Profile Spotlight: Martin Dohrn

[Profile Spotlights]

Martin Dohrn is on the cutting edge of night vision filmmaking. With his company Ammonite Films, he has captured some spectacular images of the natural world. See the world in a new light, below!

Ammonite 4k night from Ammonite Films on Vimeo.

"Ammonite has been working with night vision technology for over 15 years, and has developed some special cameras. ... We are often asked this question: 'Why use a Starlight, infra red or thermal camera, why not just use a regular camera and lights?' ... At night, visible light is a powerful thing, and its presence completely alters the behaviour of many creatures – in particular, predators. Filming nocturnal predators with visible light at night is pointless if you are trying to film what they actually do. Any visible light will alter the prey they select, alter how the prey escapes (or not) and the method the predators use to get it. Visible light will also alter the relationship between all the animals present, prey or predator, sometimes causing fights, at other times causing panic. Using visible light and daylight cameras also means you have a very restricted range. A 2 kilowatt light is unlikely to go much more than 50m."

Find out more: Ammonite Films.

One Day on Earth: Who are you and what is your profession?
Martin: I am Martin Dohrn and I am a natural history filmmaker.

One Day on Earth: Can you tell us a little about your background and upbringing?
Martin: I was born in New Zealand, and studied to be a documentary photographer before realising that my true interest lay in the natural world.

One Day on Earth: What inspired you to become a filmmaker?
Martin: It's hard to find a precise reason why I became a filmmaker. K.N. Singh at Guildford College of Art was the first person to put a movie camera in my hand. The work of
Oxford Scientific Films in the seventies and eighties, the BBC series 'The World About Us', David Attenborough's 'Zoo Quest' and of course, Life on Earth.

One Day on Earth: Who or what do you most admire?
Martin: David Attenborough is a great inspiration, along with other filmmakers, such as Hugh Miles, Alan Root, as well as late 19th century explorers and naturalists, such as Alfred Russell Wallace.

One Day on Earth: What do you have?
Martin: Far too many cameras who's obsolescence is always approaching at an ever increasing rate - and a production company dedicated to seeing the natural world in new ways.

One Day on Earth: What do you need?
Martin: Money to keep developing new ideas.

One Day on Earth: What are you planning on filming for 12.12.12?
Martin: Flocking starlings as they come in to roost in a reed bed. Since a lot of our work is focussed on night and the boundary between night and day, the starlings give us an opportunity to try some new things - in case we discover something different - and bring some fresh images to one of the most spectacular wildlife spectacles anywhere in the world (if the starlings behave themselves).

[Zuzana]

wow, amazing!!!

[Janice Jordan]

Precious!

[Nancy Greene]

Beautiful!

[Maria Oliva]

Just Incredible amazing!!

[Daniel Pavlić]

wow!!!!! :-)

[Helena Brikke]

Having camped out in Kenya a lot, amazing to see at last what was going on out there , during the night!

[Wake up on Earth]

Wow fantastic