Using Zaber Stages for Filming a Bee’s Eye View
Published on Jun. 08, 2022
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Filmmaker, Duncan Parker, used a set of Zaber stages along with other equipment for the purpose of filming a wildlife documentary sequence for National Geographic Channel. His challenge was to film a bee’s journey from first emergence from a cell to flying out into the world. Duncan used an arsenal of lenses and lights to capture the shots needed for the sequence. Producer, Josh Helliker, had a clear plan for the style of shots and lighting. One of the things that had not been done before in the filmmaking world, was to follow and film a bee as it moved around its very organized yet very busy hive.
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Zaber's stages were very handy for this purpose. Using a joystick to control stage velocity it was possible to move incredibly smoothly within centimeters of the bees in any axis, giving a true bee's eye view. One shot was designed to mimic the perspective of a bee flying between two frames in a hive while rotating on its axis. Using a Zaber rotation stage, combined with a linear stage, this was easy to achieve.
Figure: Zaber rotation stage in motion
The accuracy and low speeds achievable with Zaber stages made it possible to track across a bee's head in real time, as it was communicating with another bee. This was done using a high magnification macro lens. These types of lenses are almost always limited to no movement due to accuracy, but Zaber motion control made this achievable.
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The entire shoot took place over thirty days and both Josh and Duncan found it an incredibly fascinating and rewarding process seeing into the world of a bee while achieving some incredible footage for the series.
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About Duncan Parker
Duncan is a lighting cameraman and filmmaker with 10 years of experience working with the BBC, Amazon, Netflix, NatGeo and independent production companies, across a variety of docu-film and wildlife series, shooting long lens, macro, and specialist cameras. He has a particular passion for the wildlife and people of Madagascar and has worked on various environmental films there.
Duncan has a BSC in Wildlife Conservation and enjoys working on films that raise environmental awareness and tell emotional stories that make a difference. When not filming he enjoys climbing, playing music with friends, surfing and furniture making.
To read more visit http://duncanparker.co.uk/wordpress/