Alan Root (12 May 1937, London – 26 August 2017) was a British-born filmmaker who worked on nature documentary series such as Survival.[1]
At the WTTC Summit in 2012
Until 1990 he was married to Joan Root, who was a Kenyan-born conservationist, murdered at Lake Naivasha in 2006. The couple had produced National Geographic articles together from 1963 to 1971 on animals, Galapagos Islands, and mainly African wildlife. Notable films include: The Year of the Wildebeest (1974), Safari by Balloon (1975), Mysterious Castles of Clay (1978), Two in the Bush (1980) and A Season in the Sun (1983).[citation needed]
Alan Root's strong narrative style characterised much of Survival’s output and helped shape a sophisticated genre known as Blue Chip films. The Year of the Wildebeest was the epic story of the thundering migration of wildebeest herds across the plains of the Serengeti. Mysterious Castles of Clay, by contrast, showed wildlife in intricate detail in and around termite mounds, revealing the insects' highly organised society and skills of construction. It received a nomination for an Academy Award.[2]
The Roots used a hot-air balloon to film sequences for the wildebeest film, and in Safari by Balloon made the first hot-air balloon flight over Mount Kilimanjaro. Two in the Bush (re-titled Lights, Action, Africa! in the USA) included "Mysterious Castles Clay" footage of a spitting cobra directing its venom at Joan's face positioned just a few feet from the snake while Alan filmed. A Season in the Sun, an account of wildlife's struggle to survive the heat and drought of the dry season, won an Emmy and a Peabody Award after it was aired by PBS in 1987.[3]
Alan and Joan Root were responsible for many of Survival's most successful films for almost 20 years from the mid-1960s. After their partnership ended, Alan Root continued his association with Survival as a cinematographer, producing his own films and guiding the early African work of camera team Mark Deeble and Victoria Stone, while latterly also acting as adviser to the series.
Deathedit
In March 2017, Root was diagnosed with glioblastoma. He died on 26 August 2017, aged 80, in Nanyuki, Kenya, following a holiday with his wife, Fran Michelmore, and two sons to Alaska, US.[4][5]
alan, root, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, august, 2017, l. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Alan Root news newspapers books scholar JSTOR August 2017 Learn how and when to remove this template message Alan Root 12 May 1937 London 26 August 2017 was a British born filmmaker who worked on nature documentary series such as Survival 1 At the WTTC Summit in 2012Until 1990 he was married to Joan Root who was a Kenyan born conservationist murdered at Lake Naivasha in 2006 The couple had produced National Geographic articles together from 1963 to 1971 on animals Galapagos Islands and mainly African wildlife Notable films include The Year of the Wildebeest 1974 Safari by Balloon 1975 Mysterious Castles of Clay 1978 Two in the Bush 1980 and A Season in the Sun 1983 citation needed Alan Root s strong narrative style characterised much of Survival s output and helped shape a sophisticated genre known as Blue Chip films The Year of the Wildebeest was the epic story of the thundering migration of wildebeest herds across the plains of the Serengeti Mysterious Castles of Clay by contrast showed wildlife in intricate detail in and around termite mounds revealing the insects highly organised society and skills of construction It received a nomination for an Academy Award 2 The Roots used a hot air balloon to film sequences for the wildebeest film and in Safari by Balloon made the first hot air balloon flight over Mount Kilimanjaro Two in the Bush re titled Lights Action Africa in the USA included Mysterious Castles Clay footage of a spitting cobra directing its venom at Joan s face positioned just a few feet from the snake while Alan filmed A Season in the Sun an account of wildlife s struggle to survive the heat and drought of the dry season won an Emmy and a Peabody Award after it was aired by PBS in 1987 3 Alan and Joan Root were responsible for many of Survival s most successful films for almost 20 years from the mid 1960s After their partnership ended Alan Root continued his association with Survival as a cinematographer producing his own films and guiding the early African work of camera team Mark Deeble and Victoria Stone while latterly also acting as adviser to the series Death editIn March 2017 Root was diagnosed with glioblastoma He died on 26 August 2017 aged 80 in Nanyuki Kenya following a holiday with his wife Fran Michelmore and two sons to Alaska US 4 5 References edit Alan Root IMDb Retrieved 27 August 2017 1978 Oscars 51st Annual Academy Awards Oscar Winners and Nominees Archived from the original on 11 September 2012 Retrieved 4 October 2010 Nature TVGuide com Retrieved 27 August 2017 TRIBUTE Renown wildlife filmmaker Alan Root dies aged 80 The star co ke Retrieved 27 August 2017 Genzlinger Neil 29 August 2017 Alan Root Oft Bitten Wildlife Filmmaker Dies at 80 The New York Times External links editAlan Root at IMDb nbsp This article about a British film director is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Alan Root amp oldid 1106352032, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
