Film Production grad Mike McLaughlin continues to amaze. As part of a production team for the documentary series, The Nature of Things with David Suzuki, he recently travelled to Ethiopia to film long distance runners during training in the mid-40 degrees Celsius heat.

With steadicam in tow (as pictured below), Mike will be heading to Siberia soon to continue shooting for this episode.

What is this project and what were your responsibilities on it?

Mike: The project is a documentary for The Nature of Things called “The Perfect Runner”. It’s taking a look at long distance running and how it has shaped our bodies over time. Myself and another director of photography named Daron Donahue are the cinematographers on it. My responsibilities, along with general shooting, are operating the steadicam and motion control systems.

How did you land this gig?

Mike: The production company, Clearwater Documentary, was working on an episode of The Nature of Things last year called “Tipping Point”.  I helped out with some shooting towards the end and things went well, so when they began pre-production on “The Perfect Runner”, they asked me if I wanted to come on as a cinematographer.

Can you talk a bit about any specific challenges you encountered while shooting?

Mike: Some of the challenges we’ve faced so far have to do with the style we’re going for on the particular show: we want to be very fluid and fast and to get some of these cinematic shots; we had to bring our camera systems to the other side of the world; we recently spent a few weeks in Ethiopia, and it was challenging to bring the motion control and steadicam into these environments.

It was well worth it once we saw the footage.

What’s next for you?

Mike: We have a couple more big shoots with this documentary. We’ll be in the US for a few weeks this summer and Siberia in the fall. After that, I’ll be gearing up for a feature film to be shot next December, called 40 Below and Falling.

Thanks, Mike. Bring extra socks for the shoot in Siberia!

Keep your eyes peeled for “The Perfect Runner” airing next spring on CBC.