I was looking to make a tiger conservation documentary in my native India and found my subject in T24, the newly dominant male of Ranthambhore Tiger Reserve. I thought this was going to be Directing a small documentary about a tiger in the wild.

But in 2015, T24 killed a man who entered his territory, and my documentary became about something bigger. The local government deemed the tiger a “man-eater” and implicated him in multiple attacks. They put him in a zoo, and this galvanized massive social uproar. Activists took their cause to streets, online and even to the Supreme Court. I was now directing a much bigger documentary on a tiger that had become an icon for conservation.

The use of the Wide Shot is a critical part of the visual style for the “Tiger 24”. The entire project revolves around space, territory, and the boundaries between the spaces that large carnivores occupy and the ones that humans occupy. I have made it a point to emphasize Wide Shot’s throughout the film where we see tiger territory because I want the viewers to see the territory as a character in the film.

WARREN PEREIRA
WRITER, DIRECTOR, PRODUCER

The use of the moving camera, with minimal anticipation, is also part of the visual style for “Tiger 24”. One can anticipate tiger movement if you have spent as much time as I have with tigers but it makes the shot less interesting if your camera move anticipates tiger movement in every instant. I have chosen to follow rather than lead tiger movement with my camera in most instances to increase interest in the frame and to provide a visual language that respects these top predators.

The interviewees were captured in their native home and work environment so that we may learn not only from their speech, both also from their environment.

The majority of this footage has been captured in 4K RAW/LOG/WIDE GAMUT allowing for both an authentic and cinematic representation of the image after color correction. I did not realize that I would end up being the only person with 4K RAW footage of T24 in the wild. I’ve also used camera framing and camera moves that are consistent with the dynamics of the story and with an awareness of what is needed to best edit the picture.