MA Wildlife Documentary Production

Ishan Vaidya

MA Wildlife Documentary Production

Ishan Vaidya

As soon as the course started, we were told of the importance of our final project. This would be used as our showreel to introduce us to the industry. I shot my final film, “Puffin Island,” on the remote island of Stockholm. The film focused on the 10,500 puffins which migrate to the island each year, their habitat and the other creatures who coexist with them on the island. 

Once the film was released, it really did just blow up. It has over 220,000 views on YouTube and recently won the International (Non-Funded) Category at the Nature in Focus Film Festival in India. The film has also been shortlisted at the Sony Future Filmmaker Awards in Los Angeles.

All of my lecturers were active in the industry and had large personal networks. One of my teachers heard about an opportunity for an editor in his network and recommended me — this became my first professional work experience.

Since graduating, I have moved to London and worked on a number of big projects including, HBO/BBC’s “His Dark Materials,” BBC’s “Bad Education,” Netflix’s “Man vs Bee” and “Alexander the Great” and Ric Roman Waugh’s film “Kandahar” starring Gerrard Butler.