Doug Hajicek
(pronounced high-check), president of Whitewolf Entertainment Inc, is a
television documentary veteran. He has produced over 200 TV features since 1987, covering the globe
from Russia, the un-explored jungles of Belize, up to the Arctic. He has
experienced the diversity and adversity of the business, making him a strong
director and field producer. He knows what’s needed to tell a compelling story,
in long or short form. He is also a seasoned offline editor, having tested and
helped with development of an early system and then used it as the first
non-linear editor for a TV series in 1990. He is also a skilled DP, and often a
story writer. Major television productions include:
·
Back Roads with Ron
and Raven, launched 17
years ago and produced by WWE for seven years. It is now is in its 17th season;
aired on ESPN 2 for 14 years and is now on OLN.
·
Call of the Wild, for one full season on PBS.
·
The Man Who Walks
with Bears, narrated by
Mark Hamill, which premiered on Animal Planet in March of 2001. This
cutting-edge wildlife documentary was nominated for an Emmy.
·
Deadly Beauty, shot in 35mm film, is currently in
worldwide distribution (having played on the Travel Channel) and is
considered the best Avalanche program.
·
Legend Meets
Science, shot in 35mm
film, was produced, directed and written by Hajicek for the Discovery Channel,
premiered on January 9, 2003.
·
Mysterious
Encounters, a 13-week
prime-time series that Hajicek developed, produced, and field-directed. OLN is
currently airing it (on its 8th run).
His development
of specialized camera systems and cutting edge documentaries has been featured
in many media outlets, including news broadcasts, newspapers, Internet news and
radio programs, including NPR, CNN, USA Today, NBC
& ABC news, and Wireless
news flash. His innovative filming technologies & techniques
include:
·
Micro camera
systems that have been
put in bear dens, beaver lodges and at the bottom of Lake Superior, providing long-term video feeds. This
technology has provided wildlife experts with new information on how bears
hibernate and give birth, as well as some other groundbreaking firsts, e.g. the
first wild bear birth, hibernation monitoring, and beaver and muskrats shown
living and working together in a beaver lodge.
·
The world’s first
underwater hemispherical camera system, named the Benthic Explorer. The Benthic has been
operating nonstop for over two years in the cold, hostile waters of Lake Superior. This complex high-tech camera array is
now aiding researchers 24 hours a day, monitoring both unknown and known
domestic and foreign-invader zooplankton and fish species. This system also
includes a hydrophone, an automatic fish feeding system, and proprietary
lighting frequencies. A completed full working replica of the Benthic Explorer
went on permanent displayed at the Great Lakes Aquarium since May of 2001.
(The Aquarium also features his ground-breaking beaver lodge studies as a full
museum display.)
·
The Deep Sea Cam,
will be a semi permanent
system that will provide a
live feed of the oceans’ depths. It uses a sophisticated depth profiler into
the vast vertical water column. This may prove to be an epochal breakthrough in
marine biology, since it may discover and video-document many new ocean
creatures.
As Director
of Photography:
- Was a principal photographer for the Discovery
series “Wild about Animals,” now in syndication.
- Obtained clear infrared footage of the Giant
Humboldt Squid swimming deep in the Sea of Cortez. These huge animals were filmed May 2000 for a Discovery
/ Animal Planet network expedition.
- Camera
technician (hired by the BBC) for obtaining the first thermal,
endoscope, and wide-angle micro-color images of wild, un-tranquillized
mother bears with newborn cubs.
Television Work History:
1987 The Phenomenon of Fishing. WCCO TV
special. Producer/Director.
1987-1988 Outdoor News Magazine. WCCO TV
special, with Don Shelby, hosted by Ron Schara. Producer/Director.
1988-1992 North Country Television Magazine Show.
15 broadcast markets/26 episodes. Producer/Director.
1990-1992 Call of the Wild. PBS series / 13weeks.
Producer/Director/Editor.
1993-1995 Minnesota Bound. KARE 11 / NBC.
Producer/Field Producer/Director.
1994 Dances with Cranes. ABC news / KSTP TV, Russia. /DP
1995 What in the World. Kids pilot
hosted by WWF stars, about the natural world. Producer/Director.
1997-1998 Wild About Animals. National and
International Syndication on Discovery Channel, with Mariette Hartley. / DP
1998 Lighter Sides of Sports. National sports
comedy. DP
1999 Back Roads with Ron and Raven. ESPN. DP/
Overall Has produced and directed over 200
television features on subjects ranging from wolves to snow crystals, and
on the scientists who study them.
Other Productions:
1990 The Lake that’s Never Been Fished. Short Arctic
documentary, KARE 11 TV. Director.
1992 In Search of the Point Lake Monster. Short
Arctic documentary, aired on
PBS. Producer/DP/Editor.
1994 The Doolittle Expedition in China to
recover one of the lost Jimmy Doolittle planes. Trained as a DP/Photographer
for the underwater video
1996 President Clinton’s Inaugural Video. Worldwide Television. Music score Randy
Newman / produced by Joseph Finneran/LA. /DP/wolf footage.
1999 Xbalba: Journey into the Mayan
Underworld. Shot on location in Belize, Central America, a mile into an unexplored cave. Discovery
/ Travel Channel-funded exploratory expedition. Photographer/Co-writer/Editor.
