Photography and Filming in Antarctica - Literature review Example

Filming and Photography Student’s Name Code+ course name Instructor’s Name Institution City, State Date Filming and Photography Introduction According to Pibernat et al. (2007), the Antarctica region has been considered as one of the most challenging areas for human survival. The climate in the regions has been characterized by extremely low temperatures with ice sheets covering the land for the most part of the year. Many people would not manage to survive I these extreme conditions, which implies that research in such areas, may be difficult to conduct. The Antarctic region is one of the areas that face the real changes as far as climate change is concerned (Doran et al., 2002). The role of documentaries in exposing the features of the features of the Antarctica has been very useful to many people including scholars. Documentaries and pictures carry many details that can be used for entertaining, educating and informing. Not everybody around the globe has a chance to visit and explore the unique parts of the world like the Antarctica due to the expenses involved. Therefore, pictures and photographs are useful in virtually taking people on a tour to such places (Wiles, et al., 2008). Photography and filming are very essential tools for documenting real features as can be perceived by the eye. The digital documentation of the images and the films can be used to produce documentaries and nondocumentary pieces. This paper will take a close look at the Antarctic its special features and establish how important filming and photographing can be used to help other people understand the Antarctica. Importance of photography and filming For many years, writing has been used as the main way of documenting ideas and facts. In research, writing or typed words are paramount in presenting information to the literate people. However, the limitation to only the literate people makes the used of text information to be a disadvantage to a particular group of individuals (Fraser, 2012). Illiteracy may not be the only issue in this case as some areas use different patterns to represent letters. For instance, the alphabetical letters in English are not the same as those in Arabic. The communication in the text is therefore not a universal way to pass a message to a wide a variety of people. On the other hand, filming and photographing presents a solution to this challenge of passing information across the entire world. Photographs and films, unless edited, present the real state of affairs and are capable of presenting features as they appear on the ground. Regardless of the quality of the images, the features can easily be identified as well as explained (Barnwell, 2008). For instance, books have been used to explain the features found in the Antarctica, but words have not been enough to convince the reader. Most books use images to back up their text in an attempt to ensure that the exact message is displayed. Human beings have a tendency to get attracted to visual features as they find an opportunity to conduct their analyses and make conclusions (Pink, 2008). Images provide viewers with freedom to make their interpretations, unlike text where descriptions are made basing on the perception of the writers. It is easier to convince people with images as compared to text since images may provide an opportunity for one to explain as people witness. According to Pink (2008), an expedition to the Antarctica that takes the opportunity to create either still of moving images provides other with an opportunity to experience the features in the Antarctica. Students can easily explain such features once the see them as images. Special characteristics or phenomenon that occurs in the Antarctica such as glaciations can easily be understood when photographed or filmed (Pink, 2008). In most cases, such features are unique and many people around the world may only consider them as mere stories. However, when photographs and films are used as evidence, the marvel that happens in these parts of the world people tend to accept they are real. For instance, the way people survive in the Polar Regions is very different from the rest of the world. Phenomenon such as Antarctica region witnessing the sun for very few days in the year may seem like a theory among most people. They are some of the proofs about the nature of the earth and not just the special characteristics of the Antarctic. Films and photographs can be collected to make documentaries used to explain such phenomenon (Wiles, et al., 2008). Nondocumentary movies also created in the Antarctic regions not only allow people to be entertained but also to allow viewers understand the characteristics and features of the Antarctica. Viewers can learn the survival techniques for various organisms in the Antarctica. Special features of the Antarctica that can be filmed or photographed According to Doran et al. (2002), the Antarctica is a unique place in the entire world where life trends and environmental characteristics significantly vary from the rest of the world. Similarities may only be identified in the Arctic region on the other pole of the globe. The knowledge of earth systems has always revealed that the Antarctica is a freezing place where temperatures may fall beyond the freezing point of pure water (G., 2013). The situation is a direct contrast to the Arabic states in the Middle East where environmental temperatures may rise above the normal human body temperature. The Antarctic is practically a very cold region with little heat trapped in the atmosphere. Ice sheets cover most parts of the land, which make it challenging for human beings and animals to survive in such extreme conditions. The fact that the sun may not be seen for the better part of the year is one of the reasons as to why the temperatures are extremely low. Many authors have referred to the Antarctica as the cold continent while others has referred to it as the cold planet (Doran et al., 2002). These names openly imply that life in these areas is far away from normal life in other parts of the world. The survival skill of people in this area is a good pick for photographing or filming. The