Katie Wardle
Katie established Buddha and the Whale and is the founding director of the company. As well as her specialism as a camera operator, trained in both canopy heights and underwater operation, her passion for conservation has aided her in her work as a conservationist documentary director. She aims to build Buddha and the Whale into a place for creatives to grow and experiment, whilst using their passions to educate and raise awareness of conservation and science.
Katie hopes that she can, one day, create a cinematic documentary that will inspire others to pursue conservational and ecological ventures.
Her most recent work, Bounce Back: Kaikoura Quake, involved pitching and gaining funding from National Geographic for this pilot episode.
She managed pre-production: researching all the science behind the earthquake and the wildlife affected; liaising with the experts; organising the logistics for the shoot and sourcing access to reliable helicopters, planes and dive boats.
She has conducted interviews with some of the top scientists and presenters in the world and was able to gain access to a high level of equipment through close relationships with Red Digital Cinema, Arri and Esprit. Her experience with this equipment is extensive, having filmed on high production cameras for projects like The Last Highland Tiger, which was recorded on the Arri Amira, and Kaikoura Quake, using the Red Weapon 6k.