Rewilding Patagonia

Spanning thousands of square kilometers with colossal mountains, giant glaciers and an array of unique wildlife, Patagonia is one of the world’s greatest wildernesses. Though celebrated for its breathtaking beauty and ecological importance, the region is vulnerable to climate change and land overuse.

Rising temperatures, glacier melt, and extreme weather, combined with human activities, have led to the extinction and decline of key species in Argentinian Patagonia, threatening the region’s biodiversity.

Rewilding is a modern conservation strategy which aims to protect and restore ecosystems. It often involves reintroducing or relocating key species that have vanished, helping to reverse local extinctions.

Piotr Niemczewski, a Los Angeles-based filmmaker and his partner, Wiktoria Ciesielska, a biologist and wildlife filmmaking student, traveled to the heart of Patagonia Park Argentina to capture the essence of rewilding for a thought-provoking documentary.

The couple describe the extraordinary moments witnessed during their three week journey and reveal how their compact setup was able to withstand the region’s extreme cold temperatures.

What do you hope to achieve by making the documentary?

Wiktoria: In addition to promoting rewilding, we wanted to show the work and struggles of the Rewilding Argentina team at Parque Patagonia as an example of how active conservation could be carried out in other areas. Naturally, we also aim to inspire and cultivate sensitivity towards wildlife, showcasing its delicate and endangered beauty. This film will be my feature length directorial debut, finished soon after graduating with the Wildlife Filmmaking degree at the University of Salford. For Piotr, it’s a first step towards wildlife filmmaking, as most of his previous cinematography work consisted of music videos and narrative short films.

Can you tell us more about the area you traveled in?

Wiktoria: We filmed at Parque Patagonia Argentina, primarily in the canyons surrounding Estancia El Unco, during the month of July. The park protects the Patagonian Steppe in the Santa Cruz region. Rewilding Argentina, with the support of the Freyja Foundation, work there to restore the typical ecological processes of the steppe, such as predation and migration, which have been significantly affected in recent decades. The term rewilding captures the essence of what’s happening there. Wonderful people are fighting to restore nature, for the ecosystem to recover, to be reborn, to be wild again.

What were your most memorable highlights?

Wiktoria: Each day of the shoot was special. With no internet, and neighboring roads closed, it was just us in the middle of the vast wilderness. There was this incredible silence that enabled us to hear the wind passing through condors’ wings, flying high above us. We knew we might have been the only humans within hundreds of kilometers, being watched by pumas hiding in the surrounding cliffs. We enjoyed every moment, capturing the best footage possible to spread the admiration we felt for this place. It was an adventure unlike any other we had. We learned so much and gained invaluable experience working in such remote and extreme conditions. Patagonia stole our hearts. We have just returned and are already planning when and how to get back there.

“Patagonia stole our hearts. We learned so much, gaining invaluable experience working in such remote and extreme conditions. We already plan to go back there.” – Wiktoria

What wildlife did you see?

Piotr: We aimed to showcase the diversity of wildlife inhabiting Parque Patagonia in our film, and thanks to the professional trackers and conservationists from the Rewilding Argentina foundation, we discovered some rare and surprising species. Besides the widely present guanacos and Andean condors soaring above our heads, we managed to film Wolffsohn’s viscacha – a rabbit/squirrel-like rodent native to South America. We also saw the Crested caracara, a beautiful bird of prey, and even the elusive Pampas cat. One of the most surreal sights was watching Darwin’s rheas walking alongside a group of guanacos through snow-covered landscapes.

Of course, we couldn’t leave Patagonia without capturing at least one shot of a puma. Even though pumas weren’t the focus of our film, we allocated three days to track and film them. The first day wasn’t successful, and on the second day, we finally spotted one far away. However, it was on the last day that we got our best shots. On that day, the mother of two cubs that we had been tracking for many hours suddenly decided to reveal herself. She emerged on a cliff right in front of us, layed down as if posing, and then calmly left. Pumas are incredibly hard to find because they blend perfectly with the rocky environment and observe without movement or sound. Having a bright, high-resolution monitor was crucial in spotting them from afar. I don’t think we could have distinguished them from the landscape without a proper monitor.

