SAILING THE WINDS OF CHANGE.. TV Series

Following is a proposal I am submitting to ABC and SBS TV to see if I can interest them in Sailing the Winds of Change as a series of 6 half-hour Television programs. I haven’t made a doco for TV since Shamans of the Amazon on SBS TV in 2001. Maybe its time for another. Have a read and leave a comment/ideas at the bottom. For the whales, Dean

Save our Skipper day of support for Paul Watson

Sailing the Winds of Change

A series of 6 half-hour Television programs

 ONE PARAGRAPH SYNOPSIS

 SAILING THE WINDS OF CHANGE is an issue based, presenter style, sailing adventure along the east coast of Australia, following the Humpback whale migration from Byron Bay, to the solar eclipse in Cairns. Skipper, filmmaker and social activist Dean Jefferys and crew, will take viewers on an exciting, personal and inspiring journey through the spectacular Great Barrier Reef and explore and expose many of the urgent issues currently threatening this World Heritage area and its inhabitants.

 ONE PAGE SYNOPSIS

SAILING THE WINDS OF CHANGE  is an issue based, presenter style, sailing adventure along the east coast of Australia, following the Humpback whale migration from Byron Bay, to the solar eclipse in Cairns.

 Skipper, filmmaker and social activist Dean Jefferys and crew, will take viewers on an exciting, personal and inspiring journey through the spectacular Great Barrier Reef and explore and expose many of the urgent issues currently threatening this World Heritage area and its inhabitants.

Aboard Migaloo 2 in the Great Barrier Reef expedition, they will be listening to and interacting with many migrating Humpback whales, especially in Hervey Bay during September and October, where the whales rest, play and feed their young.

Musicians, celebrities, whale experts, aboriginals, marine biologists, philosophers, activists and more will join Dean and Migaloo 2 at various stages of the journey to add there particular passion to the adventure. Others will join “Sailing the Winds of Change” via regular live Internet streaming from Migaloo 2. Dean will involve a large Social-media network from Migaloo 2 via regular Video blogs, Tweets, live interactive streaming and social networking.

Migaloo 2 will visit many ports along the way, to met with locals and environment groups to hear about local environmental issues such as the massive expansion of the Coal and Gas industries in Queensland, whale ship strikes, sonar testing, shark fining, shark nets, ocean and marine health, the loss of marine parks and pollution. Dean will also address important relevant global issues, such as whaling, dolphin capture and slaughter, deforestation, renewable energy and global warming.

The culmination of the East coast journey will be experiencing and live-streaming the Total Solar Eclipse near Cairns on the 21^st of November, 2012 with thousands of others.

Style

Through a personalised shooting style (often using wide-angle Hero Go Pro) Dean will give on-the-spot narration and explanations of events, issues and activities. Dean will also utilise the compact ability of the HD Go Pro camera mounted on a remote controlled quad chopper, to shoot spectacular aerial footage of the ocean, including Migaloo 2 and the whales.

The issues covered in SAILING THE WINDS OF CHANGE will be told in a non-intrusive, non-polemic way, simply by revealing stories as they unfold. But there will be no disguising the fact that Dean is an environmental activist looking to uncover issues and find solutions. It will be an exciting adventure with a passionate heart.

There are 5 main techniques used to explore and expose issues –

Visiting affected areas, eg, dredging and pollution sites, shark nets, fish co-ops, cargo ships, coral bleaching, etc.

Talk to experts both locally and via internet links.

Use of archival footage.

Dean reflecting on issues and using his own archival footage.

Using relevant, locally shot and recorded songs and music.

By utilizing spectacular HD images from the air, land, boat and underwater, with a focus on whales and marine wildlife, there will be plenty of time to let the series breath, simply enjoy the visuals and understand why this area is declared a World Heritage wilderness.