In December 2023, during the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28), the main creative team of Guangzhou's first nature documentary "The Power of Wetlands" walked into the campus and held documentary screenings and exchange activities at the Shanghai Documentary School of Shanghai University of Political Science and Law. Shanghai Documentary Academy is the first professional documentary school in mainland China, and it is also the first academy named after a documentary. The event was presided over by Zheng Yue, director of the Experimental Center of Shanghai Documentary Institute of Shanghai University of Political Science and Law.
The scene of the event
With the progress of social and economic development and human civilization, ecological and environmental problems have become a common challenge faced by mankind and a common topic that arouses human thinking. On the day of the event, director Peng Yingbin shared the little-known creation story behind the scene, during which he responded to the questions of students from the Shanghai Documentary Academy about the significance of the existence of nature documentaries under the development of high urbanization. While interpreting knowledge, nature documentaries also arouse the audience's in-depth thinking about the relationship between man and nature. We are but one of many living beings. The premise of protection is the record. To this end, I hope to do what I can and continue to work on nature documentaries. Peng Yingbin said.
The scene of the event
Director Peng Yingbin mentioned that he watched the world's first documentary "Nanuk of the North" directed by Robert Flahadi during his university years, and officially started his documentary journey. From Djiga Vertov's "Cinematic Eye" to the French New Wave, from Flahadi to Grierson to Agnès Varda, the world has never stopped searching for the real. Compared with other genres, nature documentaries have a long creative cycle from preliminary preparation to post-editing, distribution, and team production and promotion, and their audience groups, financial equipment, and shooting content also affect the development of Chinese nature documentaries. For this reason, students majoring in documentary film have asked a lot of questions about the documentary production process.
Here are some of the exchanges:
Student question: You have spent 3 years tracking and photographing natural species, what are your reasons for choosing the black-faced spoonbill, pheasant and other species in the film?
Peng Yingbin replied: The black-faced spoonbill in the film was still a national second-class protected animal at that time, and in the newly promulgated list of China's wild animals in 2021, it has been upgraded to a national first-class protected animal, and the pheasant has also changed from a three-protected animal to a national second-class protected animal. When we are working in documentaries, we can't start with a theme, and we do a lot of research in advance to understand the characteristics and behaviors of the species, and capture these clips without interfering with them. For example, insects, which involve metamorphosis processes, we have to try to photograph them; For example, birds, foraging, breeding and other behaviors, we also want to photograph. However, there are many force majeure factors in nature documentaries, such as weather, migratory birds, etc., and the proportion of species presented in the film is determined by the completeness of the filming. Just like the black-faced spoonbill E66 that appeared in the film, we checked the appearance records of E66, and then put this information into the film, as a supplement to the amount of species information, and then our team also went to the only breeding ground of the black-faced spoonbill in China, where we recorded precious pieces of life, and also went to more than a dozen places such as Hong Kong, Macau, Zhongshan, Haifeng, etc., so let it be the protagonist throughout the second episode, but if the whole episode is it, it will become a story of a single species. We wanted to document the story of the biological chain, not just a specific species, so we put herons and other species in it as well.
Director Pang Yingbin (left) and producer Chen Peiwen (right) took a boat to the filming site
Student Question: What did you use when you condensed the amount of footage you recorded into four episodes?
Principles to choose?
Peng Yingbin answers: When we finish shooting, we need to keep discussing, writing an outline, and then making up the shots, and this process needs to be repeated many times. I also know that other people create the manuscript first and shoot later, but I do it differently as I shoot and adjust. But the biggest problem with our approach is that we can't measure the cost. It's the same 1 million, and others use 1 million to pose for photos, which must be more accurate than us. As a director, I have to know exactly how to adjust the expression that is conducive to creating a story, which is actually a risky act, but because of this, the documentary is interesting, and the documentary process is constantly adjusting, constantly looking for solutions.
Director Peng Yingbin's work photo
Student question: When we as students make documentaries, we usually don't get much exposure to the work of filmmaking because there is no funding involved. What is the role of a producer in a documentary, and what role does it play?
Peng Yingbin answered: "The Power of Wetlands" has two producers, first a male producer, who later retired and is now a female producer. I remember that the female producer also asked me recently, is the production job so diverse? Because when I was filming, I would ask her to keep an eye out for animal tracks, even if it was insect eggs. It's actually an expert task, but experts can't follow us all the time, we have to find a solution, so I need a producer. Of course, in addition to this, the production also needs to manage the funds, write the plan according to the director's ideas, etc.
Host Zheng Yue (left) and director Peng Yingbin (right) have a discussion
As Guangzhou's first nature documentary, "The Power of Wetlands" records the ecological status of wetlands at the respiratory throats of the Pearl River and the Pacific Ocean, and the biological chain between more than 20 species, including the world's endangered black-faced spoonbill. It has been 4 years since the film was broadcast, and the chief director Peng Yingbin revealed that he is creating a new nature documentary in recent years.
Source: Guangzhou Radio and Television Station
Editor: Zhang Fan