NETFLIX Our Great National Parks - Eps.5 Mt. Leuser: Sumatran Orangutan
I’d say the Orangutan shoot was the most challenging of all. Just to reach the location, we had to take a two-hour boat ride after nearly two days of driving from the main base camp the day before.
Waking up at 3 am and returning at 5 pm became our daily routine. We aimed to follow the Orangutans from nest to nest to capture their natural behavior. The area we worked in was a swamp, which added to the difficulty. There was a single slippery wooden plank to walk on from the camp to the forest, but most of the time, we had to go off the track where the plank ended—leaving us with nothing but water.
The only way to transport the kit to the camp was by crossing the river in a small boat.
A wooden plank stretched across the middle of the research transect, with only enough space for one foot in front of the other.
I fell into holes countless times, barely seeing them as they were covered with water and thick layers of leaves. Wearing rubber boots seemed almost pointless since we often had to wade through swamp water that could be as deep as my knees.
In this environment, a hammock was essential—without it, we had nothing to sit on. Whether resting after running around to find a good angle to film the orangutans or taking a lunch break, we did everything in the hammock. We avoided sitting on the swampy ground, especially if there were cemengang trees nearby. This fruit, a favorite of the orangutans, has tiny hairs that can cause severe itching and even infection if they touch your skin. Sometimes, we’d see the fruits drop into the swamp, their hairs drifting in the water—once those hairs made contact with our skin, the itching and rash were unbearable.
Despite the hardships, we had a very successful shoot after weeks of hard work in the swamp. Although I wasn’t there to film the entire sequence, I had the opportunity to capture some shots and the pickup shots of GVs.
The setup I had to carry all through the jungle while filming orangutans. RED DSMC2 Gemini, Canon CN20 50-1000mm, Sachtler Cine 30HD
