This story originally appeared in the W&M Libraries 2016 biennial report.
Robert Boyd ’16 is a staple at the Reeder Media Center, spending a majority of his days at its computers editing wildlife footage or in its media studios recording voiceovers for his ornithology class assignments.
“The Media Center has helped me improve both filming and editing my own work, which has made me feel more confident,” Boyd said. “I have a better sense of how I fit into the William & Mary community – I’m the ‘guy who films animals.’”
Boyd got his reputation as the “guy who films animals” due partly to his work on the park prescription program, led by Dr. Dorothy Ibes, professor of science. The program aims to educate the public of the health benefits of spending time in nature, and encourage healthcare professionals to prescribe time in natural spaces as part of treatment plans. As part of the project, Boyd was tasked with creating videos that promote the beauty of the outdoors. He chose to film animals and people in natural areas on the William & Mary campus.
“Animals serve as natural ambassadors to park spaces. Capturing footage of these ambassadors was by far the most fun part of my job, though it also led to some discomfort. For example, while I was getting underwater footage of fish and turtles in Crim Dell, I accidentally got poison ivy behind my knees. It was incredibly uncomfortably and I never want to experience the itchy sensation again, but at least I got some good shots,” he said with a laugh.
Although most comfortable with animals, he did turn his camera lens toward people every now and then, capturing students using green spaces on campus.
“I admit I was a little bit more uncomfortable filming people than animals, but with time I got over this aversion, since in a way filming humans is the same as filming very large squirrels that wear cloths and walk on hind legs,” he said with a smile.
He edited the footage and created a variety of videos from informational spots to satirical commercials to promote the program. You can view his videos on the Parks Research YouTube page.
Read more about the newly renovated Reeder Media Center.