NINA CONSTABLE | NATURE ON OUR DOORSTEPS
Nina Constable is an award winning self-shooting documentary film maker and producer, working on projects around the globe from conservation filmmaking to social documentary. Dedicated to capturing and exploring the world we live in Nina believes in the power of film and photography to educate, inspire and protect.
During this pandemic Nina has pioneered an inspiring nationwide project to encourage all of us to take notice of the incredible wildlife all around us...
When are you most calm?
Surfing. I have a very busy brain and it’s one of the few times I find myself not planning things or thinking ahead – in such a busy and usually noisy world it’s a time when I feel it’s ok to be totally peaceful.
When are you most excited?
I always get incredibly excited to check my footage at the end of a shoot day, even if it’s been an incredibly long day and I can hardly keep my eyes open I can never resist skimming through the rushes! At the moment, as I’m mostly editing, it’s checking camera traps I have set up in our field – I wake up every morning feeling like it’s Christmas and can’t wait to get down there to check them!
When are you most angry?
When I feel that decisions are made that prioritise the economy over the environment - the two can’t be mutually exclusive, we need a healthy environment to have a healthy economy and it makes me SO frustrated when this is ignored and overlooked. HS2 is a prime example of this, ploughing through so many ancient woodlands to save a handful of people 20 minutes commute time. It makes no sense to me at all.
When are you most motivated?
By stories of hope.
How has your work as a documentary filmmaker influenced and affected your lifestyle in general and the choices you make as a consumer?
I learn so much through every project that I work on that it’s impossible to ignore the changes and improvements I can continue to make through my own choices. Supporting local businesses is a big one and also businesses where sustainability is at the forefront of their ethos. I started growing my own veg about a year ago and we also just got chickens! Actually this should go in the excited answer, the excitement of lifting the lid on their coop and finding an egg – EGGCITING! Sorry.
Can you tell us about the multifaceted aspect of your work, how do you create films that both educate, challenge, entertain and inspire the audience?
By choosing projects/stories that I myself am inspired by. Although I often work alone when I’m filming my work is always a big collaboration. I start by doing a huge amount of research, talking a lot to scientists and specialists in the specific subject and then I will draft a script which will then be bounced back and forth to make sure it’s factually correct but also engaging. Once everyone involved is happy with how the story is being told and shot-lists are all finished I then crack on with the filming and then after that the editing! The editing is one of my favourite elements of the process, starting to see it all come together. I used to feel that because I am not a trained scientist that wildlife filmmaking was something out of my reach but I think in a lot of ways this has actually paid dividends, as I am my audience. If I am interested or inspired and if I am learning then I hope my audience feels the same.
What inspires you to keep making? Do you have any exciting future plans you'd like to explore?
The people.
There are a few projects I’ve had on the backburner for a while but with the situation we are all in a at the moment it is forcing me to re-consider these plans and whether I should be looking closer to home so I’m having a bit of re-think for the time being.
Can you tell us about the Wild World doorstep series and how you're getting involved with this nationwide project during lockdown?
Wild World: Doorstep Discoveries is a film project that emerged from the lockdown situation we are all in at the moment and noticing how so many people that wouldn’t normally be interested in nature have been turning to the outdoors to find a sense of calm and grounding.
The series is aimed at helping us all find solace in nature while we are in this period of uncertainty through telling simple stories of wildlife we can find on our doorsteps while we all have to stay close to home. I was pretty bowled over by the response when I first emailed a few contacts to see if they wanted to get involved – within 10 days I had the first episode ready with an amazing line-up including Nick Baker & Gillian Burke who are total heroes of mine.
Everyone, including myself, is giving their time to this for free and that is just incredible – a community of people putting nature & the environment up front and centre and just because they love it and want to share it with the world. That’s pretty inspiring and I am so, so grateful for the time and effort everyone is putting into helping me bring this all together.
It has sparked some new and surprising collaborations as well! The day I started planning the project and reaching out to people I got a wonderful message from a composer who was the pianist/trombonist from Mumford and Sons! He had come across my work and was interested in collaborating and he is now creating beautiful original scores for the entire series – serendipity! The project has also shown me how much you can achieve even with everything really stripped back. The main element in the project is the passion and excitement and importance of our natural environment so whether that’s shot on a RED, a DSLR or a phone, that still comes across and has made the series so special to me.
