News
Lights, Camera, Lawrenceville!
Recent Lawrenceville Films
Student Collaboration:
Lawrenceville in Flux
Spring 2009
Lawrenceville in Flux
Spring 2009
Award-winning filmmaker shares his skills with Lawrentians
Award-winning documentary filmmaker Gil Domb has worked on projects around the world for National Geographic, PBS Nature, the Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, and the BBC as a director of photography, writer, researcher, and producer. His work has specialized in documentary films related to wildlife, the environment, and people living in remote places. Domb has collaborated with leading environmentalists, including Dr. Jane Goodall.
For the past four years, Domb and his wife (Science Master Dr. Leah Domb) have co-taught one of Lawrenceville's most popular classes, “Serengeti — Africa's Great Wilderness,” that culminates in a trip to Tanzania.
A Few Minutes with Gil Domb
Why did you decide to study in zoology at the University of Bristol?
As a young child growing up in London I was possessed with the need to be free of the bustle and noise and the apparent sameness of lives of the people around me. Perhaps this was escapist, but ultimately this feeling compelled me to study a subject that would lead me to the most remote of places. Zoology was my path to the wild.
When did you first become interested in filmmaking?
From childhood, films about or set in wild places really grabbed my imagination — anything from the Jungle Book to National Geographic documentaries. But I didn't really consider filmmaking as a viable career choice until after I graduated from university. My exposure to filmmaking while studying at Bristol University opened my eyes to the possibility, though initially I was way too intimidated by how competitive it was to get into. But in the end sheer stubbornness and determination can get you very far.
Most of your projects concern wildlife and environmental issues. Why are these topics such a passion for you?
In large part it's all been a big ruse — wilderness attracted me first and foremost, filmmaking was just the excuse. That began to change once I started in the business. I quickly got sucked into the magic that films can create, and I also became deeply aware of the power of filmmaking to reach global audiences and to draw attention to worthwhile stories. As I traveled and got more involved it was stories of wildlife and of the environment that seemed most compelling to me. The more I saw and learned, the more screamingly obvious it became that there was a need for certain stories to be told. I also came to really enjoy the exciting and collaborative process of filmmaking itself. It's fun.
Why have you concentrated your efforts on documentary filmmaking?
Documentary filmmaking specifically appealed to me because it satisfied the lure of the wild that had tugged at me for so long. I also really enjoyed being given long-term projects and having the chance to film with small but dedicated crews. A bunch of fancy trailers in Hollywood just don't appeal to me. Setting a platform up in the treetops to film monkeys has always held far more glamour for me.
Can you share some of your most memorable, meaningful, or funny moments as a filmmaker?
I have spent much of my adult life traveling all over with many incredible people. I worked with Leah Domb by the shores of Lake Tanganyika, Adam Ravetch in the Arctic, Mike Fay in the Congo, Amizur Boldo in Israel, Jane Goodall in Gombe, Julia Roberts in Borneo, and many, many others — local people, scientists, and international celebrities alike. One of these, Leah, I later married! I was in the Arctic filming walruses on 9/11/2001. I spent an evening drinking honey beer with a leper in Ethiopia in 1997. I had malaria five times in 1994, but it was one of the best years of my life. That same year a lion charged me. In 1995 I was licked by a Komodo dragon while filming in Indonesia. In 2007 I was charged by a gorilla (even more frightening than being charged by a lion!). I missed the end of the Cold War because I was out of contact with civilization filming lions in one of the most beautiful places in the world, but it was probably the loneliest year of my life.
What are some of the most interesting things you've learned?
One strong impression of mine — I think about how here in the 'Western world' we have so much choice and so many options. In many ways this is liberating, but in others this is the great curse of our age. At the end of the day, how is it possible to make a rational choice about anything (wife, career, place to live, etc.) when a thousand alternatives are on the table? The wealth of choices that we face makes it hard to be satisfied. Some of the most content people I've met are materially poor and living in far more restrictive environments than we live in, but richer for it nevertheless. They have fewer choices, but as a result choice becomes possible.