main aim of the images to be retrieved is to show what people in the Antarctica do to survive in such harsh environmental conditions. Both documentaries and nondocumentaries have been used to show how people live in these areas as well as the type of organisms that survive in these cold areas. The heroic documentaries such as ‘The South Pole Film’ may have edited images, but the editing is only to bring out heroism. However, the features of the environment in the Antarctica remain real, and the threats to be witnessed in the region are real. The non-documentary films may undergo editing to produce several versions due to the expense of shooting videos in such areas (Fraser, 2012). Some movies may include alien species, but this may only be used for entertainment. Almost all the movies that have been written with the main setting as the Antarctica have titles that describe the area as a very cold region. Antarctica has been portrayed as an area where surviving needs inherent skills and creativity. Consider titles such as ‘quick before it melts,’ ‘the day after tomorrow,’ and ‘hell below zero,’ provides the viewer with a rough picture about the Antarctica. Several documentaries can be used to present a version that is not so much exaggerated for people to understand the way of life of the living in the coldest region on earth. Many people still wonder if people and animals live in this area and the type of food they eat since vegetation is a rare species in the region (Doran et al., 2002). In case of vegetation exists how the leaves make food through photosynthesis. Films and documentaries try to bring out this image. Images can show the type of animals in the areas, activities and the survival techniques in the areas. Films and photographs help people from various parts of the world solve these puzzles by providing a clue of how life is in the Antarctica. Documentaries are critical in providing the survival techniques of such areas and may dig deeper to reveal more reality (Pink, 2008). In most case, documentaries take account of events that are routine and those that occur over a long period. Such approach of presenting life style and features in the Antarctica can be beneficial to people from most parts of the world. Exaggeration and authenticity It can be argued that the most of the non-documentary films are exaggerated which may create a completely different understanding of the Antarctica. For instance, films that portray existence of aliens do not provide the authentic information (Schummer, 2013). Such films are well edited to create the world that does not exist in real life. In most cases, they present the harshest conditions that would realistically rule out the presence of life in such areas. However, some films that are not so much exaggerated can bring out an authentic Antarctic environment. Movies that do not aim to portray extraordinary movements of objects are very good in making people understand the Antarctic environment. Such moves only have specific features edited, which include color and sound. The types of movement remain natural in such a way that viewers can trust them. Explorers in the modern days compile photographs and films to create a narration famously known as documentaries (Fraser, 2012). Most documentaries are not exaggerated although some may seem to portray extraordinary movements or features. Explores target to capture the most amazing scenes like those in the Antarctic, compile them and create documentaries. Despite the fact that producers of such multimedia have a commercial interest, the documentaries have proven to be entertaining informing and educating the people who view them. Photographs of nature are very beautiful, and such techniques have been used to capture the beauty of the Antarctica. Conclusion The Antarctica is one of the regions on the earth plate considered areas of extreme climatic conditions. Some movies and films have been used to create a notion that life is completely inhabitable in these regions while other films and photographs show that people and other living organisms exist in this region. In as far as, films and photographs are concerned; the Antarctica can be represented in two different ways. It has been established that films and movies can present either an exaggerated environment or an authentic environment of the Antarctica. The exaggerated movies may have extraordinary movements or creatures, which may make people, misunderstand the characteristics of the Antarctica. On the other hand, the films and photographs that have not been exaggerated create a natural view of the environment that can help people develop a clear understanding of the Antarctica region. Bibliography Barnwell, J., 2008, The Fundamentals of Film Making. Worthing: AVA Publishing. Retrieved from Jane Barnwell. Doran, P. T., Lyons, B. W., & McKnight, D. M., 2002, Life in Antarctic Deserts and other Cold Dry Environments: Astrobiological Analogs. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Fraser, N., 2012, Why Documentaries Matter. Retrieved from Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism: https://reutersinstitute.politics.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/Why%20%20Documentaries%2 0Matter_0.pdf Walker G., 2013, Antarctica: An Intimate Portrait of a Mysterious Continent. Houghton: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Pibernat, R. A., Evans, C. E., & Hinghofer-Szalkay, H. G., 2007, Life in Extreme Environments. New York: Springer Science & Business Media. Pink, S., 2008, Mobilising Visual Ethnography: Making Routes, Making Place and Making Images. Retrieved from Forum: Qualitative Social Research Vol 9 No. 3: https://bscw.uni- wuppertal.de/pub/bscw.cgi/d8022020/Pink.pdf Schummer, J., 2013, The Nature of Film: Presentation, Representation and the Imagination. Retrieved from Thesis: http://sdsu- dspace.calstate.edu/bitstream/handle/10211.10/4293/Schummer_Jordan.pdf;sequence=1 Wiles, R., Prosser, J., Banoli, A., Clark, A., Davies, K., Holland, S., & Renold, E., 2008, Visual Ethics: Ethical Issues in Visual Research. Retrieved from ESRC National Centre for Research Methods Review Paper: http://eprints.ncrm.ac.uk/421/1/MethodsReviewPaperNCRM- 011.pdf Read More

