Blog — Page 2

October 9, 2014 by Drew Fulton 2 Comments

The First Grant!

Eastern Meadowlark (Sturnella magna) singing.

I am excited and honored to announce that the Filming Florida project has received its first major grant! I would like to send out a deep and heartfelt thank you to the Winifred Johnson Clive Foundation for awarding the project this significant grant. The Clive Foundation funds projects that benefit churches, education, the arts, and wildlife conservation. This grant will enable full production to begin very soon as soon as final preparations are completed.

This grant will get the project started, but I am still seeking additional support. If you would like to make a donation to support the project, please visit the Support page for all the details! Thanks and stay tuned for more updates and information in the coming weeks!

October 8, 2014 by Drew Fulton 1 Comment

Episode Breakdown

Small American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) laying in vegetation on edge of water.

In my last post, One Becomes Eight, I explained that what was originally going to be a single, one-hour documentary has now transformed into an eight part miniseries. This will provide its own challenges, both technically and artistically, but I believe it better serves the story. Each of the eight episodes will focus on a habitat or group of habitats. This structure is the most natural fit and has been used by numerous natural history series, most notably the BBC’s Planet Earth.

I have decided on the breakdown of episodes and have a rough structure and outline for each episode, but I have not decided on the overall order of the episodes. I have chosen to craft each episode a little differently using a different motif to tie the various themes, ecosystems, and species together. Below is a quick synopsis of each of the eight episodes in alphabetical order.

Beaches: The beach, likely Florida’s most iconic habitat, is home to more than just fisherman and spring breakers. Get down on the level of the sand and explore this habitat from the breaking waves of the swash to the dynamic sand dunes.
Forests: Whether a hardwood forest or pineland, Florida’s forests, particularly those in south Florida, have a distinctly tropical influence that sets them apart from similar forests across the rest of the country.
Freshwater: Float down a clear, spring-fed river, probe deep into the mysteries of a sinkhole lake, witness a river disappear deep into the ground, and experience the restoration of a canal back into a free flowing river.
Prairies: Florida’s prairies and grasslands experience a very short fire cycle, constantly burning and recovering, which makes these often overlooked habitats both fascinating and unique.
Saltwater: Journey off the coast of Florida to explore the numerous saltwater habitats. Move from the shallow estuaries protected by barrier islands and mangrove forests to the fragile, yet diverse coral reefs and finally to the open ocean.
Scrub: Explore Florida’s unique scrub habitat through the behavior and biology of Florida’s only endemic bird, the Florida Scrub Jay.
Swamps: Experience the wonder and mystique of Florida’s swamps from their tea colored waters to the airy canopy and learn about the special creatures that make these incredible landscapes their home.
Wetlands: Spend a year in Florida’s wetlands and witness the dynamic changes of the seasons as birds migrate, water levels fluctuate, and new life abounds as the breeding season begins.

Now that I have a basic structure for this series, I have started to break down each episode into topics, themes, and sequences and can start telling the story of natural Florida. Be sure to follow the project to see how this all unfolds!

October 3, 2014 by Drew Fulton 2 Comments

One Becomes Eight

A Willet (Tringa semipalmata) feeds in the surf as a storm dumps rain offshore in the late afternoon.

Back in 2013 when Filming Florida was first conceived, the goal was to produce a one hour documentary about natural Florida. From day one, I have always known that tackling such a big topic with so many facets was going to be a major challenge for a one hour program. Quite simply, there are too many stories that I want to tell making it difficult to tie them all together into a single cohesive story. To avoid creating a disconnected and choppy program, I see two options. First, I can go very broad and not delve too deeply into any particular storyline, allowing me to tell the broader story of Florida without getting bogged down in the details. My second option is basically the opposite and I can narrow my focus and turn my attention to a single storyline, whether that was a single theme, region, or species. For me, neither of these options are satisfactory so I have gone back to the storyboard.

The problem with the first option is quite simply the broad storytelling. Good storytelling (and natural history in general for that matter) isn’t about the broad, general ideas. It is about the details and specifics of the story. It is dialing down into the nitty gritty and discovering the amazing. Simply telling the story of natural Florida in broad generalizations isn’t going to work for me.

On the other hand, I don’t like the idea of limiting myself to a single region, theme, or species. One of the amazing aspects of Florida is its diversity and the ability to compare and contrast different species, habitats, and life histories in different parts of the state. Simply narrowing my focus isn’t going to fulfill my own desires and interests and it sure isn’t going to my storytelling problem.

