Shooting in the Wild

I no longer need to be secretive about that exciting editing project I recently worked on, since news about the book is already out there (though it won't be published until April). It's called Shooting in the Wild, and it's from Sierra Club Books! So now you know why I was so thrilled to get this new client. And while I would have been happy to work on anything they offered me just to get my foot through that door, I was kind of hoping it wasn't going to be about, say, birding in Canada or something else that I know little about—and have little interest in exploring further. So imagine my delight when I learned that the book is an insider's look at the world of wildlife filmmaking! Like The Blue Planet? Yup. And Planet Earth? Even March of the Penguins? And all those awesome iMAX movies? Yes! If you've read this blog for any length of time, you know that I'm a big fan of really well-done nature films. So not only am I enthusiastic about the topic, I'm also at least a little knowledgeable.

So who is this insider? It's Chris Palmer, who's made hundreds of wildlife films over the years and is now the director of the Center for Environmental Filmmaking at American University. You can learn all about the book here, but I've read the whole thing (a few times, in fact...), and I promise you that it is both eye-opening and thought-provoking.

There are sections on all the many aspects of the industry, from the technological advances that have allowed filmmakers to capture unprecedented footage to the ethical questions about intrusion on animals' habitats to the trend toward reality TV shows that feature amateurs getting way too close to dangerous critters, often with disastrous results. No punches are pulled, and there's plenty of fascinating descriptions of the tricks of the trade—some perfectly acceptable, and some downright despicable.

So now you know why working on this project was such a genuine pleasure, and why I couldn't have been more delighted when the author called yesterday to thank me for my work on it.

Comments

[Elena]

Congratulations! But I had no idea you were a fan of nature films! How did I miss that?

[Karen]

No? Check out these reviews for a few examples:
http://verbatim.blogs.com/verbatim/2007/08/go-nature.html
http://verbatim.blogs.com/verbatim/2006/02/grizzly_idiot.html
http://verbatim.blogs.com/verbatim/2007/02/you_want_movie_.html
http://verbatim.blogs.com/verbatim/2005/12/as_told_by_morg.html
http://verbatim.blogs.com/verbatim/2009/04/birthday-part-2.html

[amy]

Karen,

How great! You deserve it, especially after the horrific SF project from last year :).
Been reading you every day but not commenting; had to laugh at your anniversary post--Doug and I also "celebrated" our 21st on Oct 8 by eating Papa Ginos since we had 2 kids in 3 directions. We did go out over that weekend to Craige on Main and had an amazing dinner; the 6 course tasting menu which seemed to have 2 dishes per person per course was incredible, fun food and plenty of it!

[Sharon]

Congratulations. Sounds very exciting!

[Rachel Kagno]

Karen,

What did you think about that Disney film "Earth?" I watched it with my kids On Demand the other night and my 6 year old son was upset when the polar bear was attacking the walruses, and when the lions were going after the elephants. I guess it's kind of disturbing for little ones. They don't exactly get the whole "survival of the fittest" idea.

[Jeremy Roberts]

I'm looking forward to this book! As a biologist who studied this very topic extensively for four years of graduate work, I'm very interested in the perspective Chris might bring to the literature.

Cheers,

Jeremy Roberts
ConservationMedia.com
@naturefilmmaker