FCE 1 - TEST 4 - READING 2
IN THEIR NATURAL HABITAT
Of all the creatures to be found in the jungles and plains of East Africa, two of the hardest to track down must surely be producer Amanda Barrett and cameraman Owen Newman.
Their present habitat, the Ngorongoro Crater, has been lashed by six months of almost continuous rain, giving rise to a number of unforeseen problems. Newman explained that they had to invest in an expensive piece of equipment so that whenever one of their vehicles gets stuck in the mud, Amanda can pull him back to safety. His working partnership with the talented producer has created some of TV's finest wildlife films, such as their amazing and well-received film on leopards.
Even while this film of one of Africa's shyest cats was being shown, the pair were already back where they belong - this time trailing that equally shy animal, the jackal. But this is nothing unusual in television partnerships. Travelling film-makers have been constantly circling the globe, in order to point cameras at exotic wildlife ever since the birth of television.
I spoke to Newman about their partnership while he was making one of his rare and unpredictable reunions with other members of the human race at a safari lodge. "We do have occasional arguments but we tend to get over them fairly quickly,' he says of his colleague. Neither of them regard themselves as the leader, and he says that one of the reasons why they get on so well with each other is that they both see the animals in a similar way.
'When we are on the move, we have to put up our tents each night. But this time we are operating much more of a fixed camp, and as we set out at 5 a.m. each morning, we tend to make the tea the night before and keep it warm in a vacuum flask.'
The rest of the Newman-Barrett daily diet consists of pre-packed meals heated and dished out by whoever is at hand at the time. It's not unusual for us to be out and about for up to eight weeks at a time, so catering does cause the odd panic.' says Newman.
It can be a rough existence, but the appeal of being alone in such remote areas is that we can get close enough to the animals to become part of their lives. I remember once we were filming a family of lions and there was one lioness who would regularly go off on her own. Whenever she returned, she would go round and greet all the other members of the pride, and after a while she made a point of greeting our car as part of her round.'
It was back in 1988 that Newman first worked with Barrett on a film called 'The Great Rift', and two more years before they set off as a team to film Arctic foxes. Since then, they have learned to set aside four months on location to gather sufficient material for each half-hour film. And before they get the green light, they have to submit a script for approval.
'Amanda and I struck up a good working relationship from the start,' says Newman, 'because it was obvious that we shared the same ideas and overall vision. What we are always seeking to achieve is a film that is rich in atmosphere, that brings to life the true spirit of the place and animals, and that will touch people's hearts. I believe if you can evoke an emotional response from people, that is far better than if you appeal only to their heads.'
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