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MONKEY KINGDOM JOHN MERLI
MAKING DISNEYNATURE’S MONKEY KINGDOM Shooting in the Jungles of Sri Lanka with Sony’s F65 Camera
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photo by jeff wilson
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isneynature’s latest documentary feature film Monkey Kingdom engaged a production team including director Mark Linfield, co-director Alastair Fothergill, and codirectors of photography Martyn Colbeck and Gavin Thurston for nearly three years in the steamy jungles of South Asia in hopes of following a family of toque macaques. Linfield—perhaps best known for his work on the BBC Natural History Unit television project Planet Earth (2006), the associated theatrical film Earth (2007) and the Frozen Planet series (2011)— had shot a project in Sri Lanka with director of photography Gavin Thurston nearly two decades ago, so they were somewhat familiar with the area and its native fauna. That project “started a lifelong fascination with primates,” says Linfield, who also directed Disneynature’s Chimpanzees (2012). Disneynature is the independent film unit of Walt Disney Studios. Monkey Kingdom reunited Linfield with Dr. Wolfgang Dittus, Ph.D., whose nearly 50-year study of the macaques of Sri Lanka was a huge asset to the production. His knowledge allowed filmmakers to understand the macaques’ social structure, day-to-day lives and individual personality traits. “Our many decades of past research invested in these toque macaques paid dividends for the production,” says Dittus. “Not only did we know these monkeys intimately, but the monkeys were perfectly at ease and behaved normally when the film crew pointed a camera at them.” Linfield notes, “We worked with scientists and spent months in the field familiarizing ourselves with the habits of these fascinating creatures. I immediately knew I wanted Martyn and Gavin as principal cinematographers. Both have huge experience working with primates, which gives
Maya and her son Kip
creativeplanetnetwork.com | 06.2015
