Science and nature filmmaking

By Tierney Thys

After snatching a juvenile ocean sunfish from the waters of Monterey Bay, a hulky 200-kg California sea lion swims straight up to our Zodiac, proudly shows off its catch, and pushes its whiskered snout into our camera lens. It’s as if it actually wants us to document its superb hunting skills. From sea lions clambering aboard our boats to seabirds perching atop our cameras (Figure 1), science and nature filmmaking certainly has its quirks and perks. For any scientist interested in teaching the masses and sharing the wonders of the world, this line of work offers an immensely rewarding career.

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Figure 1
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A booby tries to get in on the act.

J Aitchison

Well-told, visual stories are some of our most powerful teaching tools. Filmmakers can record disappearing species, chronicle rapid environmental changes, illustrate complex processes, and tap directly into our emotional centers to inspire learning and promote environmental stewardship. Stories provide us with shortcuts to test our “what-ifs”, refine our behaviors, and, to paraphrase renowned philosopher Karl Popper, let our hypotheses die in our stead. As environmental challenges grow, the need for high-quality science and nature films is more crucial than ever. Fortunately, with the bounty of new affordable filming equipment, online training, and available broadcast venues, we are entering a golden age for filmmaking.

So how does one get into this exciting field? Follow your passion, don’t be afraid to give it a try, and practice a lot! While pursuing an undergraduate geography degree, coauthor and BBC cameraman John Aitchison combined his keen interest in the natural world with extensive practice using his own camera. Watching and dissecting films scene-by-scene and apprenticing alongside professionals were also useful activities. As he learned from others, he trained himself on better and better equipment to secure his current job.

Today, an increasing number of undergraduate institutions are encouraging science majors to try out filmmaking. Casey Dunn, formerly at Brown University and now at Yale, co-created a student video series called CreatureCast (creaturecast.org). Inspired by public radio programs like Radiolab and This American Life, Dunn envisioned bringing that same engaging narrative power to the wonders of esoteric animals and natural-history discoveries. He encourages students to be bold and to experiment with diverse techniques like stop-motion, object scans, and puppetry.

If your institution doesn’t offer filmmaking classes, mobile workshops can fill the gap; for example, ScienceFilm Training (www.sciencefilm.org) and National Geographic (Sciencetelling Bootcamps; www.nationalgeographic.org/projects/sciencetelling-bootcamp) provide multi-hour to multi-day workshops. Additional training resources are at: Wildeye (www.wildeye.co.uk/careers-in-wildlife-film-making), International Association of Wildlife Filmmakers (www.iawf.org.uk/articles/index.asp?articleid=1005), and the Natural History Network’s newcomer page (www.naturalhistorynetwork.co.uk/newcomers).

Fortunately, filmmaking is no longer relegated to large studios. High-quality off-the-shelf tools like GoPro cameras and smartphones – coupled with inexpensive editing software like iMovie (Mac) or Movie Maker (PC), and online outlets like Hulu, YouTube, and Vimeo – enable wannabe filmmakers to simply jump in and give it a go. Excellent resources can be found online (www.untamedscience.com/science-videos-list; www.wildeye.co.uk/wild-pages). Once a filmmaker assembles enough high-quality videos, he/she can create their own web channel and monetize it. (For YouTube, this process involves acquiring 4000 watch hours over the past 12 months, gaining 1000 subscribers, signing up for AdSense, and getting successfully reviewed by the YouTube Partner Program.)

For larger scale productions, many different types of jobs are involved: researchers, content consultants, camerapeople, writers, editors, sound recorders, directors, producers, and more. Each requires a different skillset. For academically trained scientists, a typical entrée is as a content consultant. Coauthor Tierney Thys began her career this way, working for a production company immediately after finishing her PhD in zoology. She now produces films independently. Researchers and content consultants help translate science into layman’s terms, scout talent, fact-check, write scripts, and may even create promotional and outreach materials. Strong writing, researching, and interpersonal skills are essential. Knowing how to work a spreadsheet to track budgets and shooting schedules as well as having social media savvy are also useful skills. To be a cameraperson, you should know how to handle and operate the gear, and you may also need skills like SCUBA certification or rope-climbing expertise, depending on your subject matter. Camerapeople are typically excellent observers with great patience who can anticipate and capture specific behaviors and scenes. To be a film editor, you need experience in editing programs like Adobe Premiere Pro and Final Cut Pro, and the ability to artistically weave footage and sound together. The job of a director is also highly creative and involves selecting scripts, guiding casting and shooting, and, ultimately, capturing just the right mix of footage to tell a compelling story.

Starting wages for researchers and content consultants can range from $20k–$45k per year (note: all monetary values in this article are expressed in US dollars). By comparison, wages for a cameraperson, editor, director, or producer can be higher, from $60k–$150k per year (US Bureau of Labor Statistics 2017; www.bls.gov). Salaries depend on experience, overall project budget, geographic location, and your production company. Income derived through ad revenue via a personal YouTube channel depends on the number of views and can provide anywhere from 25 cents to more than $9.00 per 1000 views.

Internships can help you get a foot in the door. John Rubin, executive producer at Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Tangled Bank Studios, received a AAAS Mass Media fellowship after completing his PhD in cognitive science. Through that experience, he interned at a small production company, learned on the job, and eventually became a director and producer. Having an advanced science degree not only was vital to getting his fellowship but also proved a strong asset. “Being good at science and at documentary filmmaking both require understanding the logic of an argument. Beneath the artistry of any good [science] film is always a solid argument”, says Rubin.

Finding steady employment relies on a bit of luck and smart networking. Film conferences, while pricey, can provide essential networking, internships, and job opportunities (volunteering at these events can help defray the expensive registration costs). World Congress of Science and Factual Producers, Wildscreen Festival, Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival, and Science Media Awards & Summit in the Hub (SMASH) are all good job-hunting venues. These conferences also offer master classes (script writing, sound editing, researching, lighting, and film financing) to hone specific skills. And subscribing to industry trade magazines (eg Realscreen, Wildlife Film News) keeps you up-to-date on current trends.

If you’d rather assemble a solid portfolio before hitting the job market, try enrolling in a science filmmaking degree program (WebTable 1). These programs can cost $50k–$70k per year but boast strong track records for placing students into jobs at National Geographic Television, Discovery Channel, National Wildlife Federation, NASA, Smithsonian Institution, PBS, and other comparable places.

The good news is that demand for content is increasing. Video-on-demand and web-based subscription services like CuriosityStream offer (and require) hundreds of hours of nonfiction documentaries. National Geographic Channel and Discovery’s Science Channel also offer round-the-clock science programming, and the number of science podcasts is growing (www.geekwrapped.com/posts/the-20-best-science-podcasts).

As today’s environmental concerns escalate along with our scientific discoveries, there’s no shortage of amazing material and engaging stories that need to be told. It’s a great time to be in filmmaking and it’s never been more important. We need a well-informed public, one that is supportive and enthusiastic about the process and potential of science. Bolstering our workforce of scientist-trained filmmakers is central to this effort. Plus it’s incredibly fun and creative work, so why not give it a try?

One final word of advice – always carry lens cleaner! Seeing clearly is the first step to telling a meaningful, cogent story.