Another thought — differential wealth splits families and communities. I think it explains the sad loss of value placed on the extended family in our culture, and it makes for a much more fragmented society.
You've worked in Borneo, Canada, Congo, Ethiopia, Gabon, India, Israel, Indonesia, Japan, Madagascar, Mali, Namibia, South Africa, Tanzania, Zimbabwe … what brought you to the Lawrenceville School?
My wife Leah had just finished her Ph.D. and was offered a job here. We never exactly planned to live in New Jersey, but The Lawrenceville School was intriguing to us and it has certainly proved quite an amazing place to land. Bear in mind that it's not like we came here and I stopped my filmmaking life. I continued to work on shoots around the world, and in our early years here I was on the road filming far more than I was at Lawrenceville.
How have you and Leah divided teaching duties in your "Serengeti — African's Great Wilderness" class? What has it been like for you to move from behind the camera to the front of the classroom?
Dividing our duties has been pretty straightforward and we have fun switching off, or rather bouncing off each other. Leah is a really experienced scientist and anthropologist, while I'm more hands-on and with plenty of first-hand experience of actually living in the Serengeti. I suppose I'm more “big picture,” more of a naturalist if you like. Filmmaking has given me a deep understanding of animal behavior. I have also worked with Maasai chiefs, been on anti-poaching patrols, darted and collared elephants for radio-tracking work, seen the collection and use of medicinal plants, and so on. I also handle the trip itself. If there's a lion near camp, I know how to deal with that! Leah delves into the details. Between us we challenge students to come up with their own projects, and these are presented at night and around a fire on the trip itself.
Teaching is a challenge — it is an art that I am really just learning. But I think that there are similarities between good documentary filmmaking and teaching. Both are about communication and aim to effectively inform, and both must achieve this while at the same time being engaging and stimulating. Both should succeed in stirring up debate and discussion. I have a lot to learn, but I do have certain strengths that I can draw upon.
It must be interesting for you to observe your students as they experience the Serengeti for the first time. What have you found to be most memorable?
There have been many memorable moments! We camp throughout the trip, so we are very much in touch with the wild and with the rhythm of the land. It is not unusual to be woken in the middle of night by the roar of lions, which always quickens the heart. A particularly memorable encounter last year involved time spent with a herd of elephants. We positioned our car in the path of the herd then waited as they slowly drifted our way. There were 20 or so elephants, including one youngster just a few weeks old. Elephants at that age rarely stray far from between their mother's legs, and the whole herd is very protective, so it can be really hard to see the small babies well. As the elephants came closer we got glimpses of the young one in the long grass, until eventually the elephants came to rest about 10 meters away from us and our view was unobstructed. The baby was testing the air with its trunk (which was kind of uncoordinated) as it checked us out, then it nuzzled its mom and suckled milk. The herd was very relaxed in our presence, and for a while the youngster appeared to doze off while standing up. It was an incredibly intimate encounter. Later one of the elephants pushed an Acacia tree down right in front of us, then ripped leaves and branches from it as it fed. When the herd passed us by one adult came within two meters of us -- it was truly heart stopping. Encounters like this leave no one untouched. On both a personal level, and in terms of engendering an appreciation of wild animals and wild places, I think that's got to be a good thing.
This spring, you'll be launching a new course on filmmaking. On what type of projects will your students be working?
At its heart this will be a hands-on filmmaking course. We will work in small crews on various projects as we work through the technicalities of filming and editing. More importantly, we will deal with the creative aspects — framing, lighting, and in particular, story telling. Student crews will make three film projects over the course of the term. They'll be able to turn their hand to most any kind of genre, but one requirement will also be a short film, documentary or otherwise, that is somehow related to their experience at Lawrenceville.
For additional information on all Lawrenceville School news, please contact Lisa M. Gillard Hanson, director of public relations, at lgillard@lawrenceville.org.