A documentary about the hidden life of animals in a city, made by a group of 20 students, has been released.
The University of Bristol team filmed animals including foxes, deer, peregrine falcons and kingfishers for BRISTOL: A Hidden Eden.
Director and producer Matteo Clarke said the film shows “you can make a great documentary with the animals that are right on our doorstep”.
Naturalist and presenter Steve Backshall called it “sensational”.
Filming took place at locations in Bristol including Avon Gorge, Eastville Park, Ashton Court and the city centre.
Mr Clarke, 21, fell in love with the outdoors as a child exploring the Alps with his Franco-British family while living in Germany.
He came to Bristol because of the wildlife film industry in the city and began planning documentary filmmaking during his freshman year of zoology.
He said the 17-minute documentary required nighttime footage and 4am wake-up calls to capture some of the “camera-shy animals.”
A lot of footage was shot over nine months, but he said one of the biggest challenges was filming the kingfisher sequence, which “took us three years to get enough good footage.”
Mr Clarke said: “Everyone was really motivated to … do a proper wildlife documentary about the amazing wildlife in our own town.”
Mr Clarke also enlisted the help of award-winning composer Owain Llwyd to help create an original score for the film.
Biology student and the film’s assistant producer, Isabelle Spring, said of filming deer, “It was inspiring to get up at sunrise surrounded by nature and these beautiful animals.”
“[And] Having the film stitched together with Owain’s score at the end made it feel so professional and a piece we could really be proud of.
Biology student and assistant producer Luke Hurricks said he hopes the film “will inspire others to care and admire the amazing nature that we encounter.”
Naturalist and broadcaster Steve Backshall sent a message to the students saying, “It’s amazing to go out and compose every single element of a film, right down to the score.”
He said their ability to tell wildlife stories and change the way people look at nature is “priceless, more than valuable.”
Professor Claire Grierson, Head of the Department of Life Sciences at Bristol University, said the film was “stunning… [and] really captures the complexity of urban living spaces”.
“All the students involved in the film did an excellent job,” she added.
BRISTOL: A Hidden Eden can be viewed on YouTube.
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