VIDEO

VIDEO

Storytelling Through Video: Sandesh Kadur

Storytelling Through Video: Sandesh Kadur

National Geographic Storytelling Fellow Sandesh Kadur embarks on an expedition to explore a Beyul—called Pemako—and to create short videos to showcase the need to conserve and preserve the last Beyuls.

Grades

5 - 12

Subjects

Storytelling, Professional Learning, Geography, Human Geography, Religion

Developed in partnership with
Adobe 6

Sandesh Kadur is a documentary filmmaker, photographer, and author. Most recently, he worked on “Our Planet” for Netflix and “The Okavango Experience,” a virtual reality series that follows National Geographic’s Okavango Wilderness Project. He has won numerous awards over the years, including a 2017 Emmy nomination and a 2017 BAFTA award for his work on “Planet Earth II.” Now a National Geographic Storytelling Fellow, he is embarking on an expedition to explore a Beyul called the Pemako.

According to Buddhist tradition, a Beyul is a hidden and revered realm of beauty and intact biodiversity, and this one—the Pemako—borders India and Tibet along the Siang River. Sandesh’s goal is to document species in the region, discover new ones, and compare data his team gathers with that of a century-old British expedition of the same place. Along the way, he’ll highlight the interconnectedness of the region’s cultures and their ecosystems. In the end, he plans to create a documentary film and several short videos that can be used to showcase the need to conserve and preserve the last Beyuls.

This video was developed in partnership with Adobe, as part of a series of courses called Storytelling for Impact.

Transcript (English)

- Stories are fundamental to our very existence as human beings. They've been incorporated into our daily life, since time immemorial. People connect to stories more than anything else. It's something that's powerful, moving, it can bring about change, and there's nothing more impactful than a good story. My name is Sandesh Kadur, I'm a National Geographic fellow and a documentary filmmaker. The kind of stories I like to tell are stories of people, places, wildlife, natural history. My journey definitely started right here in India. My very first camera was a camera that I used to borrow from my father. He had an ancient Nikkormat film camera. I used to be very sparing with photography. The camera was only used to help me document an insect, or a butterfly, or a reptile, or a frog. And slowly it evolved into something much more than that. When I made the transition from photography to filmmaking, I thought videography was the same as still photography, except it's rolling video. And it's only when I started editing that I realized that my beautifully composed shots are not leading from one to the other to the other. Photography is about getting a shot. Filmmaking is about getting a sequence. There are so many aspects that you need to keep in mind when you're telling a story. You need to pay attention to sound. You need to pay attention to light. You need to pay attention to building a sequence. The process of learning is never ending. You are learning all the time. You keep getting better at it at every step of the way. And you never want to feel like you know it all already. It took a lot of trial and error before the transition happened from being a photographer to becoming a filmmaker. There's no path where you can go, okay, step one, step two, step three, okay, I'm there. It's a path that's very much like a river. You really have to just meander your way and then like a river has rapids, there can be some very turbulent times in this field. You don't immediately get thrown work unless you can prove that you can do that job. And that takes a lot of personal sacrifice, that takes a lot of personal effort, and a personal interest in wanting to do that more than anything else. The work I'm doing right now is a journey of discovery. The Buddhists have this term called a beyul, and these are hidden wildernesses that are literally paradises left in the care of tigers, heavy mists, and their remoteness. And unfortunately, a lot of these beyuls are under threat because these are places that could possibly be dammed or destroyed. And I think that these beyuls now need art and science in order to protect them into the future. This is one particular beyul called the Pemako. It stretches all the way from southeastern Tibet into India. And this is the Siang river. The Siang itself means the heart of water. This river comes in from Tibet, flows into India, and supports over 500 million people in this landscape. And there are many stories that need to be told in order to protect sanctity of this landscape. And that's why I think it's important to do this right now. I want to be able to document the nature and culture of this landscape. Unless you show these places, and unless you bring a spotlight on them, people will ignore these landscapes and they can be destroyed in front of your very eyes. So I want to make sure that something like that doesn't happen. Visual imagery has the ability to transcend boundaries imposed by language. An image doesn't need a language to get the message across. The image speaks for itself. So I think learning to tell stories through video can really empower students in getting their message out to the world. You know, in the past it was very difficult to get into documentary filmmaking, but now with where technology is at, you can make a powerful, compelling story just with your mobile phone. And that itself is exciting. And when we can teach students to harness the power of video to tell a good story, then they can bring about changes in their own community. As a documentary filmmaker, I go to these beautiful unexplored landscapes trying to uncover their secrets, to put it to audiences around the world, and hopefully generate empathy so that people care. When you can get them to engage, when you can get them to empathize on your subject, then you have ambassadors, and hopefully they will be the ones that can help you protect these places into the future.

