TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — In “Formosa Forevermore,” a video series presented by the Ministry of Culture (MOC), Taiwan’s pioneer in wildlife documentary filmmaking, Liu Yamm-ming (劉燕明), shares his work on wild birds, which highlights the unique beauty of Taiwan’s biodiversity.
In an exclusive interview, Liu told Taiwan News that he was personally invited by the Minister of Culture Lee Yung-te (李永得) to join the project. He had around a year in total to produce the 10 videos included in the series.
Though he was able to go out to accessible locations to get newer, higher-quality footage for the project, Liu said that a video series like “Formosa Forevermore” requires years of preparation. In addition to newly shot material, other footage presented in the videos includes some of his work from over 20 years ago.
The creators of the "Formosa Forevermore" series, Liu Yamm-ming, Yang Sen-hong, and Chen Pei-kung pose for a group photo. (Taiwan News photo)
“The first thing I considered was that the audience is foreigners, so I tried to focus my selection on Taiwan’s own animals.” With over 40 years’ worth of material to choose from, Liu said he decided to present themes that highlighted Taiwan’s uniqueness, including endemic birds or those with strong Taiwanese traits.
However, another important aspect of Taiwan’s wild bird population is Taiwan’s crucial role in migration. He said, “We think of Taiwan as a country that relies on trade now, but in fact, for thousands of years, Taiwan has been a very important hub for wildlife’s travel and exchange, especially in terms of wildlife’s migration."
As a veteran in the field of wildlife documentaries, Liu is so in tune with nature that when he arrives at a mountain, he can tell very quickly if an animal he wants to observe is present. By now, Liu is no longer easily surprised or shocked by animal sightings, and sees every contact with wildlife as a different experience that brings different emotions.
Using a project he was editing as an example, Liu said, “In the past, when I saw Swinhoe’s pheasants, I thought them pretty. Now if [I] see them, I find them even prettier — the reason is that the equipment for filming is more advanced. It captures the many delicate details of the Swinhoe’s pheasant that were not observable in the past.”
A male Swinhoe's pheasant. (Taiwan Plus, Liu Yamm-ming screenshot)
He added that did not realize until after decades of observing and filming the bird that a hint of gold can be found on the Swinhoe’s pheasant’s wing under a certain light. In the past, when he shot on 16-millimeter film, the footage would be grainier or noisier, and the color quality and resolution was not as good as digital images.
“Filming methods nowadays are very different from before… this is thanks to technology,” he said, adding that digitalized film equipment also cuts costs on filming wildlife and allows for different methods of observation. According to Liu, even though sometimes technology contributes to environmental problems, without the help of some technologies, people would miss many details if they could only observe with their eyes and keep images in their minds.
In addition to the assistance provided by modern equipment, Liu said that to film a wildlife documentary, it is crucial to know when animals are active, their behavior, and what kinds of environments they prefer. “If you know all these, of course it is not hard to get good footage. You just need to spend a lot of time to get to know these creatures, especially their relationship to the environment.”
“Of course, you need to find good locations, too,” he added.
A mountain hawk-eagle feeds its young. (Taiwan Plus, Liu Yamm-ming screenshot)
Liu said the hardest birds to film are the ones with the smallest populations — the mountain hawk-eagle, for example. “In Taiwan, probably over 99% of people have never seen it. The number of people in Taiwan who have seen mountain hawk-eagles breeding is probably fewer than five; the number of those who have seen them perched on a tree, I believe is fewer than 10.”
He said most people see them flying in the sky, but no more than a few hundred people have seen that. “Unfortunately, they weren’t hyped up, so no one is concerned about them, no one pays attention to them.”
Some animals, though not truly endangered, are labeled so as the result of hype, according to Liu. He disapproves of such a phenomenon, saying, “Basically, I think animals are not obligated to help you find fame and fortune. Only by breaking this trend can we truly help these creatures.”
“Despite our success with conservation, we don’t know much about wildlife,” he added, “We may know that we can’t capture or harm them, but we don’t know how important they are to the local environment, how unique they are.” In Taiwan, where people can easily access the wilderness, many people conserve wildlife “with their emotions” and neglect rational discussions about the relationship between the environment, animals, and humans.
Wildlife documentary filmmaking involves a lot of waiting, said Liu. (Facebook, Liu Yamm-ming photo)
The tendency stems from the fact that “emotional conservation” moves people more easily. A more rational approach tends to have a limited effect on raising public awareness.
Whichever it may be, though, there is no way to know if humans are truly helping animals. “There is no way to ask them. They can’t answer you, can they?”
Nonetheless, Liu sees Taiwan as a success story in terms of educating the public about wildlife protection and conservation. He lauded the public’s raised awareness and changed mindset about protecting and coexisting with wildlife, calling it “great progress.”
“In about 10 years, the entire island has learned to appreciate and protect wild animals.” He said, as an example, fruit farmers in the past would never have allowed birds to peck away at their crops — yet nowadays, many would find no harm in leaving a few for the birds to enjoy.
A Taiwan yuhina pecks away at a persimmon. (Taiwan Plus, Liu Yamm-ming screenshot)
Another observation that Liu mentioned was how easy it has become to see Taiwan Blue Magpies. He said that decades ago, if he wanted to film Taiwan Blue Magpies, he would need to travel deep into the mountains or to very rural areas in Taiwan.
Now, he said as he pulled up a video taken on the same day of the interview, he simply needed to go to his roof.
When asked about the possibility of producing more “Formosa Forevermore” episodes, Liu said that he has ideas for the direction he would want his work to take: the interaction between wildlife and civilization in Taiwan. He said he would like to document the transformation of human and nature’s relationship, such as when accounts of conflict turn into interesting stories.
To watch the “Formosa Forevermore” series, please visit Taiwan Plus.
