

A great insightful video Simon, I enjoyed it.

[@SimonWattsWILDPresentationsUK]

Cheers Bill, that means a lot. Hopefully will carry on being insightful! Have a great week and thanks for your support, Si.

[@eaglevp]

What a brilliant tutorial on filming wildlife Simon

[@SimonWattsWILDPresentationsUK]

Thanks so much Keith. Always a little nervous with the thought of tutorials but have been running courses through Warwickshire Wildlife Trust with great success for a few years now so thought I'd bite the bullet! Thanks again for the support - means, as always, a lot. Si.

[@gwafilms]

Excellent tutorial Si highlighting the thought, planning and patience that goes into making a film and telling a story through film grammar, lovely stuff:-)

[@SimonWattsWILDPresentationsUK]

Thank you Graham, hopefully to include some of the more obscure but useful stuff that other tutorials fail to mention. So very much appreciated, as always, Si.

[@MoniqueSmulders]

There are millions of KZbinrs who can learn a lot from this tutorial Si 😀. Well done. I wonder if I would have the patience for that branch shot, I guess the answer is no. But it works so well that I have to consider that more often :). Thanks Si.

[@SimonWattsWILDPresentationsUK]

Thank you Monique! Am really trying out for the less obvious stuff that I don't see on the tutorials I've been watching. Difficult to approach as the last thing I want to do is appear condescending or as we say over here 'teaching how to suck eggs'. Thanks for your kind comment and support - means a lot. Si.

[@JPLamoureuxsTravels]

Great stuff!!! real food for thought that buddy, 😉👌

[@NaturallyCuriousUK]

Interested to see that you shoot at 30fps, then slow it down in post to 80% = 24fps. I gather that means that what we'd see in the final export would be slightly slo-mo rather than natural speed, yes?

[@SimonWattsWILDPresentationsUK]

Yes, absolutely - but not so much that you or hopefully anyone could visibly discern it. That was absolutely the intention - a win win. There are of course very many great opportunities to use visible slo mo, 60fps and higher, to accentuate movement etc. But with just a small drop all remains visibly natural looking. This of course does require attention if for example you want to have your subject relaying audio in real time - such as a bird singing. This then obviously I leave at 30fps. It's something I should have addressed in this part but certainly will return to in a future episode 👍 Thanks for raising it - and thanks for the sub, sub'd to you a while ago 👍 Cheers, Si.

[@NaturallyCuriousUK]

@@SimonWattsWILDPresentationsUK Thanks for the clarification and for the sub! Have a great week! 👍😎👍

[@zafirisvideography]

Very interesting tips, it requires too much patience and a little good luck! Could you use any motion activated camera trap or it's working only in photography because you need some second before the shot?

[@SimonWattsWILDPresentationsUK]

Thank you Zaf - and yes, great points. If trail cams are part of your storyline they very much can be used and really are a good mix up of camera types which is also rewarding to the viewer - I did this for Pine Marten in Scotland showing via the trail cam this individual making its way through the forest to my lodge where my main (live) camera picked up the action. It proved really effective and rewarding. But for entry to frame shots it's a two fold thing in respect that trail cam quality still leaves a lot to be desired in my opinion (a bit of an issue with me) and also you're still only capturing the subject 'in-frame' from the off. Real empty frame with subject appearing (your Blue Barrell Jelly was nearly this!) with regards birds will tend to be the best hunch on a branch and sit it out or with a mammal (jellyfish also!) could just be just be seeing the direction of travel and pushing the frame to where it appears to be headed (just ahead of it) and let it naturally encrouch the composition! It's a real powerful look - as is letting the subject leave the frame without panning on its progression, though there is a place for both. There are lots of nuances to shots and hopefully in the coming weeks we'll look a lot more closely at them. Thanks again for your support, have agreat day, Si.

[@zafirisvideography]

​@@SimonWattsWILDPresentationsUK thanks for the comprehensive and detailed reply. I am on youtube just for fun so I support and comment on topics that I find really interesting. I'm glad to communicate with people who respect the nature and wildlife sharing their experiences with us. Have a great day too.

