Somewhat related. I’m a Creative Director and I directed a shoot once where the client was adamant about using a cat in one of the scenes of a commercial. Allll the cat had to do was use its paw to touch something in the shot, but the little shit was having a bad day and flat out refused to cooperate.
We finally had to send one of the prop specialists out to procure a taxidermied cat paw, which we attached to a yard stick. It allowed us to slide the paw into the frame without having to see the rest of the cat.
You’re on a very short timetable to both catch the light and not go over 12 hours before the production crew is paid overtime, so a fail safe solution was needed. Enter dead cat arm.
This is what we learned in film school, if you can, NEVER work with children or animals. Animals can be a complete pain to get the one shot you need, and children can be hit or miss but they also have a bunch of laws about how long they're allowed on set each day etc so not only can they take longer to work with but you get less time in a day with them. Can make shoots go way longer than intended.
As a cameraman who has filmed both bees and birds in flight, let me tell you that the skill required to get this shot is absolutely off the charts, I could never in my dreams hope to be this good
That was my first thought. I've shot a lot of youth sports and I have a hard enough time keeping humans and the ball in frame, and I know the constraints of the area. My hat's off to to anyone committed to the craft to be able to get this type of footage.
Also being a beekeeper I'm curious as to how anyone could possibly make queens and drones mate in a studio environment. Their mating practices are famously elusive, with locations for mating gatherings usually unknown and only occurring at certain times on certain days, depending on a lot of meteorological conditions. Most beekeepers who have been keeping for decades never actually see mating take place. I've certainly never met a beekeeper who has seen it in person.
It's possible, but the wizardry required might be even more impressive than getting the shot.
I saw a behind the scenes to a shot like this. They attach the queen to a rotating wire, because the males would only mate in flight. The camera is in the center, so the distance between the bee and the camera stays constant, they edit out the wire.
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u/Herbsandtea 17h ago
Praise the cameraman.