Where Science, Storytelling and Technology Meet: A New Chapter in Filmmaking

Dr Karsten Schneider, Executive Producer and Art Director at BurningFish Productions, reflects on a lifetime of bringing science to the screen — and how an extraordinary project in New Zealand’s Dart Valley has opened the door to a new way of telling stories.

For Dr Karsten Schneider, filmmaking has always been about more than creating beautiful images. It is about bringing the wonders of the natural world to life, making science accessible, and inspiring audiences to see the world with fresh eyes.

Before embarking on a 26-year career in television, computer graphics and visual effects, Karsten trained as a scientist, completing an MSc in Biology and a PhD in Marine Science. That scientific foundation has remained at the heart of his creative work throughout a career spanning productions for major international broadcasters, including Discovery Channel and National Geographic.

“I’ve always loved the challenge of turning complex scientific ideas into images and stories that people can connect with emotionally. When you can make someone feel as though they’ve stepped into another world, you have an extraordinary opportunity to spark curiosity and wonder.”

A New Chapter in the Dart Valley

The Hillocks project, an immersive virtual reality experience set in New Zealand’s spectacular Dart Valley near Glenorchy, offered Karsten a rare opportunity to bring together two technologies he had been exploring independently for years: real-time rendering through game engines and the creative possibilities of virtual and augmented reality.

“The Hillocks was one of those rare projects where everything suddenly came together. We had this breathtaking landscape, fascinating stories to tell, and technologies that were finally capable of bringing those stories to life in ways I had only dreamed of before.”

Equally rewarding was the opportunity to assemble a talented team of storytellers, engineers, animators and visual effects specialists, combining scientific understanding, artistic imagination and technical ingenuity to create something truly special.

New Tools, New Possibilities

As production progressed, the rapid development of cinematic artificial intelligence opened another exciting creative avenue.

Using their own handcrafted 3D models and photographs of the Dart Valley, the team discovered how AI could complement traditional CGI workflows, accelerating production and making ambitious scenes possible that would otherwise have been beyond the project’s budget and schedule.

“What fascinated me was how quickly we could take something we had created ourselves — a character, a landscape, an idea — and explore entirely new cinematic possibilities.”

Yet the creative vision remained firmly in human hands. Every scene still required careful direction, composition, lighting and artistic refinement.

For Karsten, The Hillocks represents more than a technological achievement. It brings together his lifelong passions for science, nature and visual storytelling, while offering audiences something that traditional filmmaking cannot: the opportunity to step inside the story.

“After all these years, I still get the same excitement from seeing an idea come to life. But with The Hillocks, there is something even more special. We’re no longer just showing people another world. We’re inviting them to step inside it.

“And perhaps that’s what excites me most. If we can inspire people to feel the wonder of a world that existed long before us, maybe we can also inspire them to care more deeply about the world we have today.”

Some of the tools have changed; the craft has not.

Find out more at the official The Future is Wild @ The Hillocks website.