How do I get a broadcaster interested in my wildlife video?
Discussion
Over the past 12 months me and a mate have been filming wild otters at night on our local river
All of the footage has been shot using bespoke IR lighting and recorded on CCTV.
We've got very good quality footage of otters in and out of the water, catching and eating fish, eels, and even a frog. There's footage of what we believe to be courtship behaviour and also footage of a family group of otters. People that I've shown it to say that it's better than anything they've seen on Countryfile or Autumnwatch to date.
I’ve edited it down to a 10 minute compilation of the best bits, but there is much more raw footage.
So, how do I go about getting a broadcasting company interested in it?
I've tried emailing the BBC through their naturewatch site http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/uk/yourmovies/homemovi... and have sent a few stills to 'the otter man' Charlie Hamilton James but I've not even had an acknowledgement.
Any suggestions as to the best way forward would be welcome
All of the footage has been shot using bespoke IR lighting and recorded on CCTV.
We've got very good quality footage of otters in and out of the water, catching and eating fish, eels, and even a frog. There's footage of what we believe to be courtship behaviour and also footage of a family group of otters. People that I've shown it to say that it's better than anything they've seen on Countryfile or Autumnwatch to date.
I’ve edited it down to a 10 minute compilation of the best bits, but there is much more raw footage.
So, how do I go about getting a broadcasting company interested in it?
I've tried emailing the BBC through their naturewatch site http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/uk/yourmovies/homemovi... and have sent a few stills to 'the otter man' Charlie Hamilton James but I've not even had an acknowledgement.
Any suggestions as to the best way forward would be welcome
Edited by sparkythecat on Saturday 11th February 13:52
Chance - quite slim.
What did you film on? Broadcasters have quite fussy tech specs, as to what they'll broadcast.
News - if its newsworthy, they'd broadcast it even if you'd filmed it on a vhs camcorder form the 80's. - But with wildlife, they usually are quite stringent about what they deem broadcast quality.
But, don't let that put you off- first off, awesome work in getting out there and doing a project like that.
Best bet would be to watch a few wildlife programmes you like, and make a note of the cameramen, producers & directors, i the credits.
Track them down on the net, most will have their own websites as they'll be freelance - and email them telling them what you have and how you see a programme being formed out of it, and if they have any advice. Also helps to butter them up first and tell them that their programme was awesome etc etc.
I work as a cam op, and i often fire out an email I theres something on TV that caught my eye. Usually other cam ops have their own websites, and are usually pleased to hear someones enjoyed their work, and its a great way to learn what kit they've used.
You never know, you might accidentally hit gold, and email a producer who might be working on a programme about otters as we speak.
Even if what you've shot isn't what they want, you could get some work out of it as you'll have proved yourself to be experienced on the subject matter
best of luck!
What did you film on? Broadcasters have quite fussy tech specs, as to what they'll broadcast.
News - if its newsworthy, they'd broadcast it even if you'd filmed it on a vhs camcorder form the 80's. - But with wildlife, they usually are quite stringent about what they deem broadcast quality.
But, don't let that put you off- first off, awesome work in getting out there and doing a project like that.
Best bet would be to watch a few wildlife programmes you like, and make a note of the cameramen, producers & directors, i the credits.
Track them down on the net, most will have their own websites as they'll be freelance - and email them telling them what you have and how you see a programme being formed out of it, and if they have any advice. Also helps to butter them up first and tell them that their programme was awesome etc etc.
I work as a cam op, and i often fire out an email I theres something on TV that caught my eye. Usually other cam ops have their own websites, and are usually pleased to hear someones enjoyed their work, and its a great way to learn what kit they've used.
You never know, you might accidentally hit gold, and email a producer who might be working on a programme about otters as we speak.
Even if what you've shot isn't what they want, you could get some work out of it as you'll have proved yourself to be experienced on the subject matter
best of luck!
Edited by Fordo on Monday 6th February 21:03
Many thanks for the tips Fordo.
We are filming them using one of theseremote ptz cameras and recording on a cctv dvr. We are able to site the camera within 5 metres of a regular otter haunt and are getting otter footage almost every night.
I thought the footage may be of value to someone already involved in making either an otter, or a british wildlife programme. It would certainly merit a few minutes on either a springwatch type programme or on a regional magazine programme..
A proposed new road build may impact on the otters present habitat and I know the anti road brigade would love to have this footage to help their cause. But, given the time and effort that's gone into producing it, I thought I'd explore the possibility of exploiting it commercially, before giving it away
We are filming them using one of theseremote ptz cameras and recording on a cctv dvr. We are able to site the camera within 5 metres of a regular otter haunt and are getting otter footage almost every night.
I thought the footage may be of value to someone already involved in making either an otter, or a british wildlife programme. It would certainly merit a few minutes on either a springwatch type programme or on a regional magazine programme..
A proposed new road build may impact on the otters present habitat and I know the anti road brigade would love to have this footage to help their cause. But, given the time and effort that's gone into producing it, I thought I'd explore the possibility of exploiting it commercially, before giving it away
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