Viking Cruises

e production manager generally works ahead of the team shooting, ensuring smooth and efficient processes to get to and from each location. e producer carries a lot of responsibility as they direct the presenter in the field and prepare the scripts for handing the footage to the editors. e Director of Photography is possibly the hardest working person on the day of the shoot. ey not only compose the shots and review the scripts with the scriptwriter/presenter and producer but also establish lighting requirements and best angles. What kind of equipment do you use, and how has technology influenced how you shoot Explore TV? How we film each episode has changed dramatically in the past 17 years since we launched the series. e cameras are about 10kg lighter than the old versions and the lenses are much smaller but equally powerful. Drones add a very different perspective to the visuals in a way that once only helicopters and planes could offer, but operating drones is highly regulated and the safety considerations required are enormous. Drones cannot fly over people in crowds and can not be flown close to animals, so this adds different types of complexity to shoots. Underwater filming is another challenge, and the GoPro's advent has made the process less expensive and more accessible. Regarding audio, our team has seen new ways to use technology to ensure premium outcomes. AI is playing a role in post-audio production by taking out certain distracting noises that would have once seen us do several attempts to get a presentation to camera completed. How do you balance storytelling and educational content during the editing phase? For me, the story has to offer either a sense of entertainment or education and I've always felt it critical to share as much information as possible when constructing the story. Being the researcher and writer is vitally important and it's my personal credibility on the line. Whether the content is historical, geographical, cultural, natural or culinary, the viewer needs to feel that they better understand what we are experiencing. e pre-planning for episodes is vitally important. is means the script which evolves, including on site in the field, is the story's foundation so the editors are only using the narrative as set out to match the imagery we have captured as we travelled. Ultimately, the editor needs to be able to say to themselves, wow, I never knew that. I know when we are back in our studios and I hear that, we have done our jobs well. What has been your favourite place you have filmed and why? It's almost impossible to narrow down a single place. We have filmed in so many places, and my natural inquisitiveness demands that I look for new things. I've visited Canada at least 16 times in the last two decades, and I never tire of discovering new things when visiting. e same can be said for New Zealand, Ireland, and even ailand, where we have gone from the beaches to the mountains and discovered remote rainforests. One of my favourite places in the world is the small city of Bergen in Norway. It's absolutely beautiful and a wonderful base for exploring the nearby countryside. It has a history dating back over 1,000 years to the Vikings and later, Hanseatic merchants who established it as an important trade port. Today, I really look forward to its exquisite colourful timber buildings, amazing food and picturesque scenery before embarking on a journey with Viking, as this is its hometown/port. Do you buy a souvenir in each destination to remember it by? I love collecting momentos, but my Director of Photography Lawrence – who has done most of these trips with me – has the best collection of fridge magnets I've ever seen. Personally, it's usually a unique keepsake for me, something special from the region. ings such as Canadian maples and African tulip trees are not something we can bring into Australia, so I sometimes hunt these things down on my return and as they grow, I remember unique experiences from that trip, such as driving the Cabot Trail in Eastern Canada or seeing forests of tulip trees in flower in Mozambique. You have done a lot of travel in your time, do you have any packing tips? I'm a big list writer – as Santa does, I write a list and check it twice – oh and it is very important to start packing a couple of days before departing, last minute packing guarantees you'll forget something important. Practical things such as rolling ironed shirts instead of laying them flat really works. Of course, checking out what it is you are likely to experience is important. My month of January 2024 started in Japan with lows of 0°C and then moved to Singapore with highs of Below: Trevor in Madrid 50 VIKING

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