SILVER SPRING, Md., June 27 /PRNewswire/ -- CAUGHT IN THE MOMENT, a new series premiering Monday, July 10, at 9 PM (ET/PT), opens viewers' eyes to the next generation of wildlife filmmakers. Meet Tristan Bayer and Vanessa Garnick, childhood sweethearts turned best friends and intrepid adventurers who share an unparalleled passion for nature.
Tristan is following in the footsteps of his father, world-renowned cinematographer, Wolfgang Bayer, while adding his own fresh and unique perspective to wildlife filmmaking. Vanessa Garnick is a certified naturalist with a focus on ecology and a passion for rare and endangered species. Together, they bring their dreams to life -- finding and filming animals all over the world at critical, fleeting moments while experiencing the rhythms of life in the animal kingdom.
Using wilderness savvy, inventive camera techniques and expert local trackers, these young adventurers set out to capture the defining moments in the lives of animals across the globe. Tristan and Vanessa aim to capture on film seldom-seen wildlife behavior, such as the arrival of more than 150,000 turtles to a Costa Rican beach and the courtship dance of the Japanese cranes.
Each episode is music driven, propelling the journey forward to the final act when Tristan and Vanessa's one-hour adventure is compiled into a three- minute music video montage played against tracks from emerging contemporary artists. While Tristan and Vanessa are the tour guides, the animals are the stars of these adventures and music videos as their lives and beauty provide the stunning visuals that weave a revealing and magical wildlife journey.
Throughout their journey, viewers get an inside look at what it takes for Tristan to realize his wildlife filmmaking dream. Like a fly on the wall, Animal Planet cameras follow as his friendship with Vanessa is tested, animals remain elusive, and his patience and skills are put to the test.
"CAUGHT IN THE MOMENT is a great example of the fresh, contemporary programming viewers will see on Animal Planet going forward," said Maureen Smith, executive vice president and general manager of Animal Planet. "Animal Planet prides itself on presenters who are just as passionate about the animal world as we are. Tristan and Vanessa are captivating as a young traveling twosome in love with wildlife."
Tristan and Vanessa first met as toddlers when Tristan's father was filming coyotes at the Garnick dude ranch in Wyoming. Fate brought them together again when they both took a high school art class, and they have been friends ever since, traveling and making films about their passion -- wildlife, culture and life.
Tristan has spent his entire life traveling to the far corners of the world making documentaries. His multifaceted work experience includes working on adventure races in Brazil, directing music videos and modeling in the pages of Vogue and Abercrombie and Fitch. Having grown up in the wilds of Wyoming, Vanessa has a devout appreciation for nature. Visiting Africa with her grandparents when she was 13 was a formative experience, inspiring her to become active in preserving the natural world. She became a certified naturalist through the National Park Service, but the "multi-artist" has many other talents, including singing, songwriting, painting and graphic design.
CAUGHT IN THE MOMENT is a production of Tigress Productions for Animal Planet. For Tigress, Kath Moore is executive producer. For Animal Planet, Jeanie Vink is executive producer.
Animal Planet, available in 88 million homes nationwide, is the only television network dedicated to the emotional connection between humans and animals. The network brings people of all ages together by tapping into a fundamental fascination with animals through an array of fresh programming that includes humor, competition, drama and spectacle from the animal kingdom. Discovery Networks, U.S., a unit of Discovery Communications, Inc., operates and manages Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Travel Channel, Discovery Health Channel, Discovery HD Theater, Discovery Kids Channel, Discovery Times Channel, The Science Channel, Discovery Home Channel, Military Channel, Discovery en Espanol, FitTV, Discovery Kids en Espanol and Discovery Travel & Living (Viajar y Vivir). The unit also distributes BBC AMERICA.
