Densey Clyne - Achievements - Filmography

Filmography

The following are the TV and other documentary productions in which Densey Clyne has been involved as researcher, writer, narrator and/or adviser, in partnership with award-winning cinematographer Jim Frazier, OAM:

• 1971 - "The Australian Ark" (Shell's Australia). Clyne was asked by producers Robert Raymond and Vincent Serventy to film her garden insects in macro, as part of a TV series on Australia's natural heritage. She approached Jim Frazier to join her in the venture; his first attempt at cinematography, based on her research into insect behaviour, was so successful that the team was commissioned to complete one entire programme for the series. This was the start of a 28-year filming partnership between Clyne and Frazier
• 1975 - "Garden Jungle" and "Aliens Among Us", two 50-minute documentaries researched and written by Clyne and filmed by Frazier, about the insects and spiders in her garden. These were sold first in Australia to the national 0-10 TV network and subsequently to the BBC in Britain and to networks in Germany, Holland, USA ("Garden Jungle"), Japan and Middle Eastern countries. Awards included the Australian Television Society's 'Golden Penguin'
• Short (20-minute) educational documentaries:
  • 1975 - "Now You See Me Now You Don't"
  • 1975 - "Come Into My Parlour"
  • 1977 - "Every Care But No Responsibility"
  • 1977 - "Blueprint for Survival"
• 1978 - "Butterfly Farming in Papua New Guinea", 10-minute film made for the ABC's 'Weekend Magazine', researched and scripted by Densey Clyne
• 1979 - "Life on Earth"
• 1983 - "The Living Planet". Clyne and Frazier were commissioned by the BBC as one of several filming teams to contribute to three of the BBC's world-renowned television series by Sir David Attenborough. They filmed sequences for these series in Borneo, Penang, West Sumatra and California, and were responsible for advising, researching and filming a number of Australian subjects, notably invertebrate animals
• 1979 - "Encounter Underground". Produced by BBC/ABC, a documentary about bulldog ants
• 1980 - "Gippsland". Series of four half-hour documentaries by the ABC about the natural history of the Gippsland region in the state of Victoria
• 1982 - "Lady of the Spiders". Produced by BBC/ABC, a film about Dr Barbara Main and her trapdoor spider studies in Western Australia
• 1982 - "Funnelweb". Produced by Forest Homes Films, a documentary about the search for an antivenin to Funnelweb spider venom
• 1983 - "Thrill of the Chase". Produced by the ABC, a film about Densey Clyne and Jim Frazier
• 1983 - "Kinchega National Park". Produced by the ABC
• 1984 - "Desire of the Moth". Conceived and written by Densey Clyne, and filmed by Jim Frazier, a one-hour documentary about the lives of moths produced by the BBC Natural History Unit, Bristol, England
• 1985 - "Frazer Island - The Sands of Time". Produced by Yowie Films, Sydney; written by Densey Clyne and filmed by Jim Frazier, a one-hour TV documentary about the biggest sand island in the world, off the coast of Queensland
• 1985-6 - "The Nature of Australia". Produced by the ABC for Australia's bicentennial year, a series of six one-hour documentaries for TV about the evolution of Australia's fauna
• 1986 - "To Be a Butterfly" (Gold Camera Award, USA). Conceived, written and directed by Densey Clyne and filmed by Jim Frazier in Australia, a one-hour documentary about the lives of tropical butterflies, produced by Oxford Scientific Films for Anglia TV
• 1986 - "Sounds Like Australia". Produced by Film Australia, directed by Jamie Robertson, a documentary about two musicians inspired to compose music by the sounds of nature. Wildlife sequences filmed, and sound recorded, by Mantis. (Won Golden Tripod Award)
• 1988-9 - "Trials of Life". Wildlife sequences filmed over three years for David Attenborough's award-winning 13-part BBC TV series; consultations with BBC on Australian subjects researched and filmed by Mantis
• 1991-2 - "Webs of Intrigue" (one-hour documentary about spiders). This documentary, filmed by Jim Frazier, is an update of the original "Aliens Among Us", conceived, researched, written and presented by Densey Clyne. The new film won a number of cinematography, educational and other awards, including an Emmy in the USA, a Panda at Wildscreen in the UK, and the Japan Wildlife Festival Grand Award in 1995. Produced by Roger Whittaker Productions
• 1996-7 - "The Amazing World of Minibeasts". One-hour documentary about the lives of insects and others, conceived, researched, written and presented by Densey Clyne and filmed by Jim Frazier, using his unique Deep Focus lenses. Produced and directed by Silvergrass Productions