| Winged Migration | |
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| Directed by | Jacques Perrin, Jacques Cluzaud, Michel Debats |
| Produced by | Christophe Barratier, Jacques Perrin |
| Written by | Jean Dorst Jacques Perrin |
| Narrated by | Jacques Perrin Philippe Labro |
| Music by | Bruno Coulais |
| Distributed by | Sony Pictures Classics |
| Release date(s) | 12 December 2001 (France) |
| Running time | 98 minutes |
| Country | France Italy Germany Spain Switzerland |
| Language | English, French |
| Budget | €23,630,000 |
Winged Migration (French: Le Peuple Migrateur, also known as The Travelling Birds in some UK releases, or The Travelling Birds: An adventure in flight in Australia), is a 2001 documentary film directed by Jacques Cluzaud, Michel Debats and Jacques Perrin, who was also one of the writers and narrators, showcasing the immense journeys routinely made by birds during their migrations.
The film is dedicated to the French ornithologist Jean Dorst.
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The movie was shot over the course of four years on all seven continents. Shot using in-flight cameras, most of the footage is aerial, and the viewer appears to be flying alongside birds of successive species, especially Canada geese. They traverse every kind of weather and landscape, covering vast distances in a flight for survival. The filmmakers exposed over 590 miles of film to create an 89-minute piece. In one case, two months of filming in one location was edited down to less than one minute in the final film.
Much of the aerial footage was taken of "tame" birds. The filmmakers raised birds of several species, including storks and pelicans, from birth. The newborn birds imprinted on staff members, and were trained to fly along with the film crews. The birds were also exposed to the film equipment over the course of their lives to ensure that the birds would react the way the filmmakers want. Several of these species had never been imprinted before. Film was shot from ultralights, paragliders, and hot air balloons, as well as trucks, motorcycles, motorboats, remote-controlled robots, and a French Navy warship. Its producer says that "Winged Migration" is neither a documentary nor fiction, but rather a "natural tale".[1]
The film states that no special effects were used in the filming of the birds, although some entirely-CGI segments that view Earth from outer space augment the real-life footage.
The film's soundtrack by Bruno Coulais was recorded by several Bulgarian vocal groups in Bulgarian, as well as Nick Cave in English and Robert Wyatt. The vocal effects include sequences in which panting is superimposed on wingbeats to give the effect that the viewer is a bird.
Winged Migration has an overall approval rating of 96% on Rotten Tomatoes.[2]
The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.[3]
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