Beth Whelan is a an ecologist, now living in Vancouver, Canada. Her visit to the Isle of Mull was to explore how she felt filming with a broadcast camera. Her initially story concept was to document a seal colony, but with high winds and very high tides, the colony had moved on to higher ground, that we couldn’t safely reach.

Beth’s true love is birds and so worked hard on improving her camera skills to capture an intimate portrayal of the birdlife here on Mull.

Here’s what Beth had to say:

“I had the most wonderful experience learning about filmmaking on the magical Isle of Mull with Wild Island Film School. I felt extremely lucky to have an amazing few days out of my work as an Ecologist to experience this unique course in such an idyllic location.

I came to Wild Island film school with just having a strong interest in documentary film and a passion for wildlife and was therefore a complete beginner to filmmaking. Due to working full time I was looking for a short course that would introduce me to the art of filmmaking without having to take too much time away from my job.

I wanted something that would give me a taste of the filmmaking process before committing to a long and costly course or buying lots of expensive equipment that I wouldn’t know how to use or even know if I would enjoy using.

Due to the one to one tuition that you receive on this course, S-J can tailor it to your level of experience, which she did so well for me. I loved learning about so many aspects of making a film from storyboarding, planning the shoot locations and scheduling, learning to use a camera, writing and recording a voiceover, and choosing background music.

S-J was so knowledgeable on all of these topics and guided me so well through all the processes. I really enjoyed the challenge of learning to use a camera to capture footage of the often fast moving birds on Mull. I loved spending the time in the hide to try and film birds. I wondered whether it would be boring to sit in a hide with a camera for long periods but the time disappeared in a flash with the excitement when a bird would fly into the area and the challenge of trying to capture them on the camera, in focus and trying to think creatively about framing and composition.

S-J is also so knowledgeable about the wildlife on the island, which I really appreciate now how this is so crucial to making a wildlife film, from knowing which habitats to find certain species and know about animal behaviour in order to know how to get the shots.

I felt very welcome and at home and SJ was a patient, supportive and inspiring teacher.

Although I really enjoy my career as an Ecologist, it is largely a scientific and physical job with not much room for being creative, so this course was just amazing to enjoy wildlife in a creative light.

S-J gave me so much confidence in my creativity, which is an aspect of me that I am only now learning about and allowing the time to explore.

Although I was sad to leave the Isle of Mull after the course, I left with so much inspiration, more confidence in my creative self  and a new friend in S-J. I feel like I am one step closer to a dream of making a documentary film one day. I would recommend this course to anyone and everyone.”