Most books use images to back up their text in an attempt to ensure that the exact message is displayed. Human beings have a tendency to get attracted to visual features as they find an opportunity to conduct their analyses and make conclusions (Pink, 2008). Images provide viewers with freedom to make their interpretations, unlike text where descriptions are made basing on the perception of the writers. It is easier to convince people with images as compared to text since images may provide an opportunity for one to explain as people witness.

According to Pink (2008), an expedition to the Antarctica that takes the opportunity to create either still of moving images provides other with an opportunity to experience the features in the Antarctica. Students can easily explain such features once the see them as images. Special characteristics or phenomenon that occurs in the Antarctica such as glaciations can easily be understood when photographed or filmed (Pink, 2008). In most cases, such features are unique and many people around the world may only consider them as mere stories.

However, when photographs and films are used as evidence, the marvel that happens in these parts of the world people tend to accept they are real. For instance, the way people survive in the Polar Regions is very different from the rest of the world. Phenomenon such as Antarctica region witnessing the sun for very few days in the year may seem like a theory among most people. They are some of the proofs about the nature of the earth and not just the special characteristics of the Antarctic. Films and photographs can be collected to make documentaries used to explain such phenomenon (Wiles, et al., 2008). Nondocumentary movies also created in the Antarctic regions not only allow people to be entertained but also to allow viewers understand the characteristics and features of the Antarctica.

Viewers can learn the survival techniques for various organisms in the Antarctica. Special features of the Antarctica that can be filmed or photographed According to Doran et al. (2002), the Antarctica is a unique place in the entire world where life trends and environmental characteristics significantly vary from the rest of the world. Similarities may only be identified in the Arctic region on the other pole of the globe. The knowledge of earth systems has always revealed that the Antarctica is a freezing place where temperatures may fall beyond the freezing point of pure water (G., 2013). The situation is a direct contrast to the Arabic states in the Middle East where environmental temperatures may rise above the normal human body temperature.

The Antarctic is practically a very cold region with little heat trapped in the atmosphere. Ice sheets cover most parts of the land, which make it challenging for human beings and animals to survive in such extreme conditions. The fact that the sun may not be seen for the better part of the year is one of the reasons as to why the temperatures are extremely low. Many authors have referred to the Antarctica as the cold continent while others has referred to it as the cold planet (Doran et al., 2002). These names openly imply that life in these areas is far away from normal life in other parts of the world.

The survival skill of people in this area is a good pick for photographing or filming. The main aim of the images to be retrieved is to show what people in the Antarctica do to survive in such harsh environmental conditions. Both documentaries and nondocumentaries have been used to show how people live in these areas as well as the type of organisms that survive in these cold areas. The heroic documentaries such as ‘The South Pole Film’ may have edited images, but the editing is only to bring out heroism.

However, the features of the environment in the Antarctica remain real, and the threats to be witnessed in the region are real. The non-documentary films may undergo editing to produce several versions due to the expense of shooting videos in such areas (Fraser, 2012).

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