2000 The Man Who Walks with Bears with Dr.
Lynn Rogers, internationally famous bear researcher. One-hour show on Animal
Planet, dist. by Tremendous, narrated by Mark Hamill. 16x9 wide-screen
production and Co-Production for Discovery networks, Worldwide Television.
Co-producer/Field Director/Photographer.
2000 The Red Devil Roho Diablo. Tremendous
Entertainment—a search for Giant Humboldt Squid off Mexican waters in the Sea of Cortez
Animal Planet exploratory
expedition. Surface/ DP.
2001 Deadly Beauty: Snow’s Secret life. Avalanches
and other snow phenomenon. 35mm film. Distributed worldwide by Cinamour
Entertainment Worldwide, television and DVD distribution through Image
Entertainment. Discovery’s Travel Channel/ Discovery Channel Canada. TLC/ Producer/writer/offline editor.
2002 Legend Meets Science. The best evidence
pointing to the existence of a small population of an American ape is examined
by top scientists. Discovery Channel. 35mm film, 1 hour Documentary./ Bosch
media group/ cable-ready. Narrated by actor Stacy Keach./ Producer, Director.
2003 Bears on the Black Run. BBC. /Camera
tech designer.
2004 Mysterious Encounters. A 13-part series
that chronicles the scary drama of real life nocturnal searches for unknown
creatures. OLN. / Producer Director
2004 Brother Wolf. A look at the life of
wolves and the man who tries to photograph them, Jim Brandenburg. PBS, one-hour
show. Producer/Photographer/Director/Co-writer.
2005 Golf Bound. 13-week
magazine style series on the golfing lifestyle. NBC affiliates. Producer/Field
Producer.
2005 A Horse of a Different Color. News package about a man and his unusually smart horse. Writer.
Camera Systems Developed:
1999 The infra-red Bear Cam,
which filmed the first hibernation in its entirety of a wild bear in a wild
den.
2000 The Beaver Lodge Cam, the first in the
world to film different mammal species cohabitating (muskrats and
beavers).
2000 The Cub Probe camera system; filmed the
first newborn bear cubs under a wild mother.
2000 The Benthic Explorer hemispherical
underwater camera system.
2002 The ROV Tank
Explorer, a slow-moving 100-pound dual-color underwater camera system that
will allow children and adults to explore and get a fish-eye’s view of life in
a 35, 000-gallon freshwater Great Lakes aquarium and science museum.
Commercials:
1994 Vistas in Education. Foray on effects of
Foreign Exchange Students on Americans. Director/Writer.
1996 True North. Canadian travel. / Producer
Minnesota State Lottery. / Photographer.
The Warmest
Boots. Steger mukluks./
Producer
1997 Waste Adds Up. 3M. Photographer/Writer./ Producer
1998 Remax Real Estate. 30 sec, open house./
Producer
1998 On the Heels of Crime. On the effects of
organized shoplifting on consumers, for the National Intelligence Service, Dayton Hudson corp. Writer/Director/Photographer.
2002 Jake’s Restaurant Chain Spots. Four each
15-sec spots./ Producer
2004 Beyond Barrier-Free.
25-part DVD on how to build a handicap-accessible home. Produced for Regel
Homes./ Producer/ DP
Awards:
1994 Best news feature. Emmy
nomination for “Dances with Cranes.” Russian scientists try to save the
Siberian crane. Also chosen as most requested news story to be replayed.
2000 Emmy nomination for “Mother Bear.” A
secret look into the life of a family of bears. Producer for NBC news
affiliate, best news feature.
2002 Emmy nomination for “The
Man who Walks with Bears.” Animal Planet.
Affiliations:
Member of Academy of Television
Art and Sciences.
Formats:
Whitewolf
Entertainment (WWE) can and has worked in all formats from film to Thermal
video. Below is a list:
Camera Types:
All
standard broadcast cameras
Sony 570
Thermal color infrared
spectrum
Film sync 35 mm. ARRI
Film sync 16 mm. ARRI
All surveillance formats
Long lens formats L2
4th-generation
night vision
Hemispherical
Blimp camera system wireless
and on-board film payloads
Floatograph stabilized
balloon for Arial filming
Underwater cameras/
stationary or traveling
Hidden-color and infrared
Weather-resistant remote
True Infrared
Microscopic contact endoscope
field video
Standard Endoscope cameras
E.H.S. Extreme high-speed
camera for slow motion captures (100,000 frames per sec max)
Remote-operated cameras with
full control
Record and
Playback Formats:
HDTV
DV cam
HI 8
MINI DV
Beta SP
MP4
DVD direct
Digital VHS
Hard drive Direct.
SVHS
Beta
D2
D1
FILM 35mm-16mm
Audio Record
Formats:
Sync
Stellavox and DAT recorders for film
Shure
wireless x 4 with field mixer
Seinhieser
shot guns/ fish pole
Editing:
Non-linear
on- and off-line editing
All
formats
Media
100
Avid
Final
Cut Pro
Full
DVD authoring and burning
Whitewolf
Entertainment Extras:
Full lighting both portable
field and studio lighting including Tota light kits / small grip truck
Full field communications
systems
Field monitors
Full fabrication dept. with
CNC and full engineering CAD systems
All types of Jib work
Writing and Creative
Art and Art Direction
Consulting
Special Filming Systems:
WWE can develop extreme
filming systems for any need.

The
hemispherical Benthic underwater camera system and research vessel.
Developed by Doug Hajicek of WWE.