My journey from studying Biosciences to working at the BBC Natural History Unit

Tom Parry is a Biosciences graduate, now working as a Self-Shooting Assistant Producer at the BBC Natural History Unit. Here, Tom discusses how his degree gave him the best possible start.

My biosciences degree enabled me to enter the industry I currently work in. When I was at university, I knew I wanted to work in TV, but I wasn’t sure which specific role. During my final year, I undertook a science media and communications project that played a crucial role in my next step: pursuing a master’s in wildlife filmmaking at the University of Bristol. This project provided me with evidence of my skills and interests, which proved invaluable when seeking opportunities in the industry.

It’s really important to have something to showcase when approaching individuals in the industry, whether it’s for job opportunities, seeking experience, or seeking advice. Fortunately, filmmaking is no longer an elitist endeavor. We all have a camera and computer in our pocket that are clever enough and capable of editing films, so just go for it.

In my current role as a Self-Shooting Assistant Producer at BBC Natural History Unit I have to be quite secretive about what I’m doing because I’ll be working under an NDA (non-disclosure agreement), but I currently have two projects that are quite close to being aired so I can tell you more about them.

New projects

I spent last summer in Botswana working on a project called Big Cats 24/7. The unique thing about this series is that we filmed continuously, 24/7, including at night. We worked in the Okavango Delta with a local crew, as well as a fairly sizable team from the BBC, to document three of the big cats in the area. It was an exciting project for me because the original series, Big Cat Diaries from the noughties, was one of my favorites.

Our team of 20 was together for 14 weeks, during which I was responsible for driving the presenters around and capturing whatever we encountered on film. The documentary style was observational, focusing on capturing events as they unfolded rather than following a strict script. As part of my role, I often engaged in self-shooting. Sometimes, I worked alongside a designated camera operator, directing their shots. However, due to the small size of our group being limited to working in a vehicle, I often juggled both roles at once.

This included capturing footage of the presenters, the cats, and flying a drone for aerial shots. Additionally, I directed the presenters by feeding them lines and steering conversations, ensuring we followed the narrative of the cat’s story. It was a real whirlwind fast turnaround project, particularly after spending nearly four years working on another series prior to this.

That previous project was what’s known in the industry as a landmark show, involving four years of work on a single episode. A landmark show, such as Planet Earth 3 which is currently airing, focuses solely on animal behavior without human presence on screen. This is a more challenging and ambitious endeavor, requiring a larger budget and extensive time in the field.

My experience

I worked on episodes focusing on cold-adapted mammals, and much of my work took place in Alaska and northern Canada, particularly in the Yukon region and the St. Elias ice fields. Additionally, I had the opportunity to film polar bears in Svalbard.

I also working on an episode about nocturnal mammals. For that, we were all over the place, but one of the really nice locations I got to go was in the Sahara desert, where we were working with foxes that are completely night-specialists and have this amazing, lovely existence under the stars. This involved filming by setting up a camera trap, a completely different approach to filmmaking, which shows how every shoot can be different and that’s one thing I really enjoy about it.

Jobs in TV

Here are some insights into some of the roles you might come across in the TV industry:

Production Management – People in these roles aren’t necessarily natural history specialists. They might spend time in the wildlife unit and then transition to sports or current affairs, for example. These people are very important because they make everything work better across all of the logistical challenge of making a TV show, which, as you can imagine, when doing something wildlife related is always huge!

Camera Operators – Sometimes, camera operation is a part of editorial work as well. But natural history is quite specialised because what you’re doing is really weird. You often find yourself stationed in a hide, patiently waiting to capture rare occurrences that may only happen once a fortnight. Whether it’s filming foxes under the moonlight with minimal illumination or using specialised equipment like drones to capture elusive behaviors from a distance, the tasks demand expertise with specific tools and techniques.

Typically, individuals who operate cameras in wildlife settings specialise in niche skills. For instance, there are those known for their exceptional ability to maintain focus on distant subjects using long lenses, such as Barry Britton for bird filming. Others excel in operating drones or handling complex fixed rigs effortlessly. Some demonstrate amazing resilience, enduring long periods in hides without succumbing to cabin fever.

If you want to become a camera operator in this industry, the path usually involves starting as a camera assistant, learning from experienced professionals, refining a particular skill, and gradually establishing a reputation for yourself. Eventually, you might transition to freelancing, being hired by production companies like ours. It’s worth noting that the BBC, particularly in natural history, heavily rely on freelancers rather than in-house camera operators.

Self-Shooting Assistant Producer – I work directly for the BBC in editorial, and this is a broader role where we do a bit of everything. This might include research, deciding on filming subjects, making contacts, assessing logistics, arranging shoots, directing in the field, and assembling the final program in the editing stage.

The editing process is my favourite as it’s the most creative aspect, transforming raw footage into something watchable. If you’re a camera operator, you are never involved in this part of the process because you hand over your footage at the end of a shoot and you have no say what happens to it – you just have to hope it gets cut in a way that you like. If you work in editorial, you’re involved in the whole part of the filmmaking process, dipping your toes in to lots of different areas and that’s what I really enjoy about it.

I’ve been on shoots for 22 weeks this year. For me, that’s like as much as I want to do. The rest of the time, I’ve been having a relatively sort of normal life doing a kind of 9 to 5 in an office. I like the fact that there’s a balance between those two things – you get to go on some cool adventures, but at the same time you can try and have a relatively normal life.

And finally…

If I could offer any advice, it would be to simply dive in and not let the fear of the technical aspects of filmmaking hold you back. Whatever form of science communication it is you want to do, just give it a try. Even if you make mistakes, you’ll learn from them.

Discover more about studying Biosciences at The University of Manchester.