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I found it fascinating to learn that 40-50% of the footage shot for the BBC documentary that aired recently ‘Dolphins – Spy in the Pod’ was of activity that has never before been seen, let alone filmed. This got me thinking about how video capability has developed over the years.
In the communications industry, we are always striving to relay news, views and scenarios in a creative and compelling way, and this BBC programme is a prime example of how technology is the key behind taking storytelling – and indeed education – to a whole new level.
By infiltrating the ocean with secret cameras – disguised as a menagerie of sea creatures – the BBC enabled us to understand the idiosyncrasies of these clever animals, much the same as it did with ‘Penguins – Spy in the Huddle’.
It is only by watching this kind of observational film-making that we (the at-home viewers who are unlikely to plunge ourselves into the ocean to witness it for ourselves) can appreciate the animal world in its truest form.
In an interview with the Series Producer it was revealed that 13 different cameras were used both above and below sea level to capture a wealth of different views – with some of the cameras being submerged by as much as 25 metres.
When we compare this ‘spy’ style of film-making even to that of relatively recent ‘60s Cinéma vérité – where the camera and camera operator were both shown on-screen to demonstrate the entirely objective view of their subject – it’s easy to see why a camera disguised as a squid can take us to a different level of ‘truth’! Much like humans, animals are not fans of having cameras or camera operatives (aka alien creatures) invading their personal space, giving film-makers the challenge of making cameras attractive/interesting to the animal in question if they are to film their world. In this case spy tuna, spy turtle, spy ray, spy dolphin, spy squid and spy clam worked wonders!
Five random things I now know about the dolphin world thanks to the power of technology:
1) Dolphins dance using seaweed as a prop to flirt with, and attract, the opposite sex – no other mammals uses gifts in this way, demonstrating their refined social skills
2) Like humans, dolphins frequent their own underwater ‘spas’ to exfoliate their skin using coral as pumice stones
3) A baby dolphin can only breathe underwater for approximately two minutes before needing to come to the surface for air
4) One of the reasons spinning dolphins perform high spinning leaps out of the water is to dislodge parasites (which sucker to them) upon impact
And the best one of all…..
5) For dolphins, pooing on your friends is (and I quote narrator David Tennant) ‘socially acceptable’
Clearly we are talking big budget to achieve something as impressive as the above, however, it does scream to me the need to carefully consider how video (and particularly advances in technology) can be used to tell a powerful story and advance the knowledge of audiences in an authentic and candid way.