Remember Tiger King? The lockdown-commencing Netflix show brought major attention to the volatile Joe Exotic, but neglected to give as much to the program’s namesake animals. Skip the intro, and you’ll see The Wild Animal Sanctuary (TWAS) in nearby Keenesberg currently houses and cares for those tigers and over one hundred other animals rescued from the property where the series took place. Film & Television Professor Hans Rosenwinkel’s Advanced Cinematography class recently had the unique opportunity to capture their new lives up close on an exclusive tour of the sanctuary.

Hans connected with TWAS while filming for National Geographic nearly a decade ago, and the organization has been conducting countless unprecedented rescues that have received national coverage from NBC News and 60 Minutes. Hans’ original series, ‘Wild Rescue: Passage to Freedom,’ recently released, featuring never-before-seen footage of the Tiger King rescues and the sanctuary’s daring mission to extract lions from a Ukrainian zoo at the height of Russia’s invasion. “Every animal has a story,” Hans says, making it clear his passion for wildlife is only slightly eclipsed by his passion for filmmaking. He’s helped students share his excitement through hands-on experiences by providing them with a challenge that pushes their abilities. “They already know the technical attributes of the gear. They’ve already practiced a lot,” he said. “Now, they can really take it to a higher level.”

To provide 13 students with this high-level experience, Professor Rosenwinkel collaborated directly with camera manufacturer Canon to source an array of long-range lenses used by professional sports and nature cinematographers.The cost of this kind of gear is usually prohibitive to those without thousands of dollars to spare, but students were able to get hands-on as soon as they arrived on-site. By the time they began filming, it was clear setting up industry-standard camera rigs with efficiency had become a routine perfected through Advanced Cinematography projects like complex multi-cam setups. Think action staples like chase scenes or highly choreographed martial arts a la Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon. The day’s subjects would take fewer cameras to capture but would be impossible to direct.

After being loaded with equipment, the tour bus was ready to head to the enclosure of Mobo and Noelle—a bonded pair of tigers rescued from Mr. Exotic. The bright sun provided vibrant lighting conditions, with a trade-off of a surprisingly hot shoot day. It becameinstantly clear this wouldn’t be as easy as simply setting the camera in front of the tigers as they candidly lumbered from basking in the sun to rolling to the grass to getting a drink of water and even testing the fence’s protective capabilities. Adaptability became the name of the game, with the cameras needing to be moved side to side or backward and forward to follow the big cats as they went about their day. “Keeping them in frame while they paced through the enclosure took a precision I had not experienced before because of the zoom level of the lenses” Liam Rodgers reflected. At the same time, patience was often rewarded with spontaneous moments where even the smallest yawn, scratch, or drink of water made for a beautiful shot worth brimming with excitement over.

Cameras were loaded back onto the bus to head over and see the next subjects: Grizzly bears. Planes from the Denver International Airport streaked across a clear blue sky like the shrieking seagulls that circled above the enclosures, eager to share in the generous quantities of food provided by TWAS staff. While the active Mobo & Noelle seemed ready for their beauty shot, the Grizzlies were content with sitting right where they were when the bus rolled up. Two sat behind a manmade hill to hide their dense coats from the sun while another cooled off by lounging in a tub of water. Thankfully, the capabilities of the Canon lenses made up for their inactivity, capturing the bears at a great distance and making it appear as though the fences weren’t even there.

So, what’s the point of all this? Why go to such lengths for a couple of cool shots? Well, anyone in cinematography knows that diverse experiences like this can make a difference in their reels—the film industry’s equivalent to a resumé. Opportunities like this, along with working in Film & Television’s generalist Production courses, allow graduates to enter the industry with a diverse portfolio of work. This wasn’t lost on Carson Holled, who excitedly exclaimed at the end of the trip, “This has been awesome. It’s such a great chance for us to get shots for our reels [and] show we know how to shoot nature footage.”

For these students, cinematography is their passion and what they want to specialize in, but the curriculum of the Film & TV program allows for a well-rounded education, where those who aren’t sure what role they want to fulfill can try everything out, and those who are can have a hand in several different projects. Advanced courses in areas like cinematography, screenwriting, and production design help take these skills to the next level with experiences like this. The impact of opportunities like these extends far beyond the classroom, equipping students with real-world skills they can carry into their professional careers.