Wild Babies
Drone Operator
Plimsoll Productions · Netflix
Drone operator on Plimsoll Productions’ Wild Babies — the Netflix wildlife series following young animals through their first months of life. My contribution was the Kenya elephant sequence: aerial coverage of family-group dynamics in Tsavo East during the dry season.
The shoot ran during the Covid lockdown, which meant a small-unit remote-direction approach — the production team in the UK, the operator on the ground in Kenya, daily highlights uploaded and reviewed back-and-forth.
What it took
KFCB film permits cleared through the company’s in-house fixing arm. Conservancy access negotiated with the Tsavo East park director directly. Travel, food and accommodation arranged solo. Drone flown at respectable distance throughout — the brief was to capture the herd’s natural behaviour without affecting it, and the cut needed sequences where the animals were at ease rather than vigilant.
Outcome
Production won Outstanding Travel, Adventure and Nature Program at the 2023 Daytime Emmy Awards. The series was nominated for four further Daytime Emmys.
Stills from the work
What the client said
During the Covid lockdown Barny filmed some stunning drone aerials in Kenya for our elephant sequence in Netflix's Wild Babies. It was a unique opportunity to capture footage of these animals when they were at their most relaxed. Barny was extremely professional, liaising on our behalf with the Director of the park to gain a filming permit and organising his own travel, food and accommodation. When filming, Barny always kept the drone at a respectable distance from the wildlife and as well as the animals, he was also able to capture some spectacular scenics. At the end of each day Barny would methodically update production on his progress and send over highlights of his footage. It was a great pleasure working with Barny and I would thoroughly recommend him for wildlife filming – in particular as a highly-skilled drone operator.
Other natural history work
