Animals on the Edge
The Documentary Film
ICE Media Limited
It’s ten years since I wrote the book Animals on the Edge. A decade on, my journeys back to the edge, to revisit the stories I investigated, reveal little has changed. Poaching of species such as tiger, black rhinoceros and elephant remains rife and numbers continue to decrease; vast swathes of rainforests continue to be decimated at unprecedented levels, meaning very many species are closer to extinction now than ever before. Of the 50 species whose stories I told, the official status of the majority of them has declined. But conservation success stories exist. Success comes when trees are made more valuable standing than felled and animals worth more alive than dead. This is the story of how we change the world.
The team
Chris Weston
Writer / Presenter
Chris Weston has spent 20-years working in wildlife-based media, primarily as a photographer and writer, and more recently as a film producer and presenter. His commercial clients (photography) include the BBC, ITV, National Geographic, Uproar, The Times, Sunday Times and Guardian newspapers, and Fujifilm (UK and Japan). In collaboration with the IUCN in Switzerland, he authored the acclaimed book Animals on the Edge: Reporting from the Frontline of Extinction.
Neil Lucas
Director / Producer
Neil Lucas was a producer with the BBC’s world-renowned Natural History Unit for over 20 years, working on many international award-winning, BAFTA and EMMY nominated productions, including Sir David Attenborough’s Planet Earth series. Since leaving the BBC, Neil continues to develop state-of-the-art filming and production techniques to produce original natural history and wildlife documentaries.
John Beck
Director of Photography
John Beck spent 25 years as a documentary cameraman for the BBC, working on award-winning programmes including Panorama and World About Us. A qualified diver, John set up the BBC’s Underwater Film Unit and is a certified Hostile Environment operator. With a wealth of knowledge and experience, today John fulfils the role Director of Photography and is responsible for a team of camera operators.
Simon Weir
Sound Mixer
Simon Weir worked in network radio with the BBC, before joining Radio Outside Broadcasts, where he was the department’s only specialist digital recording engineer, working principally for BBC Radio 3. In 1989, he established The Classical Recording Company to provide industry-leading digital location recording and post-production services. Simon is Head of Sound Engineering and also contributes in the field as second camera operator.
On location
