How Disney’s A Real Bug's Life docu-series turns insects into giants

The 1998 Pixar film, The life of an insect, brought tiny CGI ants to the world's biggest screens. National Geographic's new documentary series, The life of a real bug reverses this, turning insects into giants in our homes. However, the only digital thing about the creatures featured in the Disney+ series is the technology that films them. But like its animated counterpart, the series explores the world they live in and their adventures in a way we've never seen before.

Focusing on insects, The life of a real bug is not limited to specific remote habitats. Over the course of the series, you'll visit barren desert planes, a tropical jungle, a concrete jungle, a rural UK farm, and even a humble garden. But thanks to a series of innovations, we're seeing these worlds from entirely new perspectives. “I think the look and feel of this show, and this isn't just me saying this, I don't think there's anything else that looks like this or has ever looked like this” Nathan Small, self-shot producer/director who worked on the series told Engadget.

Close-up of a bold jumping spider taken during the filming of Disney's
National geographic

The series opens in New York where we follow the misadventures of an adorable and daring jumping spider. As our eight-legged hero begins his journey on a city rooftop, it's not long before we find ourselves at street level and joined by a group of intrepid ants, industrious flies and a menacing praying mantis . Some shots stand out instantly without you really knowing why. But Small does.

He explained that macro professionals have long favored 60 or 100mm lenses, which give incredible detail but have a very shallow depth of field (DOF). “Which means that there is no context Never, there’s no geography and you’re still in this kind of very fuzzy, very fuzzy world,” he said. “In recent years, many so-called “probe” lenses have been launched. The main one, which was a bit of a game changer, is made by a company called Laowa and it’s a 24 millimeter,” he added.

A probe lens looks exactly like you imagine it — more like a vacuum cleaner attachment — but the images it produces have two key advantages, Small explained. The first is practical: the 16-inch barrel means you don't need to be as physically close to the insect you're photographing. The second, and the real reason these photos stand out, is that with a 24mm lens you have a much deeper DOF, leaving much more in focus. “You get this geography and setting that makes it look really cartoonish and fresh… a little funky.” All I will say after watching this episode is that a New York all-beef will never be the same. You'll also see a fly eating on a hamburger in excruciating, stomach-turning detail.

Perhaps the most surprising thing about the Laowa lens is that it's relatively affordable. At $1,600, it's not cheap, but it's the same price as a regular model (albeit a very good one) that serious enthusiasts might consider.

Two members of the team
National geographic

Small also explained that sometimes technology doesn't change the plan, but can instead improve what's happening in it. “Not too long ago, all the lights I used were your classic movie lights, Arri Blondes and all that kind of stuff. They are very hot,” he said. “The LED lights are very bright, but they're cool, so that means we get all the light we need without cooking the animal, which obviously no one wants, while still letting it act naturally,” he said. he added. . Capturing creatures trying to escape the heat is far less interesting than watching them do what comes naturally.

But what allowed for many of the most cinematic shots in The life of a real bug is not available for purchase, at least not commercially. “I don’t really touch the camera anymore,” Small said. “I do All on custom-built motion control platforms. I have a robot that I've been working on for five years and it's gradually changing things. Small's “robot” is a machine-designed platform, cut with the same precision as medical tools – something he says is vital, because any shake or wobble to the scale he's working on is extremely amplified.

The robot allows him to work remotely and monitor via a large screen to get a better idea of ​​what things will look like on a TV. Two rails with sliders provide two axes of movement while a rotary stage and tilt control provide a full range of movement that, put together, unlocks shots you could only dream of with a tripod and slider alone. The “brain” of the robot uses a and he runs it all with a PlayStation 2 DualShock. After years of updating and refining, the robot can finally deliver the dynamic macro images we love in the series. Head to the episode set on the British farm if you want to see Small's cinematic plans for yourself.

Some things, however, require a human. If you've ever wondered how they capture seemingly impossible moments, like a spider weaving a web, the answer is… patience. In the show, we see an elephant hawkmoth emerge from its chrysalis. “I just didn’t really sleep for about five days, that’s not a lot,” he said. “You collect a lot, so you have options. I had my camera on a big rail and as soon as I saw one start to shake and move, I'd slide the camera over and bang, you're on that one. The final shot of the show lasts barely 10 seconds, but without it the story falls apart, such is the life of a wildlife photographer.

An extreme close-up of a dung beetle as featured in Disney's documentary series
National geographic

If you want to try recording an elephant hawk or a daring jumping spider, but don't have a Disney-level budget, don't worry. Small says today's consumer products are already better than many professional equipment not too long ago. Especially when it comes to working in low light conditions. “Before, you were stuck at ISO 200, which is a nightmare for macro because everything is too dark or too noisy,” he said. “(Now) you can shoot at 3,200° and still get very sharp images. » As he mentioned earlier, those higher apertures like f11 or higher avoid those “blurry” backgrounds. He also says that much of his kit is made up of parts (no relation).

For the camera itself, this will largely depend on what you want to capture. For close-up macro photos (rather than video), Small says the Olympus system is preferred within the industry, primarily due to its internal focus stacking/bracket. In the same way that HDR photos blend multiple exposures for more even natural light, focus stacking does the same thing, but with one focus, so you can have your subject and your background perfectly clear.

Are you more of a bird? Canon then appears to be the industry favorite according to Small. Particularly the larger sensor models And RF mount lenses. Canon's exceptional autofocus locks on animals very quickly and can keep it locked even when the subject is moving (as birds are wont to do). RF lenses also have a great reputation for their combination of speed and excellent built-in stabilization, which also makes them a good option for wildlife photography in general. When not shooting for work, Small uses a Canon EOS 5DS. “I think it's a good all-around camera that does everything I need it to do. Still images are like my hobby now, which is pretty sad, right? Because it's very close to my work.

The life of a real bugnarrated by Awkwafina, will premiere on Disney+ on January 24.

This article was originally published on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/disneys-a-real-bugs-life-docu-series-review-143009674.html?src=rss

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