Viking Cruises

Lights, Camera, Explore BEHIND THE SCENES WITH EXPLORE TV Join Explore TV's host, Trevor Cochrane, for an exclusive peek into the captivating world of travel broadcasting. Trevor candidly shares his insights on the logistical intricacies of filming across diverse global landscapes, the laughter-filled anecdotes from the field, and the rewarding aspects of bringing the world's wonders to our screens. How do you come up with the concepts for each episode or series? We work closely with the head of daytime programming at Channel 9 to develop destinations and journeys of great interest to viewers. Our goal is to be different, head off the beaten track and provide information that helps viewers genuinely learn more about this remarkable planet we live on. We then find aligned thinkers and work with them, sometimes, it's tourism organisations or conservation foundations and other times, it's organisations focused on providing the thinking person inspiration to travel, like Viking. In the past, this strategy has seen us visit the mountain people in the ai Laos mountain regions, visit ancient burial mounds older than the pyramids in Ireland, travel to meet the Kitasoo and Xai'xais people, the guardians of the Spirit bear and Sasquatch in the rainforest village of Klemtu in British Columbia. Along with remarkable experiences like pulling spider crab pots in Norway, sailing the straights between Ireland and England, and experiencing the juxtaposition of an endless line of oil rigs on one side and wind turbines as far as you can see on the other. Cruising UNESCO world heritage regions has just become another experience we have started documenting for the curious mind. Nature is a big part of every episode. We have been fortunate to swim with Beluga whales, the world's largest Bull Sharks, watch a mother grizzly bear teach her cubs how to catch salmon and live in a Tundra Buggy Hotel on the tundra with Polar bears knocking on our windows. We've walked melting ice glaciers with scientists confirming the impact global warming is having and explored the Canadian Maritimes aboard a Russian scientific ship, learning more about whales and the wild horses of Sable Island, which have all been highlights. It's one of those tasks where you research the most incredible stories and their backgrounds before adding them to a list of potential episodes that can take years to get up and off the ground. How much planning goes into each episode, and what's the timeline for pre-production? Every destination is researched over 12 months, starting with sign-off with our programmers at Channel 9. We work with multiple stakeholders to bring every episode together, and there are many different aspects to consider, from seeking permission to film in the countries/regions we visit to planning logistics of moving large amounts of camera equipment and selecting the right crew for each project. ere are vaccinations, accommodations and a lot of research to be done on each story before we draft scripts, allowing us to plan what is required for each story. e final three months are intensive as we set all plans in place, and sometimes the best- laid plans fall over. We have had typhoons hit us, wars erupt, earthquakes occur, and a little pandemic shutting the world down. ese things have all thrown our plans into disarray in the past. How long does it take to film each story for an episode? Every story is different. Sometimes, we arrive at a location and realise that a story we thought was great is much bigger and requires more thought and planning. is can see a single story take 14 hours to film or as little as four. Generally, we'd never get a story filmed properly in under four hours. Our Director of Photography usually wants time to film using different format cameras, drones, underwater cameras, etc. and each takes time to set up. en there are the unknown factors, weather, animals, children, and traffic, all of which add complexity to any filming process. Clockwise, from above: Trevor and the crew in Salamanca, Bruges, Cartagena, the Explorers' Lounge and The Kitchen Table in Bergen. 48 VIKING Watch ExploreTV's latest series with Viking

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