“I can simply turn on the Ninja and start using it without giving it much thought. I trust the monitor to do its job for a long time.” – Piotr

Can you describe your workflow?

Piotr: We shot the entire film on two very lightweight cameras; the Sony FX3 and Sony A7IV. The FX3 was usually designated for filming wildlife, combined with the Atomos Ninja Ultra monitor-recorder, a Sony 200-600 lens and a mini V-mount battery powering everything. We sometimes ended up rigging this whole setup on a tripod at the back of our 4×4 truck. The A7IV was paired with the Atomos Shinobi monitor and wider lenses for handheld run-and-gun shots. The FX3 setup was a no-brainer. It proved its abilities with the Ninja on the Hollywood blockbuster The Creator. I love that the Ninja opens up the option of recording in ProRes RAW with the FX3. However, on this particular project we decided to stay with the S-log3 to minimize file sizes and maximize recording times. Both the Ninja and Shinobi had the option to upload LUTs, which allowed us to use our custom LUT to monitor the S-log footage on both cameras, with a better idea of the final look.

What problems did you face, and how did you solve them?

Piotr: The harsh winter conditions were equally challenging and beautiful. The weather provided us with gorgeous sunrises and snowy landscapes, but it also made filming and traveling much harder, ultimately forcing us to leave our base two days earlier to avoid getting stuck for another week due to heavy snowfall. Most of our filming days consisted of walking 10-15 kilometers off-trail, carrying all the equipment on our backs. Because of this, our priority was not only to have lightweight gear but also to have low power consumption, with equipment lasting all day on one or two batteries. For us, the Atomos monitors fitted the criteria. Both monitors withstood freezing temperatures with no issues. The displays were bright enough, even in a snowy and sunny environment. A quick wipe with my sleeve was all I needed to clean drops of water and keep using the touch display. The Ninja was powered from a 98Wh V-mount together with the FX3. Considering that both of these devices have internal cooling, we were surprised to see them run all day on just one of these batteries. To our surprise, the Shinobi only needed one or two NP-F750 batteries to last the whole day. By carrying fewer batteries and keeping our monitors powered on, we were able to capture the unexpected moments.

What features did you find useful?

Piotr: We regularly used the false color feature to monitor our exposure, especially during interviews or while shooting bright, snowy landscapes, as we didn’t want to overexpose the image. I personally liked the grid overlay to better apply the rule of thirds in my framing. While my camera display showed all the settings, occasionally I hid the icons with just one tap on the Ninja’s display.

Wiktoria preferred to use the waveform to monitor exposure, as she’s more used to working with waveforms in color grading. While tracking pumas, we often ended up using our 200-600mm setup with the Ninja in tow. With the 2x and 4x zoom feature we could not only ensure our shot was sharp, but also analyze every inch of the frame trying to spot a puma. Jose, our puma tracker, often peered over my shoulder to confirm what he saw, as the image on the Ninja had more detail than his binoculars.

What recommendations would you give to other filmmakers?

Wiktoria: In wildlife filmmaking, you often walk for hours in various weather conditions before finding the animal. Making your gear as compact as possible is essential, and the Shinobi monitor excels in this regard due to its lightweight design. I was able to carry my camera with the monitor mounted for hours and be ready to use it within seconds after spotting an animal. Not only is it compact and well-designed, but it’s also incredibly durable. Filming in Patagonia is far from a typical studio experience. We faced snowy, windy weather, drove off-road, walked on ice, and even climbed small rock formations. Despite these harsh conditions, our monitors survived without a scratch. They really are reliable pieces of gear that you can trust in any situation.

Piotr: I believe that implementing tools to your existing workflow should help simplify the end-to-end process. The time you spend navigating through menus or changing batteries is time you’re not spending on shooting and creating. What I appreciate about Atomos is that while they introduce a lot of new technologies in their products, their monitors are still very user-friendly, intuitive and robust. So instead of changing my workflow to accommodate new gear, I can simply turn on the monitor and start using it without giving it much thought, and trust it to do its job for a long time.

What’s next for the documentary?

Wiktoria: As soon as we complete post-production, we will submit the film to various international film festivals, particularly those that focus on wildlife documentaries. Naturally, we want the film to reach its audience, so after a successful festival run, we plan to either publish it online or have it distributed by a streaming service.