Episodes

  • Making PLANET EARTH III with Mike Gunton & Prakash Matada | Ep. 52

    Making PLANET EARTH III with Mike Gunton & Prakash Matada | Ep. 52
    Jan 8 2024

    Planet Earth III, the world's premiere natural history documentary series, is back with its third installment, presented and narrated by Sir David Attenborough. The series represents five years of work. The eight episodes comprise 134 total shoots across 1,904 shooting days and took place in 43 countries across six continents. In this episode, I interview executive producer Mike Gunton and freelance cinematographer Prakash Matada about the making of this remarkable series.



    the creative director for the BBC's natural history unit and the executive producer of Planet Earth 3. Prakash Matada is a freelance cinematographer, National Geographic Explorer, and wildlife filmmaker who filmed a wild dog sequence in the Forests episode of the series.








    WHO AM I?

    If we haven’t met yet before - Hey 👋 I'm Austin Meyer and I am a documentary filmmaker based in Oakland, California. I'm a National Geographic Explorer and my work has been featured by HBO, Hulu, Apple TV, The New York Times, National Geographic, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, and PBS among others. Through my videos here on this channel, and my podcast called The Austin Meyer Podcast, I share skills, mindsets, and lessons to help you become a better documentary filmmaker and build the life full of creativity that you aspire towards.
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    1 hr and 45 mins
  • James Honeyborne & Sophie Todd on Producing Netflix’s Our Great National Parks | Ep. 051

    James Honeyborne & Sophie Todd on Producing Netflix’s Our Great National Parks | Ep. 051
    Apr 13 2022
    Our Great National Parks is a beautiful five-part Netflix documentary series that invites viewers to experience nature in the world's most iconic national parks. Today on the podcast, my guests are executive producer James Honeyborne and series producer Sophie Todd. James Honeyborne is the creative director of Freeborne Media, having previously worked as an executive producer at the BBC Natural History Unit where he oversaw some 35 films, including Blue Planet II. Sophie Todd works on everything from high-end natural history films, to science and observational documentary, most recently writing, directing and series producing on Netflix’s Formula 1: Drive To Survive.



    In this conversation, James, Sophie and I discuss the vast amount of research, planning, and scripting that went into this series, how they managed a global production team during the peak of the pandemic, and why natural history documentaries are so important when it comes to illustrating how interconnected we all are with the natural world and animals around us.



    Check out the Wild For All impact campaign



    Watch this interview on Youtube



    Say hello to Austin Meyer
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    48 mins
  • Vera Krichevskaya on Independent News & Documentaries in Russia | Ep. 50

    Vera Krichevskaya on Independent News & Documentaries in Russia | Ep. 50
    Mar 29 2022
    Vera Krichevskaya is a documentary filmmaker from Russia who co-founded TV Dozhd (TV Rain), which is the only independent private television channel in Russia. Her most recent documentary titled “Fuck This Job,” is an incredibly timely story that documents the ten-year journey of that television station that made it one of the top media targets of Putin's government.



    In this conversation, Vera and I discuss what it’s like to be an independent documentary filmmaker in Russia, what happened when the war broke out right before her film’s premiere in Russia, and the value of independent news and documentaries in a just society.



    Follow Vera on twitter



    Watch this episode on Youtube



    Austin's website



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    45 mins
  • 2022 Documentary Oscars Preview with IndieWire’s Anne Thompson | Ep. 49

    2022 Documentary Oscars Preview with IndieWire’s Anne Thompson | Ep. 49
    Mar 22 2022
    The Oscars are coming up on March 27, 2022. To preview the documentary feature category I am joined this week by IndieWire's editor-at-large, Anne Thompson. In this episode we talk about each of the nominated documentaries, reflect on the snubs that missed out on the big show (I see you, The Rescue and The First Wave), and give our predictions on what documentary will take home the Academy Award.



