Scanning electron microscopy. Sample being placed in an environmental scanning electron microscope (ESEM). This is for the 52-minute film Cannibal Mites, by Quincy Russell and Thierry Berrod. The screen is an ESEM view of a mite. ESEM techniques, less destructive than normal SEM methods, allowed filming of live mites (one seen on screen). The ESEM sequences took 5 weeks to film. Colouring of the images took a further 3 months. The mites were cooled to slow their movements for the 1999 film, part of a series by Mona Lisa Productions. Mites are arachnid parasites on many plants and animals.