A lot goes into a shoot before it actually takes place. Planning. Booking cast and crew. Making sure we factor in feeding times for the animals. Making sure we factor in feeding times for the humans. Building a schedule, a back-up schedule and another back-up schedule in case the weather isn’t in our favour. And even with that amount of planning, you can’t always guarantee that you’ll get exactly what you hope for, especially when you’re working with Children, Animals, and the British climate. This February when we packed our bags and headed down to Whipsnade Zoo, there was a strong chance that the whole shebang would be rained off. However, despite the fresh breeze, we got pretty lucky with a few sunny spells and minimal showers.
Shooting at a Zoo is never without its challenges. Trying to direct a butterfly is never going to be easy. But this was one of our favourite shoots yet. With the help of the Whipsnade staff, we got some fantastic and frankly hilarious pieces of footage. It was also great to see the amount of care and attention the animals get from the staff, who work in close contact with the same groups of animals each day.
Whilst being extremely careful at all times, and sticking to the health and safety regulations, we did have some wild experiences. We were lucky enough to get up close and personal with the Elephants, take over the stream train, meet a rambunctious Rhino, spot Bambi in the distance, get face to face with the Giraffe’s and have lunch with the Lions (From behind strengthened safety glass that is).
All in all, thanks to the guys at Edit, the staff, the crew, and the cast, it was a smooth running shoot. Even though it was fairly tiring (Whipsnade is massive) everyone banded together, and it was a really enjoyable experience.
