We reached out to our festival filmmakers to ask them questions about the experience of making their films.
Answers by Otmar Penker, Director and Director of Photography.
(Answers are provided first in German, then English.) What inspired this story? Bereits seit meiner Kindheit, welche ich in und mit der Natur verbringen durfte, hat mich die Faszination um diese majestätischen Vögel nicht mehr losgelassen. Während meiner Ausbildung zum Kameramann reifte, bei wochenlangen Dreharbeiten an einem Adlerhorst, in mir der Gedanke, über diesen Vogel einen Film zu machen. 2004 hatte ich bereits die erste Idee zu einer Dokumentation, welche im Jahr 2009 gemeinsam mit Gerald Salmina zu einem Kinofilm umgearbeitet wurde. ​An enormous fascination for eagles, these majestic birds, accompanied and captured me since my childhood, which I spent in and around nature. During my apprenticeship to become a camera operator I spent several weeks filming around an eyrie. It was this experience that made me wish to make a film about these fascinating birds. I developed the first idea to shoot a documentary in 2004, and I realised it together with Gerald Salmina as a cinema film in 2009.
Describe some of the challenges faced while making this film.
Für uns war es eine große Herausforderung den dokumentarischen Naturdreh mit der fiktionalen Handlung zu verbinden, ohne dass der Zuschauer einen Bruch zwischen den beiden Ebenen spürt. Aus diesem Grund musste erst eine Kamerasprache entwickelt werden, welche die Wildtiere zu echten Schauspielern werden ließ. Bei den Wildlifedrehs, welche uns in das unwegsamste Gelände auch bei widrigsten Wetterverhältnissen führten, war es eine große Herausforderung die über 30kg schweren Kamerarucksäcke mit dem Equipment vor Ort zu bringen. Wir mussten uns teilweise über 200 Meter hohe Felswände abseilen um spezielle Kameraeinstellungen zu bekommen. Steinschlag im Sommer und Lawinengefahr im Winter waren unsere ständigen Begleiter. It was a great challenge for us to connect the natural history parts with the fictional storyline; the viewer should not experience any kind of disharmony, but should at the same time be able to connect both levels of the movie. Therefore, we first needed to create a very special visual language to allow these wild animals to be the movie’s true actors. ​Another challenge was the logistics. During the making of the film we had to cross rough terrains under the most adverse weather conditions in order to get our camera backpacks, which at times weighed more than 30 kilos a piece, and all equipment, on site. ​To obtain specific shots we had to rope down 200m high cliffs. Falling rocks during summer and continuous avalanche danger in winter were our permanent companions during this time.
What impact do you hope this film will have?
Mit diesem Film möchte ich die Menschen für die Natur und diese majestätischen Vögel begeistern, und einen Beitrag dazu leisten diese Naturwelt nicht nur zu erhalten, sondern sie dafür auch zu sensibilisieren. With this movie I want to raise interest and excitement for nature, and particularly for these majestic birds. It is important for me to contribute to preserving nature by raising people’s awareness for this important subject. Were there any surprising or meaningful experiences you want to share? Der Natur und ihren Herausforderungen kann sich niemand von uns entziehen. Sie ist Ansporn für Leistung und Abenteuer, sie ist Spiegelbild unbewusster Sehnsüchte, sie ist aber auch Projektionsfläche für Ängste und Leidenschaften und nicht zuletzt Lehrmeister für unser eigenes Verhalten. Man kann auf dem Papier viele Geschichten schreiben, aber in der Natur spielt es oft ganz anders. So ist es uns einige Male passiert, dass sich vor der Kamera Szenen abgespielt haben, sowohl bei den fiktionalen als auch bei den Wildlife-Dreharbeiten, mit denen wir niemals gerechnet hätten. So passierte es einige Male, dass die Tiere ihre Geschichten selber schrieben. We all have to face nature and its challenges. Nature is an enormous incentive for delivering great performances and experiencing thrilling adventures. It is a mirror of our very own unconscious longings and desires; but we also project our fears and passions onto it. We can’t live without nature. ​You can try to develop your own storyline, your set-in-stone scripts – but nature has it’s own way of storytelling. While filming fictional and wildlife scenes it was not once that we encountered events and saw scenes simply playing out through our camera lenses, not following any script, but multiple times. At times, the animals did their own storytelling – and we followed them meticulously. Their lives and their behaviour – we can study them as much as we can and want, and they still never stop surprising us.
Did the film team use any unusual techniques or unique imaging technology?