[@splacenature]

Great videos! A question I have if you may help Have you ever tried to simultaneously record audio with external audio recorder and filmed with fz82 and then synced it up? How possible would this be without picking up any autofocus sound. Thanks if you are able to reply to this question Scott

[@SimonWattsWILDPresentationsUK]

Hi Scott, thank you, appreciated. Being as there's no mic input with the FZ - therefore making the hotshoe redundant, all audio has to be either internal mic which will pick up autofocusing should you be using it, or dubbed external mic which hopefully won't be close enough to the camera to hear the mechanics. I have learnt very quickly not to use autofocus but to master the manual focus using the touchscreen and inherent slider. Any edit generally anyway will not include shots where I'm changing focus. External mics are a valuable tool when there's no subject specific audio required - such as a bird singing. When bird song in shot is required i moreoften use the internal mic though I'm consciously making an effort to keep myself absolutely silent and, as mentioned, have a the subject manually focused. Hope that helps in some way, the few foibles with the FZ are easy to forgive for the superb telephoto 4K prowess at economy prices - it's then a case of finding solutions to problems such as these that best suit you. Si.

[@splacenature]

@@SimonWattsWILDPresentationsUK Thank you so much Simon. This was the most helpful, in depth, useful and thorough reply I could have hoped for and I am very grateful for your unbelievably quick and helpful response. Many thanks again, Scott

[@Natureviewmovie]

Will there be a part 2 of this? This was really helpful (or at least a good reminder)! And nicely done!

[@SimonWattsWILDPresentationsUK]

Thank you Arjen, you know for the hit rate that gets week in week out - generally always no.2 of all my uploads, I need to make part two. It's not procrastination really it's just that it's so far past part one that I feel I should start over! But yes, it's something I have to do and I hope will be not only rewarding for me but good for the channel. Thanks again, really appreciate it. Si.

[@Natureviewmovie]

@@SimonWattsWILDPresentationsUK Yes, please do! There are many general filmmaking tutorials online, but hardly any wildlife filmmaking ones. Would be much appreciated!

[@afieldofblue]

@@SimonWattsWILDPresentationsUK Yes, Simon, a part 2 would be great. Thanks for taking the time to share this.

[@SimonWattsWILDPresentationsUK]

@@afieldofbluevideo Thanks for your support. Really appreciated. Yes, I'm more resolute than ever to do this series properly - I'll start within a month or so. Have a great weekend. Si.

[@DmakProductionsTempe]

You talk about a lot of good topics in the video production industry! We love what you do, don't stop. Anytime you are in Phoenix reach out. If you'd like, message us @dmakproductions on Instagram and we can connect. You do really great work.

[@studio12archive60]

Nicely explained, however, I think to just leave the camera running while you walk off does not show a very good technique in wildlife film making. Lazy at the very least. Other than that, I learned a couple of things.

[@SimonWattsWILDPresentationsUK]

Opinions taken on board. The concept of laziness though seems a little strong especially when at 'the very least'. This forgo's hours of watching ardently and recognising the flight patterns and behaviour of the subjects. This needed to ascertain best sites for getting the shot(s). It also belies the fact that equipment left, though still monitored (wifi link to phone app), is no different to manning the camera first person - though obviously with a higher likelihood of having your subject less spooked or causing disruption to its natural behaviour. Lastly to have a subject appear in shot, camera recording prior to appearance, could not happen in dense woodland or thicket as there is just no precursor visually that this is about to be the case. Thus hours of fieldwork prior to this becomes totaly invaluable. On a completely different tack, and assuming you don't buy into the 'run and gun' adventurer/explorer narrative some wildlife presenters give credence to in some media outlets, wildife filmmaking per se is firmly rooted and incredibly passive existence often leading then to those that carry it out as having 'lots of patience'. Accolades much lauded to the weeks of observation and passiveness for a mere 2-3 minute payback of viable footage/rushes. So all in all the word lazy, at the very least, becomes a simple description of appearence that belies any insight or knowledge on the subject matter at all. Si.

[@studio12archive60]

@@SimonWattsWILDPresentationsUK Hi Simon Thank you for your detailed reply. Having spent many hours behind the long lens of a camera, I do know what is involved. My point was that a camera left alone is always reliant on the subject getting in the right position in order to make a good frame. If that is how you feel is the right way to put a film together then that is fine. All different styles are acceptable. However, I know from experience that, with good field-craft, it is possible to be in the right place at the right time which enables the operator to follow the action while the subject is in frame. With a locked off camera, this is not possible. Remote cameras have their place but will never replace a cameraman/woman behind the lens.. Keep filming, I enjoy your videos. Best regards

[@SimonWattsWILDPresentationsUK]

@@studio12archive60 Agree to disagree then Mark, best regards, Si.