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The Art, Craft & Persistence of Blue Chip Wildlife Filmmaking. WCS executive producer Natalie Cash in conversation with Jacob Steinberg

Natalie Cash is executive producer in charge of video production at the Wildlife Conservation Society, HQ’d at the world-famous Bronx Zoo.

She explores the art, the craft and the challenges of wildlife filmmaking with SEASON OF THE OSPREY director / cinematographer Jacob Steinberg.

It was nine years since Natalie first met Jacob and heard his pitch for an osprey documentary, and she wonders what is so special about the species that it inspires such persistence by the filmmaker.

Natalie asks Jacob how he captured the intimate, never-been-seen behavior by this famous raptor.

They discuss the technical challenges of filming inside the nest, of how to capture astounding close-up drone sequences of osprey in flight, and much, much more.

LISTEN TO NATALIE CASH & JACOB STEINBERG (30′)



Natalie Cash, execuive producer, WCS

About the Wildlife Conservation Society

  • WCS’s mission is to save wildlife and wild places worldwide through science, conservation action, education, and inspiring people to value nature.
  • WCS saves wildlife and wild places in 14 priority regions, home to more than 50% of global biodiversity, with more staff in the field than any other conservation organization in the world.
  • WCS also runs the largest system of urban zoological parks.
  • Read more here.

Outreach Campaign

Our OSPREY outreach campaign celebrates this magnificent species, and covers in a detailed case study the making of a blue chip wildlife special.

In previous podcasts, available here:

  • PBS‘s Bill Gardner describes how Jacob Steinberg’s osprey pitch reel ‘popped’ against the criteria that he uses to evaluate documentary projects, leading him to take the steps that led to the coproduction between WNET’s NATURE series and Love Nature.
  • Dr. Alan Poole is a leading osprey scientist and author of OSPREYS: THE REVIVAL OF A GLOBAL RAPTOR. He shares with Melanie Wallace the astounding wonders of the species.
  • Industry legend Ellen Windemuth is CEO of WaterBear Network, founder and CEO of Off The Fence, and executive producer of Academy Award winner MY OCTOPUS TEACHER. Ellen and Jacob share their lifelong passion to connect the art of filmmaking with wildlife conservation.
  • Janet Hess is the series editor of NATURE and the writer of SEASON OF THE OSPREY. In conversation with Peter Hamilton, Janet recalls how she found her unique and enviable writing career, and she describes her creative process, working with director Jacob Steinberg and her longtime editor Jim Isler to find and refine the story.

From the Archive

Distribution

  • SEASON OF THE OSPREY’s October 27 U.S. PBS NATURE premiere is followed by international distribution managed by Blue Ant International.