"Water Voles" by Russell Savory

Duration: 01:06

SHORTLISTED - 2014

Russell Savory always tries to get down to the eye level of the subject. Spending some 3 months in getting the water voles used to him, Russell had to fight off the leeches and mosquitoes as the voles would smell any repellent product used.

It gave Russell great satisfaction in being able to film the voles from the distance of about 10 inches - you can even see the fine features of their paws and the water droplets on their noses!

While he was lying in the ditch, Russell marvelled at how many times they would sit on his leg and he could feel their little hearts beating.

Russell stated; "this was a precious experience for me. I was trying to achieve a film which showed me looking out from their world as opposed to using a long lens and looking into their world. The result shows all magnified for our viewing with the banks looking like The Cliffs of Dover and showing close up detail and behaviour of the voles."

Ultimately, the aim of Russell's film is one which children can enjoy. Although he is yet to do the narration he believes it should be a fun story, telling the tale of the two little water voles Vinnie and Vern. It seems all Vern is interested in is eating while all Vinnie wants to do is have fun.

We can't wait to see the final film and hope that it has all the humour of the original!

Related Videos