Transcripción (Español)

- Las historias son fundamentales para nuestra propia existencia como seres humanos. Han sido incorporadas en nuestra vida diaria, desde tiempos inmemoriales. Las personas se conectan con las historias más que con cualquier otra cosa. Es algo que es poderoso, conmovedor, puede provocar cambios, y no hay nada más impactante que una buena historia. Mi nombre es Sandesh Kadur, Soy un becario de National Geographic y un cineasta documentalista. El tipo de historias que me gusta contar son historias de personas, lugares, vida silvestre, historia natural. Definitivamente mi viaje comenzó aquí en India. Mi primera cámara fue una cámara que solía pedir prestada a mi padre. Tenía una antigua cámara de película Nikkormat. Solía ser muy moderado con la fotografía. La cámara solo se usaba para ayudarme a documentar un insecto, o una mariposa, o un reptil, o una rana. Y lentamente evolucionó a algo mucho más que eso. Cuando hice la transición de la fotografía al cine, Pensé que la videografía era lo mismo que la fotografía fija, excepto que es video en movimiento. Y fue cuando comencé a editar que me di cuenta que mis tomas bellamente compuestas no se conectaban las unas con las otras. La fotografía se trata de obtener una toma. Hacer cine se trata de obtener una secuencia. Hay tantos aspectos que debes tener en cuenta cuando estás contando una historia. Necesitas prestar atención al sonido. Necesitas prestar atención a la luz. Necesitas prestar atención a la construcción de una secuencia. El proceso de aprendizaje nunca termina. Estás aprendiendo todo el tiempo. Mejoras en cada paso del camino. Y nunca quieres sentir que ya lo sabes todo. Tomó muchos intentos y errores antes de que ocurriera la transición de ser fotógrafo a convertirme en cineasta. No hay una secuencia que puedas seguir, bien, paso uno, paso dos, paso tres, bien, ya llegué. Es un camino que se parece mucho a un río. Realmente tienes que abrirte camino sin rumbo fijo y luego, como un río tiene rápidos, puede haber momentos muy turbulentos en este campo. No tienes trabajo inmediatamente a menos que puedas demostrar que puedes hacer ese trabajo. Y eso requiere mucho sacrificio personal, requiere mucho esfuerzo personal, y un interés personal en querer hacer eso más que cualquier otra cosa. El trabajo que estoy haciendo ahora es un viaje de descubrimiento. Los budistas tienen este término llamado beyul, y estos son lugares salvajes ocultos que son literalmente paraísos dejados al cuidado de los tigres, densas nieblas, y su lejanía. Y desafortunadamente, muchos de estos beyuls están bajo amenaza porque estos son lugares que posiblemente podrían ser talados o destruidos. Y creo que estos beyuls ahora necesitan arte y ciencia para poder protegerlos en el futuro. Hay un beyul particular llamado Pemako. Se extiende desde el sureste de Tíbet hasta India. Y este es el río Siang. Siang en sí significa el corazón del agua. Este río viene de Tíbet, fluye hacia India, mantiene a más de 500 millones de personas en este paisaje. Y hay muchas historias que necesitan ser contadas para proteger la santidad de este paisaje. Y por eso creo que es importante hacer esto ahora mismo. Quiero poder documentar la naturaleza y la cultura de este paisaje. A menos que muestres estos lugares, y a menos que les des luz, la gente ignorará estos paisajes y pueden ser destruidos frente a tus propios ojos. Así que quiero asegurarme de que algo así no suceda. La imaginería visual tiene la capacidad de trascender las barreras impuestas por el lenguaje. Una imagen no necesita un lenguaje para transmitir el mensaje. La imagen habla por sí misma. Así que creo que aprender a contar historias a través de video puede empoderar a los estudiantes para transmitir su mensaje al mundo. En el pasado era muy difícil entrar en la realización de documentales, pero ahora con el avance de la tecnología, puedes hacer una historia poderosa y convincente solo con tu teléfono móvil. Y eso en sí mismo es emocionante. Y cuando enseñamos a los estudiantes a aprovechar el poder del video para contar una buena historia, entonces pueden generar cambios en su propia comunidad. Como cineasta documentalista, voy a estos hermosos paisajes inexplorados tratando de descubrir sus secretos, para presentarlos a audiencias alrededor del mundo, y con suerte generar empatía para que las personas se preocupen. Cuando logras que se involucren, cuando puedes lograr que empaticen con tu tema, entonces tienes embajadores, y con suerte serán ellos los que te ayudarán a proteger estos lugares en el futuro.

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Last Updated

May 20, 2024

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