Performing authenticity: The making‐of documentary in wildlife film's blue‐chip renaissance

Abstract Making‐of documentaries (MODs) for recent blue‐chip wildlife films are prominently featured as trailers, bonus features on DVD releases and websites, and televised segments within wildlife broadcasts. Prior research shows how MODs within mainstream cinema promote certain filmmakers as auteu...

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Autor principal:	Eleanor Louson
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Wiley 2021
Materias:	blue‐chip wildlife films documentary authenticity making‐of documentary natural history film nature film wildlife documentary Human ecology. Anthropogeography GF1-900 Ecology QH540-549.5
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/1d5068f79dd5490982661cb8d4b9b48f
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:1d5068f79dd5490982661cb8d4b9b48f2021-12-01T05:33:13ZPerforming authenticity: The making‐of documentary in wildlife film's blue‐chip renaissance2575-831410.1002/pan3.10281https://doaj.org/article/1d5068f79dd5490982661cb8d4b9b48f2021-12-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1002/pan3.10281https://doaj.org/toc/2575-8314Abstract Making‐of documentaries (MODs) for recent blue‐chip wildlife films are prominently featured as trailers, bonus features on DVD releases and websites, and televised segments within wildlife broadcasts. Prior research shows how MODs within mainstream cinema promote certain filmmakers as auteurs and as exceptional creative professionals. Earlier wildlife film MODs demonstrated filmmakers' mastery of nature and a licence to offer scientific knowledge, as well as many staging practices employed in wildlife filmmaking; this content moved to MODs as nature grew more pristine in wildlife films' main programming. Recent wildlife film MODs still celebrate filmmakers' professionalism and emphasize the remoteness of film locations, filmmakers' exceptional practical skills and scientific expertise under harsh conditions, and the technologies responsible for spectacular visuals. In the MOD for Chimpanzee (2012), these features work together to portray this wildlife species as challenging to locate and film in nature, accessible only by filmmakers with the right skills and technologies. I argue that current blue‐chip wildlife MODs are a performance of authentic, non‐interventionist filmmaking. Recent MODs increase viewers' behind‐the‐scenes access to filming conditions but have not disclosed certain staging practices such as the use of composite animal characters. Despite their prominence as marketing and peripheral material, MODs remain segregated from wildlife films' main programming. They contribute to a blue‐chip construction of nature as pristine and not inclusive of human beings, even though their expeditionary narratives show more complex human–nature interactions. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.Eleanor LousonWileyarticleblue‐chip wildlife filmsdocumentary authenticitymaking‐of documentarynatural history filmnature filmwildlife documentaryHuman ecology. AnthropogeographyGF1-900EcologyQH540-549.5ENPeople and Nature, Vol 3, Iss 6, Pp 1147-1159 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	blue‐chip wildlife films documentary authenticity making‐of documentary natural history film nature film wildlife documentary Human ecology. Anthropogeography GF1-900 Ecology QH540-549.5
spellingShingle	blue‐chip wildlife films documentary authenticity making‐of documentary natural history film nature film wildlife documentary Human ecology. Anthropogeography GF1-900 Ecology QH540-549.5 Eleanor Louson Performing authenticity: The making‐of documentary in wildlife film's blue‐chip renaissance
description	Abstract Making‐of documentaries (MODs) for recent blue‐chip wildlife films are prominently featured as trailers, bonus features on DVD releases and websites, and televised segments within wildlife broadcasts. Prior research shows how MODs within mainstream cinema promote certain filmmakers as auteurs and as exceptional creative professionals. Earlier wildlife film MODs demonstrated filmmakers' mastery of nature and a licence to offer scientific knowledge, as well as many staging practices employed in wildlife filmmaking; this content moved to MODs as nature grew more pristine in wildlife films' main programming. Recent wildlife film MODs still celebrate filmmakers' professionalism and emphasize the remoteness of film locations, filmmakers' exceptional practical skills and scientific expertise under harsh conditions, and the technologies responsible for spectacular visuals. In the MOD for Chimpanzee (2012), these features work together to portray this wildlife species as challenging to locate and film in nature, accessible only by filmmakers with the right skills and technologies. I argue that current blue‐chip wildlife MODs are a performance of authentic, non‐interventionist filmmaking. Recent MODs increase viewers' behind‐the‐scenes access to filming conditions but have not disclosed certain staging practices such as the use of composite animal characters. Despite their prominence as marketing and peripheral material, MODs remain segregated from wildlife films' main programming. They contribute to a blue‐chip construction of nature as pristine and not inclusive of human beings, even though their expeditionary narratives show more complex human–nature interactions. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.
format	article
author	Eleanor Louson
author_facet	Eleanor Louson
author_sort	Eleanor Louson
title	Performing authenticity: The making‐of documentary in wildlife film's blue‐chip renaissance
title_short	Performing authenticity: The making‐of documentary in wildlife film's blue‐chip renaissance
title_full	Performing authenticity: The making‐of documentary in wildlife film's blue‐chip renaissance
title_fullStr	Performing authenticity: The making‐of documentary in wildlife film's blue‐chip renaissance
title_full_unstemmed	Performing authenticity: The making‐of documentary in wildlife film's blue‐chip renaissance
title_sort	performing authenticity: the making‐of documentary in wildlife film's blue‐chip renaissance
publisher	Wiley
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/1d5068f79dd5490982661cb8d4b9b48f
work_keys_str_mv	AT eleanorlouson performingauthenticitythemakingofdocumentaryinwildlifefilmsbluechiprenaissance
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Performing authenticity: The making‐of documentary in wildlife film's blue‐chip renaissance

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