WildFiles.TV developed out of Producer Ava Karvonen’s life-long love of wildlife and nature. Inspired by her parents to appreciate and explore the outdoors, Ava wanted to create this series for her own child, and also for children who don’t have the opportunity to see wildlife up close.
Ava and Chris Fisher, co-writer and co-star of WildFiles.TV, called on longtime friends and colleagues to help them with the series. These scientists are all active in wildlife biology, which adds to the authenticity of the dramatic storylines and exposes young viewers to real-life Canadian scientists. “I associate with them personally and professionally so it was very rewarding to be able to share this experience with them,” says Chris. “It sure helps that Chris and I know many of the same people,” Ava adds. “When he suggested we ask Dr. Jim Butler to join us, I knew exactly what he had in mind for the muskox episode. Jim is a past favorite university professor – and mentor – of both Chris and myself.”
Dr. Robin “Spider-man” Leech has been a friend of Ava’s since her father introduced her to him in the 1970s. “Robin was one of the first experts I had in mind when we started writing the scripts,” says Ava, “and when we wrote the character of ‘Grandpa’ in Tale of the Giant Beaver I was thinking of my father. He loves to tell stories and spin tales so it only made sense to cast him in that episode!” As for Albert, he said he enjoyed being on the other side of the camera but found it challenging to memorize lines and repeat scenes several times over. He much prefers his real job – a wildlife filmmaker. You can’t capture great wildlife shot with 3 days per episode of shooting so Ava drew on the incredible nature footage her father has captured on film over the past 30 years.
Most of the young performers in the series had a background in theatre, but had never acted for television before. Director Francis Damberger, with his background in acting, says “I always like working with young actors and helping them learn their craft, I love the challenges and rewards that go along with that.” Despite being an outdoorsy guy himself, even Francis learned from the experts. “Their commitment to wildlife is really inspiring.”
In addition to the humans, some episodes of WildFiles.TV featured animal actors. Feather of Hope featured a sick Peregrine, played by two different birds. The first bird was a Peregrine on its way to a zoo in Eastern Canada. This bird had to have blood drawn for a DNA sample, so ornithologist Dr. Gord Court performed this procedure on-camera for the diagnosis scene. All other scenes were shot with falconer Alastair Franke’s bird, Savannah. The subject of West Nile virus helps drive the episode’s dramatic storyline, connecting the series to current events.
Since 2002, a group of kids aged 7-14 have planned, written and illustrated 15 issues of the e-Zine WildFiles.TV News. This dedicated group of kids have worked together for two years, and are currently on hiatus as the producer seeks sponsorship to keep the e-Zine in production.
With Season I of WildFiles.TV complete, Ava and the rest of the production team look forward to developing a second season with many more wild adventures.
