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Wojtek – The Bear That Went to War tells the story of a six foot, 500 pound Syrian honey bear who was adopted by a group of Polish soldiers during World War Two. Wojtek lived with them, shared their beer and cigarettes, and was even offi cially enlisted as a corporal. According to numerous reports he helped move ammunition for the Polish troops during the famous Battle of Monte Cassino in Italy.

Documentary producer Animal Monday used a small crew working in a range of locations across Poland, Israel and Scotland to tell the tale of Wojtek’s incredible war time journey across Europe. The documentary was shot using the PMW-F3 as the main camcorder paired with Arri and Zeiss Ultra Prime lenses. Produced by Katrina Mansoor and directed by Animal Monday’s Will Hood and Adam Lavis, the fi lm was part funded by the BBC, German

broadcaster MDR and Poland’s Telewizja Polska. Getting the most out of the fi lm’s modest budget was one of the big challenges, notes Lavis. “We wanted to shoot some epic landscapes and needed a camcorder which could make the most of these scenes without breaking the bank. I have previously used bigger digital camera systems but these would have been far too bulky. The F3 offered us a really good compromise between cinematic quality, mobility and budget, and we’re very happy with what we managed to achieve. The quality of the footage really impressed us, and offered a wonderful high-end quality which lifted the whole fi lm.”

The fi lm’s award-winning Polish cameraman Wojciech Staron reports that the F3 coped well with a range of conditions. “From shooting in the freezing

“The quality of the F3 footage really impressed us and offered a wonderful high-end quality which lifted the whole fi lm.” Adam Lavis, co-director/editor AND YOU CAN’T AFFORD

TO TAKE CHANCES

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WHEN ONLY THE BEST WILL DO

Tale of an Animal Monday combined the PMW-F3 with Ultra Primes to tell the story of Wojtek – a bear who was enlisted into the Polish Army. Co-director Adam Lavis describes how the camcorder offered a killer combination of fl exibility, and affordable fi lmic good looks

Sony specialist_x2.indd 19 27/01/2012 15:08