2-Week Documentary Program

Learn to make Wildlife Documentaries in South Africa

To book, email info@jakepascoe.com

With a professional guide, work with researchers to create a short documentary based on research currently being done in the Greater Kruger Area. As a small group, you’ll experience the African wilderness first-hand on daily game drives to help develop your skills and expand your portfolio as you come across iconic animals and learn how to use your video skills to support research and conservation initiatives.

This is the ideal experience for someone looking to take their videography skills to the next level, Whether you want to become a professional wildlife videographer, documentary filmmaker, director, producer or looking to make a meaningful impact on animal conservation with their camera skills. then this is the adventure that will put you one, two and three steps down this path!

The Area

The Greater Kruger Area is a sprawling expanse of about 20 private game reserves to the west of the Kruger National Park in South Africa. Fences were dropped between the reserves in the Greater Kruger Area and the Kruger National Park in recent years to allow wildlife to roam more freely. The entire area now stretches across over 49,000,000 acres of untamed African wilderness.

Home during your 2-week stay will be a warm and welcoming tented camp (although it’s more like glamping!) just outside of Hoedspruit in the Greater Kruger Area. Surrounded by private game reserves where animals are frequent visitors, you will get to experience authentic bush accommodation with all the necessary comforts such as air-conditioning and WiFi.

Situated away from the city lights, on the doorstep of the world-renowned Kruger National Park, you will be in the best position to see first-hand, giant African elephants, elusive predators, beautiful birds, strange insects, and the great starry skies. The Greater Kruger Area is a dreamscape for wildlife photographers and film makers wanting to capture the immense wonder and beauty of the natural world.

African impact

African impact is a world-leading volunteer organisation that helps wildlife, communities and everything in-between, all across Africa. Their goal is to take volunteering, travel and internships as far as they can go, to help create genuine impact with extraordinary experiences, but doing it responsibly and with purpose.

After experiencing 2-weeks photographing the wildlife in the Greater Kruger Area at the beginning of 2019, I felt like I could do more to help with my filmmaking and video expertise, to help raise awareness of so many issues that currently plague the area, but also to correct misinformation and misconceptions about certain animals. African Impact liked my idea, and have let me design my own program to help make this a possibility.

You can find more information about African Impact and all the programs they currently run on their website. https://www.africanimpact.com/

The projects aim:

For this program, we aim to create a wide range of videos to help promote research that is currently being done, and also to promote the local wildlife through interesting and engaging short videos.

• 1 x 20min documentary based on current research on an animal

  • The exact topic will be decided on by the group on arrival

  • Filming Only

• 1 x 5min mini-documentary on a current issue

  • Animal related or humanitarian, this will be up to you

  • Filming & Editing

• 3 x 1-min short videos of things of interest

  • For example, a sighting, how to identify certain animals, this will also be up to you

  • Filming & Editing

Weekend Optionals:

African Impact offers a wide variety of optional extras for you really experience South Africa to it’s full potential. From exploring the famous ‘Panorama Route’, an additional day driving through Kruger National Park, or experience more of the culture by watching a cultural show organised by locals.

FAQ:

Q: What lenses should I bring?

A: Bringing a telephoto lens is absolutely necessary. With the animals so far away, you’ll be using a telephoto lens as your primary. Last time I used a 70mm-200mm with a 2x converter (making it 140mm-400mm), and felt that it did the job well - but without the 2x converter I felt like my shots would have been only as half as good. So while you could get away with 200mm, I’d strongly recommend at least 400mm. It’s also recommended to bring a wide angle lens for some landscape shots, and for some astrophotography shots we’ll be doing while camping overnight. A macro lens would also be a nice addition, to help capture shots of the smaller creatures we’ll be seeing, but it’s not necessary.

Q: Is camping overnight safe in the private park?

A: We’ll be camping overnight in a private park, where we will be surrounded by an electric fence. The intention is to keep out the cats and hippos that you’ll no doubt hear while trying to sleep, but it cannot do anything to keep out elephants. Our guide will stay with us at all times, and they sleep in the tent closest to the entrance, so they’ll be alerted of any dangers first, and will alert the camp if we need to evacuate. Camping in the remote African wilderness is an experience that you will remember for the rest of your life.

Q: What if I don’t have a camera that can’t film in 1080p at 50/60 fps?

A: Unfortunately this is necessary, as some of the footage you’ll capture will need to be slowed down for it to be usable. Most of the footage in the main video at the top of the page has been slowed down, to help stabilise the footage, and also because some of the animals move so fast, that it’s needed to extend the footage. I would prefer to film at 1080p at 50/60fps over filming at 4K at 25/30 fps, because it’s better to have usable footage.

Q: Is the area around the lodge safe?

