Hiding Security Camera Equipment For Wildlife Filming
When you're filming nocturnal animals, birds or insects, you will seem more like a scientist than a filmmaker. You know you can't film without some sort of light. Thankfully, modern security camera equipment (especially night vision cameras) have come down in price and can take care of that problem. But you also want to film animals behaving naturally. They won't do that if they can see or sense the security camera equipment in their territories. So you need to figure out how to hide your security camera equipment in order not to startle your subjects.
Lions ? Spy In the Den
One ground-breaking BBC documentary on African lions, "Lions ? Spy In The Den" (2001), came up with a brilliant way of hiding security camera equipment. They disguised it in a remote control fake boulder. It took a couple of weeks for the lion prides to get used to an unusually fast boulder following them about, but they soon ignored it. It became part of their natural landscape. They were able to get extraordinary night shots ? but also shots in the daytime. Although it seemed that we couldn't learn anything more about lions, "bouldercam" did.
Say Cheese
Some wildlife filmmakers have gone so far as to hide their security camera equipment in boxes disguised as rocks or tree trunks and then get the animals themselves to determine when to start and stop filming. Security camera equipment often includes motion detectors and heat sensors, which help it to pinpoint the intruder ? or, in this case, the critter you want to film.
Wild animals and birds are very afraid of human scent or any sign of human beings ? and can you blame them? But they do not seem to be scared of the scent and any slight movement from security camera equipment. So, they will often go right up to the hidden security camera equipment and sniff or bat it and then ignore it and get on to business as usual.
Hyenas
One of the most misunderstood species is the hyena. One if the reasons it is so misunderstood is its nocturnal nature. It is very rarely seen in the daytime, and when seen seem to be savage brutes and not much else. But, when infrared security camera equipment fell into the hands of wildlife documentary makers, the world discovered a whole new dimension to these unique creatures ? as loving mothers, tightly knit social groups, and their sense of playfulness.
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