National Geographic/Jamie Thorpe
1998 Pixar animated film bug’s life Last year, National Geographic celebrated its 25th anniversary, and to mark the occasion, National Geographic has decided to produce a new science documentary series. real insect life, narrated by Awkwafina. As in the Pixar film, insects (and their surrounding creatures) are the protagonists here, from cockroaches, monarch butterflies, and praying mantises to bees, spiders, and hermit crabs. The 10 episodes tell the stories of their struggles to survive in their respective habitats, capturing entire ecosystems in the process: streets, farms, rainforests, Texas backyards, African savannas. .
The origins of this documentary series lie in the rumored sequel to the original film. This inspired producer Bill Markham and others to pitch a documentary series. genuine A Bug’s Life to National Geographic. “This was the quickest commission ever,” Markham told Ars. “They literally said yes over the weekend. It was a great idea to use Pixar’s sensibilities to photograph insects in a family-friendly way.” Then, with the advent of new technology, Thanks to a few skilled “bug investigators,” the team was able to beautifully capture the world through a bug’s eyes.
Cinematographer Nathan Small said that by using a long tube-shaped probe lens, the camera crew was able to capture footage from inside small cracks and holes to better document the bug’s behavior. Ta. I also made good use of the macro lens. “We used to have macro lenses, but they were all so long that everything was out of focus and the background was really smooth,” Small told Ars. “We tried to shoot everything very low, very wide-angle, and with a lot of background, so you experience the world from the animal’s point of view, rather than just a smooth background, and you can see how the animal is in that location. You can see how you are sitting.”
Filming on the streets of New York City and on farms wasn’t always comfortable, as the photographer had to lie on his stomach several times to capture the scenery. But the team can also rely on a custom-made robot that is remotely controlled using a PlayStation controller, and has a super-smooth camera with no wobble that can be magnified at very small scales. It also had the added benefit of producing accurate footage.
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The American cockroach in all its spindly glory.
National Geographic/Jamie Thorpe
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Cinematographer Alex Jones shot army ants and elephant beetles in Costa Rica.
National Geographic//Amy Gilchrist
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Bug gruggler Tim Cockerill shoots in the Costa Rican rainforest.
National Geographic/Amy Gilchrist
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Orchid bee flying.
National Geographic//Jeremy Squire
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A buff-tailed bumblebee with its proboscis above a green plant.
National Geographic/Jamie Thorpe
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Fire ants are gathering inside an electrical box in a backyard in Texas.
National Geographic/Fernando Prudencio
The crew’s dedication to capturing the best footage is evidenced by Small’s six-month mission to film hatching cockroach eggshells. This mission is one of several he is caught on camera for the first time in the series. After several failed attempts, Small purchased an incubation system and installed it in his spare bedroom. (He credits his “very patient” wife for allowing him to do the experiment.) “If the cockroaches hatched, we had to build a special moat system to keep them from escaping. “The last thing I want is cockroaches invading my private residence,” he says. He said. Markham checked once a week to see if the shells had hatched. This blessed event finally occurred at 3 a.m. one morning, when Small captured footage of a small translucent creature emerging from the enclosure.
And insect observers like zoologist Tim Cockerill, who participated in a TV science show while completing his Ph.D., are also key to taking unique photos. (Cockerill caught the entertainment bug early, having worked as a fire eater in circus entertainment and started his own flea circus.) Each insect poses different challenges, but Costa Rica’s Cockerill told Ars that fighting army ants on location in the rainforest was a challenge. Probably the trickiest.Controlling ants on a movie set is a simple task, but the bottom line is real insect life It’s about capturing natural behavior.
“There are large army ant colonies, literally hundreds of thousands of them, with very nasty bites, moving from one place to another and doing their own thing,” he said. “You can’t force them to do something they don’t want to do.” Setting things like camera lighting to show natural behavior while protecting the crew becomes critical. “It’s very difficult with a lot of biting, screaming and swearing, but it’s worth it in the end,” Cockerill said.