Blog: A Guide to Filming in the Wilderness – Back-Country Filming

BACK-COUNTRY FILMING

Above Video: Back-country trek within Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park

Although back-country camping and filming allows you to access uncharted territory, it also comes with a few responsibilities. My biggest word of advice is to take your time. Create realistic check-points and do not carry more than you can handle. Before embarking on your trek, make sure to plan your route and learn about any park regulations. Many parks across Canada have special instructions to follow, and it is important that you abide by them. When I was planning to go back-country filming in Kokanee Glacier Provincial Park in British Columbia, I was required to take measures to protect my vehicle from porcupines (they eat your tires and brake lines).

One of the main reasons that I love filming in the wilderness is the feeling you get once you have accomplished something so physically demanding. Whether or not your footage is mind-blowing, the satisfaction you get from seeing something so unique is very gratifying. It is what keeps me going back.

Much like the experience of back-country camping, filming in the wilderness forces you to take risks. As a filmmaker, you are forced to find new ways of doing things that you many not be used to. I find that when back-country filming, I tend to take more risks not only with locations and techniques, but also camera settings. For example, when shooting the video above, I experimented mainly with the sharpness and contrast settings (cinestyle picture profile) to see how far one could push each when shooting in harsh sunlight. When editing, much like everything else on the 5D, I found that it can no be pushed far at all. You must capture an image as flat as possible if you hope to be able to control the image in post. In the above short, you can see what happens to the edges when the sharpness is pushed too far. I have experimented with picture profile settings on the 5D but wanted to play around with the cinestyle profile settings across both photo and video.

As for equipment, one of the major obstacles is camera support. You must learn to shoot in new ways using gear you would not normally use (lightweight tripods, gorrilapods, etc.). I have found that by limiting yourself, you learn techniques that you would not have learned if not limited. I have used both the lightweight and full-sized tripods and now always take two full sized tripods with Kessler Pocket Dolly v2 attached. I do not recommend this as it makes the trek much harder but also believe that with no pain comes no gain!

Another aspect of back-country filming is wildlife. Whether or not you are filming wildlife, you must be cautious and aware at all times. Before heading out, you should do some research to determine which animals are native to the territory and know how to protect yourself. Safety first, especially when traveling alone. No matter what animal you are confronted with, any sudden movements will startle them. It is always safer to move slowly. You are also more likely to get your shot if you make subtle movements.

Filming wildlife can be a daunting task and often frustrating. I have spent hours waiting in hopes of seeing something with no luck. I have also had trips where I filmed so much that I ran out of memory cards. It is very hit and miss and can be very, very frustrating. In regards to equipment, long lenses are a must. I often find that I do not get enough range with the 70-200mm II 2.8 L.