Okay, this forest is in Malawi...but it kind of makes the point. It is all over!
Green: Death of the Forests
A visual essay about the impact of deforestation in Indonesia as seen through the eyes of a dying orangutan. (If the video does not load up within this Digest please click on this next link)
http://aje.me/AywpH7
In 1991, after dropping out of medical school in Paris, I read Comparative Literature at the Sorbonne. Later I found a poorly-paid job in a production company for television commercials where I discovered digital special effects and went on to become a freelance post-production supervisor for feature films. In 2002, I was leading a comfortable life in Paris where I was never out of work, but I felt that something was wrong.
My mid-life crisis awoke a boyish desire to be out in the wild observing wildlife. I bought myself a camera (Sony PD 100) and left for Indonesia for three months for my first filmmaking experience. I was startled by the extent of the forest destruction I saw around me and decided to make films on conservation.
Once I returned home, I learnt how to use Final Cut Pro and edited my first film Tears of Wood, a 26-minute film on the Indonesian forest and its destruction from the perspective of a big, male orangutan. I continued working as a part-time freelance digital special effects supervisor and returned to Indonesia to make a 52-minute version of that film and called it Losing Tomorrow.
The problem however is that my personal films do not reach a wide audience because broadcasters showed no interest. So for my third production, Green, I decided to make it available for free downloads on the internet and make it copyright-free for public screening. Green went on to win awards; aired on about 10 television channels, downloaded daily and is being used as an educational tool in schools and universities. Green is proof that a low-budget home-made conservation film can reach a relatively wide audience. But of course, this doesn't always work out well.
I finance my own films by selling raw footage to non-governmental organisations (NGOs) or production companies, selling Green to TV stations, inviting online donations, working as a cameraman and by giving talks in schools and workshops. When shooting, I travel alone or with a friend for sound recording. I carry a small camera (now a Canon HXA1) and a tripod. I then do the editing on my laptop and get friends to help me with the post-production. Luckily, the fact that I make films "for a good cause" with no commercial interests draws free professional help.
The story behind Green
When I set off to make Green, I knew I wanted to do another film on deforestation in Indonesia and the plight of the orangutans, but I had no specific story in mind. I had no script. In Indonesia, my friend (a guitar teacher who composes the music for my films) and I spent three weeks in national parks in Sumatra. I filmed everything I found beautiful in the forest, while he did the sound recordings.
After he went back home I continued alone to an orangutan refuge in central Kalimantan. There, in the clinic, I came across an orangutan lying on her back, in a bed with a towel as a blanket, a "Hello Kitty" pillow under her head and intravenous tubing taped to her left leg. The sight startled me, she looked
READ THE FULL STORY - CLICK HERE
***
Please Visit
The Zoo Professionals Book Store
if you are looking for a book. This is an Amazon affiliate and you will get a good deal
also
you can subscribe to the largest and longest established zoo related ezine
by clicking
HERE
To advertise in Zoo News Digest please see HERE
Money for Free
If you can write, you can earn. Write about what you like or what you know about. Build up a passive income which will earn you money daily. No catch, no charge. Click on the link below and you could start earning today
No comments:
Post a Comment