We are happy to interview and share a recent ‘test project’ by one of video producers at Manto, Laura Clark. She has been working on this short doc since Spring 2023 and is over the moon to finally share it. Its had over 68k views on YouTube alone and we couldn’t be any more proud.…
We are happy to interview and share a recent ‘test project’ by one of video producers at Manto, Laura Clark. She has been working on this short doc since Spring 2023 and is over the moon to finally share it. Its had over 68k views on YouTube alone and we couldn’t be any more proud.
This film is a story of fifth-generation forester, Marcus Tribe, one of the UK’s last woodsmen. He lives in his wooden yurt on a six-acre woodland and has spent over 20 years preserving the land and living self-sufficiently. Now 65 years of age and in a time where the Earth is in a global climate crisis, he wishes to share his lifetime of knowledge in hope of inspiring younger generations to reconnect with the land.
Watch Wildfolk on YouTube
Can you tell us about your background in videography and when you started working for Manto?
I’ve always loved capturing video since I was a child, from filming summer holidays, photographing flowers to creating videos of my friends and I pretending to be newsreaders! I really began to be passionate about filmmaking at A-levels when I first watched Goodfellas and Gravity and then went on to study film and photography at university. I started working for Manto at the beginning of 2022 when I first joined on a 6 month contract with the Kickstarter Scheme. From there I’ve developed into a video producer, being involved in a huge variety of video projects… 11-year-old me would be pretty jealous!
What inspired you to create the film “Wild Folk,” and what message were you hoping to convey through it?
I was keen to create a nature-led short doc for a while, being inspired by filmmakers such as Joya Berrow, Alex Lockwood and Alice Aedy. Then my boyfriend was working on a rewilding site in Devon where he met Marcus Tribe, the star of Wild Folk. When I first met Marcus, I was mesmerised by his innate knowledge of his local environment. He was a man full of wisdom about plants, mushrooms, animals and believed that humans have lost their connection to land. I had recently read Lucy Jones’ book ‘Losing Eden’ which delved into similar topics of nature disconnection and felt I wanted to inspire folks to reconnect with their local flora and fauna through Marcus’ inspiring and humble passion.
Can you walk us through the process of creating “Wild Folk,” from concept development to final production?
When I had first met Marcus about 6 months before production, I had captured a few shots of him giving us a tour of his woodland. His passion for inspiring younger folks to learn ‘woodland wisdom’ helped focus the content when I was planning the interview questions for the shoot. I created a detailed storyboard with a wish list of shots I wanted to capture. I knew I’d only have 1 day of shooting, so time was of the essence! It was also over 200 miles away in rural Devon so a precise kit list was pretty important too.
The film features stunning visuals and a powerful narrative. How did you approach the storytelling and visual design to evoke emotion and connect with the audience?
To evoke that emotion, you need to frame the interview questions around personal emotions. E.g. ‘how does it feel to wake up in the woodland’ and ‘how did the controversy around you initially owning the land make you feel’ and so on. There are a wealth of films out there about climate breakdown, so I really wanted to focus on Marcus’ contagious optimism. Coined by Joanna Macy, ‘active hope’ was a term I came across after shooting, and I think it really encapsulates Marcus’ non-preachy views, which engages a wider audience. The visuals were secondary to the story and filming solo was limiting, but it meant I had total creative control and consistency of what this looked like. The unintentional (!) wobbly camera shakes, nostalgic and ‘wild’ feel to the film came authentically and I just continued to lean into this when editing and colour-grading as I found it suited the tone of who Marcus is.
What were some of the technical challenges you faced during the production of “Wild Folk,” and how did you overcome them?
We only had a day of filming on a cloudy day in early April and I remember losing the light pretty quickly. I was really keen to get the drone up to show the contrast between Marcus’ woodland and the surrounding industrial agricultural land. This was my second time using the drone so I was a tad nervous considering the cloud was very low… the shots came out pretty grainy but I think they lean quite well into the rustic tone of the film.
Collaboration is often key in filmmaking. Can you tell us about your collaboration with Marcus Tribe, and how you worked together to bring the vision of “Wild Folk” to life?
I was sitting with Marcus, my boyfriend and a local rewilder in his yurt over warm vegetable soup and fresh lemon balm tea when I learnt that Marcus had always been keen to capture his knowledge in some form. He was initially planning a book but when I approached him with the visual idea of a film, that enticed him. I think having a good relationship with who you are interviewing before you put a camera in their face is really important to achieving authentic results. You don’t want to seem like you’re ‘extracting’ from them but rather the film is a collaboration between filmmaker and subject. Even after filming, I caught a few extra shots in woodlands in Yorkshire, checking in with Marcus that the wildlife I was capturing would be native to his woodland to further achieve that authenticity.
Wild Folk has received widespread acclaim and recognition (over 67k views to date). What has been the most rewarding aspect of creating this film for you personally?
Honestly, I was super nervous for Marcus to first see the film. But when his daughter told me they surprised him and the rest of their family with a screening of the film on Christmas Day, (and it was well received!) I knew I had peaked. Of course the recognition from the lovely rewilding community on YouTube has been amazing, but knowing his family have this film as a time capsule to look back on in the future, is the most precious thing.
What was it like behind the scenes?
Emotional! The interview lasted nearly 2 hours, we danced around an array of conversation topics and we all became quite emotional at points. Just listening to Marcus’ humour, knowledge and deep compassion so intensely was awe-inspiring. We all learnt a lot about woodland management when walking round the land, from mice species, to foraging tips, to what trees grow best on a wet woodland.
Can you share any upcoming projects or future aspirations in your videography career?
I have actually just submitted Wild Folk to the streaming website WaterBear in hope of reaching a younger audience, so look out for its release on August 15th! I’m hoping to continue researching and planning a longer form documentary in the rewilding space focused more localling in Yorkshire in reconnecting children with nature… keep your eyes peeled!
Do you have any advice for aspiring videographers or animators who are looking to pursue a career in the industry?
It sounds cliche but make films about what you love. If you have a passion for a subject, person, time-period or how much you love peanut butter on toast, research the hell out of it and make a film about it. Seriously, that passion will come through the lens and achieve more authentic results. There is SO much noisy content out there but if you create something that comes from your genuine voice, just know that it’s never been done before.
Visit the Manto Collective channel on YouTube to see more test projects from the team.