Guardians of the Microcosm
(Die Hüter des Mikrokosmos)
A film about the hidden world of insects, the tiny heroes that keep life on our planet running. Guardians of the Microcosm explores the many unexpected ways humanity depends on insects. It shows not only their beauty and how they make our planet livable, but also how our behavior is causing dramatic declines in their numbers and what we must do to avert catastrophe.
Filming Guardians of the Microcosm
I’m very happy to be the Director of Photography of this film. The filming involves a mix of people and natural history sequences, and it’s an exciting challenge to find a visual style that marries them.
Filming officially began in April 2024 and will take place in nine countries across four continents over two years.
The crew during a shoot in South Africa.
Filming at Rutgers University in the United States.
Drone filming for a sequence on Borneo.
Filming mayflies on the river Tisza in Hungary.
Filming dung beetles in South Africa.
Technical details
Some of the equipment used:
Red V-Raptor 8K VV camera
Phantom 4K high-speed camera
Red Komodo 6K camera
Sony FX6 camera
DJI Inspire 3 drone
Sigma High Speed Prime cine lenses
Infinity Photo-Optical micro and macro scope lenses
Motion control systems including a purpose-built macro slider with realtime, programmable, and time-lapse capability
P+S Technik Skater Dolly
Kessler Shuttle Dolly
Time-lapse photography systems
DJI Ronin gimbal
Ready Rig
Production Details
Cinema documentary
90 minutes, 2.39:1
Television spinoffs for Arte and SRF
2 × 50 minutes
Produced by Lucky Film
Producer/director: Martin Schilt
Writer: Daniel Ballmer
Editor: Marina Wernli
In production; to be released in 2026
Credit
Director of Photography