"Animal filmmakers up close - the most emotional moments": Exciting "universe" insights into the working world of the world's best nature filmmakers

2023-07-17 08:30:31

On July 18 at 8:15 p.m. on ORF 2

Vienna (OTS) – Nothing is more dangerous and time-consuming than filming animals. Provided you have the necessary luck. Because getting wild animals in front of the camera is a mammoth task that can hardly be planned. On Tuesday, July 18, 2023, at 8:15 p.m. on ORF 2, the “Universum” production “Tierfilmer up close – The most emotional moments” will show how these films are made. The “Universum” camera teams and the NDR partners provide unique insights into their work.

One hardly notices the strains under which the spectacular and breathtaking pictures are taken. Sometimes the cameramen are on their own, but mostly in a team that knows each other inside out, as filmmaker Harald Pokieser knows: “You have to enjoy being together, then you can do a good job. We probably spend more time with our teams than with our families. If the chemistry isn’t right, you’re lost.” Dry deserts, icy cold snowy landscapes, humid and humid jungles, wild oceans or steep mountains are the animal filmmakers’ office. “In order to take pictures successfully, knowledge of nature is absolutely essential. In the case of the red-footed falcon, the female announces herself by calling, and often the male too, and we know that’s what’s going to happen, turn on the camera,” reveal filmmakers Leander Khil and Mario Kreuzer. Plans are often thrown overboard, says director Heinz Leger: “There are motifs that fight back, like the Haselklamm in the Kalkalpen National Park. This is our fourth time here. Something was always wrong, the water level was too high, the wind was too strong. In this gorge, everything has to be just right.” Then again, completely unexpected, wonderful events happen right in front of the camera. This film shows what happens during the shooting around the world and mostly far away from any civilization.

A balloon crash in India, lightning banging cameras, rain and meltwater turning a trickle into a raging torrent put the teams in jeopardy. Baby crocodiles that play on their mother’s head, wild kangaroos that let themselves be fed, birds that are hard to find and then end up right in front of the camera are emotional moments of the positive kind.

“Animal filmmakers up close – The most emotional moments” shows exciting insights into the working world of the world’s best nature filmmakers. They also include the Austrian directors Harald Pokieser, Mario Kreuzer and Heinz Leger, who delivers impressive making-of scenes from his “Universe” two-part series about Austria’s national parks.