2nd Unit

At Painted Wolf, we don't see 2nd Unit as second best. Of course we'll happily work with talent, but that's not what inspires us - we're here for the natural landscapes, natural light, true wilderness, remote locations, wild animals - that's where our experience, knowledge and hearts lie. Our years in the wild, and our ability to work in very small teams gives us rare access to those emphemeral moments that larger crews can simply not afford to pursue.

You shot the dialogue - let us shoot the wilderness, the wildlife, the atmosphere, with a footprint that makes your budget, risk assessment and carbon footprint weep with joy.

THE FINEST CINEMATOGRAPHY, WHATEVER THE CONDITIONS

Capturing the emphemeral

“With those conventional films, the most important thing is to finish the day. You put up a big silk so you can control the situation and eliminate surprises.

On The Tree of Life, it was the opposite. We used real light, and the sun, wind and rain and other elements that came our way became part of the story. A very important theme in the movie is the constant passing of things, the changes and flow that are part of life.

By not imposing yourself on nature, you are able to catch these very fleeting, ephemeral moments. That theme had a parallel in our approach to the filmmaking.”

Emmanuel Lubezki AMC, ASC
From BRITISH CINEMATOGRAPHER

World-class Cinematography

Our team is built from world-class shooters who edit in their heads. Unlike most production companies, our core team shoots, and shoots at the highest level. We're also all filmmakers meaning we've all been through the edit. That means every frame serves the final cut. We can all improvise, but we can also deliver precisely to storyboard and script. Beyond our David Attenborough classics - we’ve worked with Ron Howard, Jon Favreau, Darren Aronofsky and Michael Bay.

Where our Specialist Expertise Shines:

Building Sense of Place - getting the very best out of the landscapes that might act as metaphor for your story.
Best Light - making the very best of natural light takes time, knowledge and patience - this is time your bigger crews simply can't afford.
Harsh Light - some animal behaviours coincide with the worst time of day for natural light - so we have developed a tool kit that leans into harsh light, heat shimmer, and distortion, bent it to our will to build cinematic and evocative imagery even in the toughest technical conditions.
Hero in the Landscape - this is something we have mastered in natural history - but we can apply the very same approach and skills to putting your actor in these grand scenes with incredible light, without the need for large, expensive crews.
Weather Events - we film in rain, mist, wind, snow, monsoon, drought, desert microburst, tornado, avalanche - the big landscape level weather that delivers on primal reaction.
Capturing Passage of Time - be it subtle real-time cues - shadows, clouds; or sped up action
Longterm Time Studies and Seasonal Change - be it timelapse, lapse-time or a combination - with long term installations, or calibrated temporary installations with returns.
Sky Replacements - it's incredible what a good sky replacement can do the dramatic tension of a scene
Slow Motion - used sparingly a good environmental slow motion shot can pack a dramatic punch - be it rain drops, or ocean waves from below.

NOTHING BEATS THE SUBTLE INTENSITY OF A TRULY WILD ANIMAL, FILMED SENSITIVELY IN THEIR WILD, NATURAL SETTING

CAPTURING THE ACTION WHEN IT HAPPENS - EVEN IN HARSH MIDDAY LIGHT

Animals in Movies:

Authenticity in the Modern Era

In the age of CGI is there still a need to film real animals?

We agree that for certain involved story beats - particularly when animals are interacting with human actors - this is now the space for CG replacements - both from a practical and ethical perspective. However if you want a true feeling of the wild in your film nothing beats real wild animals doing their authentically wild thing. And this simply is not something you can capture on a sound stage.

The Problem with "Tame" Animals on Set (beyond the ethics)

Mainstream cinema has long relied on wrangled, captive animals to hit script marks on controlled soundstages. While this approach appears to offer convenience, it consistently compromises on-screen authenticity:

Domestication Dullness: Captive animals lose their wild edge. A wrangled wolf or big cat lacks the lean, razor-sharp musculature, heightened alertness, and raw intensity of a wild predator constantly surviving in the elements.
"Performing" for Food Rewards: Trained animals can move with telltale hesitation, frequently looking off-camera for handler cues, clickers, or treats. This breaks the tension of a scene, replacing natural survival instincts with visible conditioning.
Sanitised Environments: Studio setups force animals into artificial lighting and static sets, stripping away organic reactions to wind, scent trails, true weather, and complex natural terrain.
Repetitive, Scripted Behaviors: Handlers can only command a narrow set of trained actions - a growl, a run on mark, a sit - resulting in predictable, flat performances that lack the dynamic, unscripted intensity of true wild animal behavior.

All of these factors are far more recognisable by modern audiences. CG alternatives are very costly, AI is problematic and frequently unconvincing - let us do it properly - the results are worth it.

WE DON'T JUST FILM THE BIG ONES!
DETAILED, WILD WILDLIFE INSERTS CAN ELEVATE ANY FILM

BUT WHEN WE DO GO BIG WE GO REALLY BIG

The Remedy: True Wildness Captured by Natural History Experts

We bring blue-chip documentarians - the teams behind landmark series like Planet Earth - directly into feature film production. Instead of forcing a tame animal onto a soundstage, we track, wait for, and film authentic wild animals in their natural habitats, delivering shots that wranglers simply cannot replicate.

1. Storyboarding with Wildlife Behaviour

We help directors build scriptable beats around what real animals actually do, rather than forcing biologically unnatural actions onto a scene.

Behavioural Integration: We design sequences around genuine field behaviours - ensuring high dramatic impact grounded in biological reality.
Pre-Production Field Audits: Our natural history researchers assess your target species, mapping seasonal movements, weather conditions, and location logistics to guarantee high-yield shooting windows.

2. Specialised Tracking & Remote Cinema Gear

Our crews deploy long-range natural history techniques to shoot cinema-grade narrative footage without altering the animal's natural state.

Long-Lens & Remote Rigging: Using ultra-telephoto optics, thermal tracking, habituated blinds, and custom camera traps, we capture tight, dramatic close-ups of truly wild subjects in full 4K or 8K cinematic formats.
Dynamic Pursuit Systems: We use stabilised vehicle setups, small drones, and low-impact tracking gear built specifically to follow apex predators at top speed across rugged terrain.

3. Framing the Unscripted "Performance"

Our natural history operators are masters of anticipatory camera work. We don't wait for a handler's signal; we read animal body language to capture spontaneous moments.

Micro-Expressions & Intensity: Filming wild subjects captures real adrenaline: dilated pupils, twitching muscles, true fight-or-flight responses, and genuine environmental awareness.
Seamless Plate Integration: We capture wild behavioural plates tailored specifically to your main camera packages, and feedback detailed lighting data allowing visual effects teams to seamlessly blend wild footage into studio plates.

4. Keep it Simple

Sometimes an animal doesn't need to do much to earn its place. It could be as simple as an over the shoulder look out into the landscape that suddenly lands something meaningful. I remember filming tigers in India, and whilst filming a sunset I felt a presence. Next to me a langur (monkey) was sitting motionless watching the same sunset - I turned our cameras on him - there was something magical in that simple shared act of the obvious appreciation of beauty.

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