So, I have decided to reconsider my original assumption, the one hour format. If this is my single greatest constraint then what about changing the format to better serve the story I want to tell? And with that, a one hour piece has become an eight part miniseries. Each of the eight episodes will focus on a group of habitats and the species that live within those ecosystems. I will be able to compare and contrast habitats across the state while still delving deep enough into individual stories to tell a thorough and meaningful narrative. It simply makes the most sense and lets the story shape the format rather than the opposite.

It might sound a bit strange but as soon as I made the decision, I immediately felt at peace and confident in the format. Yes, it becomes a much more ambitious project, but this has always been about the story and this new format is true to the story. There will be a lot of new challenges that will develop with this new format but we will tackle those as they arise.

Check back early next week to learn about how these eight episodes will break down and a brief synopsis of each episode.

October 1, 2014 by Drew Fulton Leave a Comment

It’s October!

Snowy Plover (Charadrius nivosus) on the beach at dusk. Little Gasparilla Island.

Snowy Plover (Charadrius nivosus) on the beach at dusk. (click to view larger)

I don’t know about you, but I can hardly believe it is already October. I know things have been really quiet on the blog for the past few months, but that doesn’t mean that I haven’t been working hard to bring the Filming Florida project to life! Since my last post back in May, I have spent the summer working diligently to shape the story of Filming Florida and raise the money to support the project. I have a lot of announcements to make about some really great breakthroughs and progress on the project and I will be doing so over the next few weeks here on the blog.

For a quick tease, I have dug deep into my motivations behind Filming Florida and how my efforts will best support those motivations and my ultimate goals. This means that I have made some changes in the structure of the project, nothing too major, that will make Filming Florida a stronger, more effective project in showcasing the natural history of Florida.

Stay tuned over the next few weeks to learn more about these changes and the next few steps for Filming Florida!

March 11, 2014 by Drew Fulton 1 Comment

Video Series Hiatus

The complicated setup I use to film many of the Behind the Lens episodes.

I wanted to make a brief announcement that both the Nature Profiles series and the Behind the Lens series will be going on a brief hiatus until early summer. Both of these series were designed to grow out of my time in the field, and right now I am not spending much time in the field actually shooting. I have chosen to dedicate the next seven weeks or so on fundraising and other aspects of project development. This means a lot less time behind the camera, but all of these pre-production tasks will greatly benefit Filming Florida as I move forward. Thanks for understanding and please check back on May 1st for the next episode of Behind the Lens and May 6th for the next film in the Nature Profiles series.

March 6, 2014 by Drew Fulton Leave a Comment

Synced Sound

https://vimeo.com/88355569

Spend the next few minutes learning how I record audio and video at the same time while shooting both wildlife and landscapes in this week’s episode of Behind the Lens, “Synced Sound“.

February 27, 2014 by Drew Fulton Leave a Comment

Audio Recording Basics

https://vimeo.com/87783705

In this week’s episode of Behind the Lens, I take a look at “Audio Recording Basics” and the equipment needed to get good quality audio recordings to be paired with video recordings. Take a couple minutes to learn more!

February 25, 2014 by Drew Fulton 1 Comment

The American Coot

The often overlooked American Coot is an abundant water bird found across the entire country. During the winter, they form large flocks in Florida and are a rowdy bunch with constant squabbles and entertainment. Filmed entirely on location at Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, Viera Wetlands, and Orlando Wetlands Park. Learn more in this week’s episode of Nature Profiles, “The American Coot“!

February 20, 2014 by Drew Fulton Leave a Comment

Importance of Audio

http://vimeo.com/filmingflorida/importance-of-audio

If you are a still photographer, you probably don’t think much about the sounds and audio of the world around you, at least as it pertains to your photographs. However, as a filmmaker, the audio is at least, if not more important, than the visuals. Take a look at the “Importance of Audio” in this week’s episode of Behind the Lens.

February 13, 2014 by Drew Fulton 1 Comment

Eagles or Coots?

http://vimeo.com/filmingflorida/eagles-or-coots

Over the past week or so, I have been trying to document a pair of Bald Eagles that were hunting the flocks of American Coots at Orlando Wetlands Park in Christmas, Florida. During my hours of waiting on the eagles with little success, I grew to really like the coots. Learn more in this week’s episode of Behind the Lens, “Eagles or Coots?“.