Grundsätzlich haben wir mit einer 2K Technologie gearbeitet, aber eine neue Art der Aufnahme wurde mit der sogenannten „EagleCam“ umgesetzt. Hierbei handelt es sich um eine Entwicklung des Fraunhofer Institutes in Erlangen, zusammen mit dem Falkner Paul Klima vom Falkenhof Lenggries und Fritz Sammer. Die Steinadler bekamen einen Rucksack angepasst, der nahezu unsichtbar im Federkleid befestigt und auf dem diese Eagle Cam angebracht war. Diese Flugaufnahmen der Adler ließen eine völlig neue Perspektive und Nähe zum Bild zu. Weiteres arbeiteten wir auch mit ferngesteuerten Kameras am Adlerhorst. Ein selbst entwickelter Remote Head wurde dafür eingesetzt, welchen man mit einem 2,5-MHz-System auf eine Entfernung von zwei Kilometern betreiben konnte. Die Kamera selbst SI2K wurde über ein WLAN System gesteuert. Versorgt wurde das Rig mit einer Brennstoffzelle, wodurch annähernd vierzehn Tage lang Strom zur Verfügung stand. So wurde ein Teil der Nestaufnahmen z.B. An- und Abflüge, umgesetzt. Viele der bewegten Aufnahmen von „unseren Vögeln“ konnten wir auch mit einem 9 Meter Pixy Kamerakran umsetzen. Auch hier war der Transport des rund 400 kg schweren Kranes ins unwegsame Gelände eine Herausforderung. Ein Großteil der Flugaufnahmen wurde mit einem Cineflex System umgesetzt. Für kleinräumige Flüge verwendeten wir auch einen Oktokopter mit einer Red Epic. Most of our work was done with 2K technologies, but we did use a new technique with the so-called “eagle-cam“. This camera was developed by the “Fraunhofer Institutes“ in Erlangen who worked on it together with falconer Paul Klima and the falconry Lenggries and Fritz Sammer. The golden eagles were equipped with eagle cams that were attached to adjusted backpacks, almost invisible between their feathers. The resulting aerial shots allowed us to experience an entirely new, different and, most of all, stunning perspective. We had some remote-controlled cameras at the eyrie. We used a self-developed remote head, which was operated with a 2,5 MHz system from a distance of two kilometres. A fuel cell provided the rig with energy whereby electricity for almost fourteen days was provided. This is how me managed to film many of the birds’ landings and take offs without disturbing them in the privacy of their nest. A 9-meter high Pixy camera crane helped us capture many scenes of our birds. Getting this 400-kilo crane from A to B was a huge challenge on the rough Alpine terrain. ​The majority of aerial shots was achieved by using a Cineflex system. For shorter distances we worked with a drone that carried a Red Epic.
9 Comments
Gerald Bailey
12/24/2019 06:03:28 pm
This movie was excellent. At times, the shots of the eagles looked as though they were computer generated but all that I could find about this movie never even hinted that it had computer generated shots in it. The story was OK and there was no doubt that the eagle was what the movie was about. The actors did well and the animals seemed almost human in their expressions and the depictions of their emotions.
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Shelby Beringer
6/27/2020 10:58:14 pm
Sooooo incredibly beautiful i can't believe these images and film. Was like being a part of an eagle's life.
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MiTmite9
8/26/2020 07:54:54 pm
Certain scenes came across as being totally unrealistic and yet seemed so real. How does a Golden eagle roll down, down and under and over a full-grown Chamois (Mountain goat), repeatedly, while tumbling far down a mountain slope, end up wedged between the goat and a rock and not be injured? Also: it looked like the Eagle's talons were attached to the goat's back. If this was so, how was it known beforehand that the Eagle wouldn't be harmed?
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Jessica
3/5/2021 06:18:08 pm
Wow! What a beautiful movie , I’m inspired by this story and amazing footage, I haven’t been this impressed with a movie ...EVER
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prakash kancherla
4/6/2021 08:21:41 pm
Wow what a movie, the whole time while watching the only thing that comes to mind was how was it shot. Never ever a seen a movie more difficult to shoot. Thank you for the wonderful scenery and bravery to shoot such stunning picture.
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Alexis Buncic
5/18/2021 10:15:55 pm
An amazing film. The most beautiful scenery filmed with such care especially of the eagles. Jean Reno as the forester was the perfect for his role in the film. If you haven’t seen Brothers of the Wind you definitely should. I recommend it to all my friends & family. A perfect gem of a movie. It’s a movie to watch again & again always seeing something you missed previously. Enjoy this movie with a friend so that friend tells his friends & they in turn tell their friends. We all need to do everything we can
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Rosi Mag
6/25/2021 08:20:57 pm
There is no words to describe how wonderful is this job you all have done. I can't stop watching the movie, the wonders of nature and the life of eagles are simply out of this world. Impresionante trabajo, uds consiguieron su meta. Dios les siga favoreciendo con mas talento y courage!!
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Debra
11/26/2023 03:38:25 pm
Excellent movie. Beautiful cinematography and music. Had to have been very challenging working in the dangerous mountainous terrain and with the weather fluctuations. And what a story with only four actors, and that includes the eagle. It must have been thrilling working so closely with such a magnificent animal. The music was so beautiful. If this film did not receive any awards for every part of it, it definitely should have. It would get all my votes. Thank you for sharing this movie.
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