background
I had the opportunity to create a pilot episode for National Geographic with the goal to bring nature to a younger audience. With a limited budget and a film crew of four enthusiastic nature lovers and adventure seekers, we traveled in a campervan to Croatia’s wilderness and created this first pilot episode. The production of the web series is still in process.
plot summary
Urbanization is an ongoing trend in Europe. The younger generation is leaving the countryside and move to cities. Most of us think that for wild nature, we have to travel to the other side of the world. But over the past four decades, wildlife has made a significant comeback in Europe. Because every year, more than a million acres of land are abandoned by farmers and shepherds, and this creates more space for wilder nature. The bear population has increased, vultures are roaming the skies and crossing borders and wolves are migrating to other countries.
In this web series, I will explore and film wilder nature in Europe using both primitive and modern wilderness skills. Each episode will cover the history of a specific natural habitat: what changed over the past decades and how did it used to be? What are the challenges in this area, in terms of rewilding nature and stimulating natural processes? I talk about the biodiversity in the area and identify a variety of trees and plants. I demonstrate how I set up my basecamp and what techniques I use to film wildlife. In every episode, I have one specific goal: to film a keystone species within that area.
target audience
The majority of individuals in the younger generation – also known as millennials – grow up in urban environments, disconnected from nature. Millennials are generally marked by an increased use of and familiarity with communications, media and digital technologies. They live in virtual bubbles, on social media and a variety of other online platforms. Flooded by an overwhelming sea of content, they only consume what fits their interests, or what their friends recommend. I researched the urban Millenials and their connection with nature. Unfortunately, most of their individual virtual bubbles do not admit nature-related content. For this generation, nature is defined as ‘a different world, far out of their reach’. Most of them are not connected with nature, and I would like to change that.
Millennials are selective when consuming online content. They have a short attention span and prefer to consume short content which is both exciting and enjoyable to watch. Almost none of them would say: ‘Let’s watch a documentary about global warming’. I believe that National Geographic is aware of this ongoing transition in the media landscape, thus giving younger filmmakers the chance to create their own wildlife (web) series.
FILM CREW
Creative Producer, Director & Host: Awi Rabelista
Field Producer: Toby Hornby-Patterson
Wildlife Camera: Awi Rabelista
Director of Photography: Pieter Genee
Sound Recordist & Sound Designer: Toby Hornby-Patterson
DIT & Editor: Pieter Genee
Colour Grading: Pieter Genee
Local guide & Field Assistant: Nino Salkic
This film was supported by Panasonic Europe. Special thanks to Cedric De Ruette from Panasonic and Marlow Wijnand from Sigma for believing and supporting me.
STILLS
