http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpQVkn_yyho&feature=PlayList&p=424A36A80A1A1AFA&index=1
By sagresta – 3rd April 2008.
Fantastic piece of footage for many reasons.
The cameraman and presenter worked very well as a team. Everything that Pieter described was followed closely by Alex and vice versa. They told the story well together.
I liked the fact that there were lots of close ups. When watching TV on the internet it is important to have detailed shots.
The elephants came extremely close to the vehicle and it made me feel that Pieter was almost part of the herd. Their behaviour was fascinating as they seemed to be more curious than nervous.
Finally there was a tiny baby and babies sell. Anything with a youngster in can be guaranteed to be loved by many.
The only negative I have is that it should have finished at approximately 5 minutes. Once the elephants had left the vehicle and moved off the clip should have been stopped. Although the baby elephant doing a mock charge was also fantastic footage it would have been better to put it in a separate clip.
Written by Emily Wallington
Emily, I don’t think there would have been any improvement in the video if it had been cut off at the 5 minute mark and a separate video made of the young one’s mock charge.
I am a nature lover and a viewer. The calf’s mock charge would have been only that if separated from the rest.
The presentation as whole is necessary to get the feel of the herd and how comfortable it was with the Tank in it’s midst. This level of comfort was very clearly shown in the latitude the cow gave her calf to roam from her side. The calf’s comfort too was very clearly shown in all that it did, whilst aware of the vehicle it was not concerned about its proximity. It’s fearlessness in wandering around even when its mom moved away some good few metres proved this comfort. That, to my mind is the crux of the video – the herd’s ease with the vehicle in it’s midst.
Had the video been cut off at the five minute mark a lot of good footage would have been wasted.
In an *educational* programme, and I consider WE to be this if they continue with the crew there is, it is necessary to show the normal activities of the creatures of the wild and NOT just the sensational activities. There is no point in having a video of JUST a mock charging calf if there is nothing to show where that mock charge came from, how it came about.
If a shorter video is what you wanted then by all means edit out Pieter, the camera arm or whatever that rod thing was. Retain the video as it was, length and all but with the slight editing I suggest.