In a first-of-its-kind initiative, prominent wildlife conservation organisation Aaranyak organised a 3-day workshop on nature and wildlife filmmaking, which emphasised on the power of visual storytelling through the medium of films.

The workshop was organised in Guwahati during March 8 to March 10, in association with Nikon India as equipment partner and ecoNE as media partner.

The workshop was inaugurated by Dr. Bibhab Kumar Talukdar, Secretary General & CEO of Aaranyak, where he encouraged the participants to take up the cause of conservation through their camera work.

Kumar Kishor Kalita, Official of Nikon India encouraged the participants to take the advantage of technical advancements in the field of photography and videography for better storytelling.

“During the workshop, various topics such as basics of videography and cinematography, understanding nature and wildlife subjects, story development and video editing were covered. Participants also took part in outdoor video shooting in Garbhanga Reserve Forest and developing their own practice projects during the process of learning various aspects of filmmaking," Aaranyak said in a press statement.

Sanjib Parasar, Lecturer, Motion Picture Photography Department of Dr. Bhupen Hazarika Regional Government Film and Television Institute in Kamrup, Assam conducted a thought-provoking session on documentary filmmaking.

The workshop was coordinated with the facility and expertise available within the Media Production & Communications Division of Aaranyak. Udayan Borthakur, a Senior Scientist and a wildlife photographer and filmmaker conducted various sessions of the workshop while Chinmoy Swargiary, Documentation & Production Officer in Aaranyak conducted the sessions on video editing. Munmita Boruah, Manager of the Division coordinated the overall organisation of the workshop.

"This workshop is part of a series of workshops on communication skill development for better storytelling on nature and wildlife subjects. We will continue to organise more such workshops on various related topics in the future as well," said Udayan Borthakur, Head of Media Production & Communications Division of Aaranyak.

(Reporting and image by Hemanta Kumar Nath)