ANIMAL SHOW
Zoom in on Singapore Zoo

Animal Planet is shooting wildlife at the zoo - with a camera, not a gun - for a 13-part, US$500,000 documentary called Wild Island

By Samuel Lee

IMAGINE spending US$500,000 (S$923,000) at the zoo.

That is how much Animal Planet (SCV channel 30) says it is investing on its first documentary series in Singapore. Last week, it also announced that Wild Island - a 13-parter that goes behind the scenes at The Singapore Zoological Gardens - will be shown internationally next July.

Man of the wild, Sunrise Entertainment managing director Chris Batson (foreground) joins his crew on the set of Wild Planet at the Singapore Zoological Gardens.

According to the series' executive producer, Mr Vikram Channa, 33, this is the first time a regional network has commissioned a local production house to shoot a full-length documentary series in and on Singapore.

Discovery Channel (SCV Channel 33), which co-owns the three-year-old Animal Planet with BBC, has been actively co-producing and commissioning programmes here. These include Burning Earth (1997) with Singapore Television 12 and Artifacts (1999) with Singapore-based LiveArt Entertainment. A two-part follow-up called Ancient Chinese Inventions is now under production.

Unlike Artifacts and Ancient Chinese Inventions, which were shot in different parts of Asia, Wild Island is being filmed entirely in Singapore - specifically at the zoo in Mandai.

The series is being sold as a fly-on-the-wall-type reality TV series - as opposed to conventional documentaries which are planned carefully, involve long waiting times and come with a detailed shooting script. This means that the camera crew goes to the scene to film what happens there and then, with minimal editing.

Of the Wild Island project, which was conceived two years ago, Malaysian James Gibbons, 32, vice-president of programming at Discovery, said: 'What we wanted was to find drama that is inherent in real life at one of the best zoos in the world.'

He explained why Animal Planet is putting money into local programming when the chips are down. Besides trying to make the network truly relevant to the region, it hopes that more commissioned programmes will help spruce up the broadcasting industry here.

Starting in September, Sunrise Entertainment, the company tasked to produce Wild Island, has been sending a six-man crew with two cameras down to Mandai.

'Every morning, we'll sit down with the zoo keepers and find out what's been going on,' said Sunrise's managing director, Australian Chris Batson, 45.

So far, Sunrise has spent 45 to 50 days filming at the zoo, and shooting will last through Christmas.

Each of the 13 episodes, of which eight have been completed, has a specific theme. These include topics like a day with the head keeper, feeding time, births and deaths, and even a lively ethical debate on whether there should be animal performances in a zoo.

It has been sheer hard work, but also a fun experience for Mr Batson, who joked: 'We've not been eaten yet, so that's good.'