A: The surrounding area is very rural. there is a small town centre which you’ll be able to visit every Friday, but it’s definitely not within walking distance. There is staff onsite 24/7, with basic medical training, and an English speaking doctor in town. Theres also a curfew once it gets late, as the lodge has animals roaming the area. The lodge is very safe, and having spent 2-weeks there early in 2019, I did not feel unsafe at all.

Q: How about South Africa, is it safe to travel there?

A: South Africa has undergone a dramatic change over the past few decades, only becoming a democracy in 1994 once apartheid ended. They still face large racial issues, among unemployment, poverty and bribery issues throughout the country. I felt safe in Cape Town, and even driving myself up along the coast towards Port Elizabeth (known locally as the garden route), but it is important to keep your wits and stay on guard, and to not label yourself as a tourist while visiting cities like Cape Town. If you’re spending anymore time in South Africa, i’d encourage you to visit Cape Town to learn more about the rich history.

More locally to our lodge near Hoedspruit, there is a very polar opposite wealth gap, with some locals bordering on poverty, it’s also a very popular area among the wealthy individuals in South Africa. This means that you’ll likely see a run down car owned by a local driving behind a brand new Mercedes. Understanding these facts, you’re unlikely to every experience any issues in the area, but when travelling anywhere internationally, it’s best to play it safe.

Q: Why is there an expectation that I film and edit pre-arranged videos?

A: You’re joining us because you have a passion for wildlife, and a passion for film making. Half the work that goes into making a documentary is the editing process, and so it’s important to learn that half of the process as well. As well as putting together the final product, you’ll learn what kind of shots work best, and the nitty gritty details of it all. Plus, you’ll get to help make a meaningful impact on the issue you film and put together, by choosing how someone see’s the issue, and also how they get introduced and educated about it.

Q: What food will I be eating?

A: At the lodge, the cooks serve up great meals every day and night, rotating between a mix of local and well-known international dishes. They serve lunch and dinner every day, but breakfast is up to you to serve. There is bread, spreads, fruit and some cereals available, however, if you wanted anything in particular, you’ll have to buy it in town when you get a chance to. The cooks can also cater to Vegan and Vegetarian diets as long as you mention it when booking.

Q: What does the schedule look like?

A: I’ll admit, we’ll be busy. Very busy. We’ll be waking up with the sun most mornings, and some days even before the sun has a chance to rise. However, with not much happening after dinner at 6:30pm, you’ll most likely be in bed by 8pm, so don’t think you’ll be exhausted either. We have 2 amazing weeks to spend capturing the best footage possible, so every early morning will be worth it. You’ll still have plenty of opportunities to lay around and just relax, but if you feel sick and tired, you’re more than welcome to sit out a drive and recuperate around the lodge. A draft of the schedule will be shared to those who express an interest in joining the program.

Q: What are the facilities like at the lodge?

A: Well the lodge we’re staying at isn’t a hotel, but you’re not exactly roughing it! It has modern facilities (WiFi, AirCon), but it’s based in the middle of the African Wilderness, so phone reception won’t be great, the internet speeds won’t be amazing, and occasionally the lodge can lose power and water. This is because the energy infrastructure in the rural area isn’t perfect, and it also doesn’t help that elephants have a knack for digging up water piping. Clean filtered water is provided to us by the lodge 24/7, so you’ll only miss a shower if this does happen.

Q: How many people can join the program?

A: There are only 6 spots available on the program. This is to keep the group tight and intimate, while also making sure we have adequate room in the vehicles for all our equipment.

Q: Who owns the rights to the footage I capture during the program?

A: Aside from gaining valuable experience and footage for an amazing portfolio, the goal is to create content that can make a measurable difference. To edit the 20-min documentary, i’ll be using footage that everyone captures, which requires sharing the footage you capture. You will be credited whenever your footage is used in any way.

Q: I want to see a specific animal, can you guarantee I will see it?

A: Unfortunately we can’t guarantee that we’ll see a specific animal. These animals are wild, and we need to respect that, and so we can’t ‘organise’ an animal sighting, this falls into the ethics of wildlife filmmaking. We will have a good chance to see all the iconic animals, as we will be driving in areas where they have been known to visit regularly, but some animals are rarer than others. We will of course try everything we can see find them for you, but we cannot guarantee it.

Q: What happens to the main documentary which we’ll be working on?

A: As we are only spending 2-weeks in the area, we want to spend as much time as possible outside filming. Once it’s time to say good-bye, i’ll collect your footage related to the documentary, and edit it in the weeks proceeding the program. You’ll be informed of what happens to the final product, and you’ll also be able to download a copy of it digitally to add to your portfolio. This documentary will be used to bring awareness to the research being conducted by African Impact, mainly through online platforms like YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, but may also be used by African Impact to market their initiatives being done throughout the country.

Q: What happens if it rains?

A: Sadly, theres nothing we can do about the weather. If it does rain, we do our best to move our schedule around so you don’t miss out on anything, by editing or learning about the animals when it rains, and catching up on drives later in the week.