Wildlife storytelling in the age of digital media

Known for her natural acting, Recently, the City of Joy witnessed an insightful evening dedicated to the art and challenges of wildlife filmmaking in the age of digital media.

- ROUSHAN CHATTERJEE

Known for her natural acting, Recently, the City of Joy witnessed an insightful evening dedicated to the art and challenges of wildlife filmmaking in the age of digital media. The event was organised by SHER (Society for Heritage and Ecological Researches) in collaboration with Birla Academy of Art and Culture and Nalla's Ark. Held at the Birla Academy, the session featured five-time National award-winning wildlife filmmaker Subbiah Nallamuthu.

Titled 'Wildlife Filmmaking in the Age of Social Media and Digital Disruption', the session provided a glimpse into the evolving landscape of wildlife storytelling in a world that is largely dominated by AI-generated content and 30-second reels. In his session, Nallamuthu openly highlighted the challenges and opportunities that await wildlife filmmaking in a fast-paced world of short-form content.

"Things have changed very much," Nallamuthu told The Statesman. Emphasising on the evolution, Nallamuthu further added, "Wildlife filmmaking has evolved tremendously. Today, audiences prefer OTT platforms and short-form content. Even in OTT, they want a three-part series. Social media demands reels and shorts and people are no longer patient with traditional wildlife documentaries."