On Safari: In New Jersey

I admit that I am envious of some of the wildlife filmmakers I’ve seen on Nova, Discovery and Nat Geo, chasing down wild game with 800mm lenses mounted on the open roof of their well-worn Range Rovers.  So, any time we get a call to shoot the animals at Six Flags Great Adventure & Wild Safari we jump at the chance.  Wild Safari is the largest safari park outside of Africa.

Now, of course I’m not comparing the challenges of the bush or open Savanna to the comfort and control of a New Jersey theme park, still, the thrill of seeing lions, tigers and bears, along with giraffe, rhino and zebra filling my viewfinder can be pretty exciting and just as intense.

Today's assignment is to gather new B-Roll for the park's press reel.  B-Roll is essential to producers and reporters creating stories about the park.  They come to the park, do a few interviews and walk away with a half hour tape of animal shots that they can have their own editors whip into a story.

It is not uncommon for our images to show up in dozens of films, all over the globe, every year.  So, the B-Roll for the Safari Park, Great Adventure theme park and the Hurricane Harbor water park must constantly be replenished with exciting new images that reflect what you can experience at Six Flags.

We set out with the park’s chief veterinarian, Dr William "Doc" Rives to create a behind-the-scenes "Wild Safari Tour” film.  Although most of the animals seem undisturbed that we are driving among them, we are assured that many of them are still wild and as soon as we step outside the vehicle, we are invading their territory.   Strict rules of conduct must be followed.

"When I say get back in the vehicle, I mean it" Doc says without a smile.  "Some of the animals are very territorial and there are also a lot of new babies, so the mothers will be extremely protective."

It wasn't long before his words rang true. A 7 foot tall ostrich approached the truck, feathers ruffled and pecking at our windows.

For today's shoot I am using my Sony EX3 with a variety of Nikon lenses.   Using telephoto prime lenses gives me an additional magnification with incredible sharpness and very low depth of field.  By staying back from a herd of animals such as the zebras, which are naturally skittish, I can still observe them up close and undisturbed.  The waves of heat off the ground and the low depth helps maintain the illusion that our subjects are out in the wild and not confined to the park.

I've also brought along my new NX5U so that I can change cameras quickly.  I've done some test with the camera and I've been pretty happy with the results.  I've found that if I set my camera profiles with a slightly lower gamma and saturation the files cut together nicely with the XDCAMs  and because of its lower weight (and cost), I feel more inclined to mount it on the hood of a Jeep heading off-road.  The AVCHD format allows me to shoot up to 11 hours using the FMU128 flash drive.  Don't leave home with it.

Both cameras have mounting plates that will work on my 519 fluid head which I have mounted on 545B tripod both from Manfrotto.  The combination is quick to set and fairly steady with telephoto lenses up to 1000mm.  The 545 legs open and level very quickly, which is important as we need to get in and out of our car rapidly.  It's also affordable, so I can own more than one, add accessories like additional camera plates, spreaders and carrying cases without having to mortgage my home.

Of course, some of the animals, such as the big cats do have to be confined in large pens and safety rules require me to film them from outside their cages.  Here again, using a telephoto lens or the camera’s zoom lens at its farthest setting, will make the fence all but disappear. Close ups of lions, tigers and bears (oh my) are now much easier and safer to accomplish.  The low depth of field makes focusing a bit of a challenge, yet, the results outweigh any difficulty I’ve encountered.

As a side note: 

It is important to use the widest iris (aperture) setting available to you, as the links of the fence will begin to show up if you stop the lens down to 5.6 or beyond.  I have also found that the Sony EX3’s kit lens loses a bit of sharpness when using settings higher than 5.6 and I tend to use the camera’s internal ND filter or a third party filter to reduce light entering the camera.

We return home from our shoot to the comfort of a hot shower and our own bed.

In recent years, Sarah and I have gone to much larger, African safari parks while visiting Kenya yet, we still find the Wild Safari Park at Six Flags to be one of our most fun adventures.  We love it!

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Chuck featured on Sony VideON
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