I am currently sitting in my room, the sun is breaking through the clouds outside and the wind is slight and calm. It has been a week since my return from Botswana and the Wildlife Film Academy and now that the dust has cleared and i am more organised it is time to write something about it.
The Wildife Film Academy (WFA) is run by NHU Africa (www.nhuafrica.com) and is a one month intense course designed to give all participants a firm foundation in wildlife film-making and the industry. It is a course i had been wanting to do for over a year but mainly due to work commitments and financial constraints i had to patiently wait until last month to set off.
Ever since i came back from the Meerkat Project my sights have been set on the filmmaking industry, i know that i am clear in my mind as to how i think documentaries should be made, how presenters should present and the stories that need to be told. The main thing though is that i want to know the industry inside out, i am eager to learn. My goals are to present, narrate and make my own films.
For this course the WFA was being run from Maun in Botswana which is the gateway to the Okavango Delta, this meant an 11 hour flight to Johannesburg and then a 3 hour flight to Maun. To be honest i did not mind the flying as i love the independence of it all and i was setting off to do something that i knew i was going to love.
The first point of call was to meet with everyone at Maun at 3pm, the only problem was my flight came in a 12, which meant 3 hours of waiting in an airport i had no clue about, i mean for all i knew it just could have been a shed, but luckily for me it was not. Once we landed the warmth and charm of Africa rushed back to me and i felt like i had returned to my 2nd home. Once in the airpoirt i passed through customs which consisted of two very jolly officials in the smallest wooden compartments i had ever seen that had probably made before i was born. Then the bags were dropped off (i love the simplicty) and i was free to go.
The next step was for me to find a chair, prop up my bags and wait for the cavalry. Being alone in an unknown airport in the middle of nowhere with the African sun outside was a great thrill to me and i enjoyed just looking around and watching the people go about their business. The people of Botswana seemed very laid back and keen to talk to one another. Some chatted in groups while others walked around and calmly got on with their jobs. It was such a change from London and the UK method of doing things.
My wait for companionship though was not long as through a bit of eye contact and a couple of questions i meet one of the other course participants Marli in arrivals and not long after that Khanyo the WFA chief worked calmly through the door. I had a very, very good feeling about him.
From here on in it was all systems go, me and Marli were introduced to the other course participants taking us up to the grand figure of 6 and we then said hello to Jurgen and Tarina our teachers and filmmakers. I cannot really describe easily this amazing couple from Germany, Jurgen has been making films for decades with Tarina and they know the business inside out. What i did not know is that they were the ones who were going to push our films into some of the best ever the academy had produced.
Maun as a town was very much like i expected, a few shopping centres, one main tarmac road, dust everywhere, cars, small metal shacks on the side of the road and people rushing around. Everyone though was polite and friendly and not once did i feel threatened. I flipping loved it.
Our first stop was Camp Tsutsubega Farm, where for 9 days we were going to be taught everything we need to know about the wildlife film-making industry. We were also their to get our films together, learn how to film and handle the camera and to also create our shot lists for filming.
As we drove to the camp we had out first sight of the Delta, which looked magnificent, it had only recently pushed through the town and it was amazing to know that this water had started as storms in Angola and had travelled thousands of miles to where we were.
It took us around 2 hours to go to the first camp and as the sun started to drop i put on my wind breaker jacket and sucked in the clean African air. The drive took us out of Maun and as we drove i made sure i waved to the local people to say hello, who then kindly waved back. Despite the poverty that i witnessed along the way their was always a warm welcome from everyone.
We arrived at camp just as the light faded away. We quickly all grabbed our torches and then went off for a very nice dinner. Once dinner was wolfed down we grabbed our bags and everyone was shown the toilet facilities (long drop!, see picture below), the showers (with Marli, see below) and our tents. I was expecting tent accomodation but what i found was a tent much bigger then expected (see above) with room for all my kit as well as a small washbowl outside so i could brush my teeth. For me this was luxury and i was in my element. I went to bed a very happy man with the reed frogs of the Delta belting out their mating calls and the screeches of monkeys in the trees above. It was great to be back in Africa and i was raring to go...
To be continued...