    Follow Anne Thompson on Twitter



    Watch this episode on Youtube
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    32 mins
  • Luc Forsyth On How To Take Your Cinematography To The Next Level | Ep. 048

    Luc Forsyth On How To Take Your Cinematography To The Next Level | Ep. 048
    Mar 16 2022
    This week on the show my guest is Luc Forsyth, a cinematographer from Canada who has worked on films for Netflix, National Geographic, HBO, Showtime, ESPN, and many more.



    In this conversation Luc and I discuss the lessons he learned as a photojournalist that have helped him develop as a cinematographer, how to think about investing in gear and networking as an up and coming DP, and how he covers a scene as both a single operator versus working on larger production teams.



    Watch this interview on Youtube



    Check out Luc's Youtube channel



    Hope you all are getting out there and creating stories! Thanks for listening <3
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    1 hr and 5 mins
  • Dawn Porter on Directing Good Trouble & The Way I See It | Ep. 047

    Dawn Porter on Directing Good Trouble & The Way I See It | Ep. 047
    Dec 10 2020
    Dawn Porter is an award-winning documentary filmmaker whose work has appeared on HBO, PBS, Discovery, and Netflix among others. She has had two feature documentaries premiere this year -- John Lewis: Good Trouble and The Way I See It.



    Good Trouble explores late Congressman John Lewis’ pivotal role in the Civil Rights movement and decades of political and social activism on important issues including voting rights, immigration laws, and much more. The Way I See It is about photojournalist Pete Souza, who served as Chief Official White House photographer for President Barack Obama and previously as an Official White House photographer for President Ronald Reagan.



    In this conversation, Dawn and I discuss the overlapping themes and unique storytelling challenges of these two movies, creative ways of managing production during covid, and tips she has for aspiring documentary filmmakers.



    Follow Dawn Porter



    Follow Austin Meyer
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    56 mins
  • The Making of ‘My Octopus Teacher’ with Pippa Ehrlich, James Reed, and Roger Horrocks | Ep. 046

    The Making of ‘My Octopus Teacher’ with Pippa Ehrlich, James Reed, and Roger Horrocks | Ep. 046
    Oct 15 2020
    On today’s episode I sit down with the team behind the hit Netflix documentary, and one of my personal favorite films of the year, My Octopus Teacher. Co-directors Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed, as well as cinematographer Roger Horrocks, take us behind the scenes and under the water to reveal how they crafted this incredibly moving story about a filmmaker's unlikely connection with an octopus.



    Pippa Ehrlich, based in South Africa, is a natural history filmmaker and award-winning environmental journalist, specializing in the field of marine science and conservation.



    James Reed, based in the UK, is the founder of Underdog Films and has directed and produced documentaries and natural history features for Disney, Netflix, and the BBC.



    Roger Horrocks is a world renowned wildlife cinematographer, having worked on Our Planet, winning a BAFTA for outstanding cinematography for Blue Planet 2, and is currently working on BBC’s Planet Earth 3.



    Watch My Octopus Teacher on Netflix



    The Sea Change Project
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    1 hr and 4 mins
  • Jeff Orlowski on Directing The Social Dilemma | Ep. 045

    Jeff Orlowski on Directing The Social Dilemma | Ep. 045
    Sep 18 2020
    Jeff Orlowski is the director of the newly released Netflix documentary, The Social Dilemma, which explores the dangerous human impact of social networking, with tech experts sounding the alarm on their own creations. He also served as director, producer, and cinematographer of the Sundance Award-Winning and Oscar short listed films, Chasing Ice and Chasing Coral.



    In this conversation, Jeff and I discuss where he got the idea to make The Social Dilemma, why his team decided to use the unique stylistic choices of dramatizations and animations, and the process of taking a ton of disjointed interviews on broad/complex topics and weaving them together to create one of the most talked about documentaries of the year.



    LINKS:



    Watch The Social Dilemma on Netflix



    www.thesocialdilemma.com



    Tristan Harris' podcast, Your Undivided Attention
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    43 mins