Ever wondered how drone technology can save animals in Africa?
Director, Andy Fackrell, has launched A Guardian, a 90-second film that highlights that surprising role of drone technology in the war against poaching. Produced for Los Angeles-based charity, Over And Above Africa, the all-drone shot movie presents a series of swooping aerial shots of animal groups, each titled with the respective collective nouns – a pride of lions, a wobble of ostrich, an implausibility of gnu and so on.
Then it leads to tracking 'a gang' of poachers on the drone's night vision camera. "It's a slaughter," mentions Over And Above Africa founder, Kerry David, "Every day is a tech-war between heavily armed, well organised, skilled poachers and our courageous, but often ill-equipped rangers – dropping our guard can mean the loss of whole herds."
The charity, which raises funds to support people and organisations in Africa who are actively preventing extinction, has collaborated with Fackrell to produce A Guardian; the film which leads its initiative to supply drones to game reserves and help them win the war against poaching.
A recent report states that 83% of wild mammals have been lost to human civilisation, yet we make up just 0.01% of the earth's biomass. With African elephant numbers dropping 9% per year, it's a battle that has become a crisis, starkly evidenced by the slaughter of 90 elephants over the last two months in Botswana.
According to a pioneering group of conservationists, entrepreneurs and researchers called Air Shepherd, drone surveillance is proving to be a saviour for Africa's endangered animal groups, increasing their survival chances by up to 80%. Coining the collective noun for a group of drones as 'A Guardian', the film uses other nouns in the form of text to romance the beauty of animal groups across Africa, and at the same time highlighting their vulnerability to poaching gangs.
A Guardian is made by an international team of creatives, led by former Wieden Kennedy, 180 Amsterdam and DDB veteran, Andy Fackrell, who has recently left LA to return to Amsterdam. The film is thoughtfully directed by another ex-180 Amsterdam creative, Sam Coleman at Giant Films in Cape Town.
Credits:
Client: Over And Above Africa (OAAA) Title: A Guardian OAAAfounder: Kerry David OAAA executive director: Jennifer Pfister Creative: Andy Fackrell Producer, nice kitty films: Shannon Worley Art director: Mariya Munsey PR director: Jessica Hartley
Giant Films, Cape Town Director: Sam Coleman Executive producer: Cindy Gabriel DOP: Devin Tosselli Producer: Boris Vossgatter Production manager: Nella Coetzer Editor: Matthew Swanepoel Wardrobe: Izolina de Vasconcelos Drone pilot: Carl Nicholl RC plane pilot: Wayne van Rooyen Production assistant: Bobby Kamnga Drone camera operator: Simeon Hamman Grade: Nic Apostoli Online VHX: Charmaine Greyling Location: Richard Brooker/Glen Africa
Rock. Paper. Scissors, Los Angeles Editor: Adam Pertofsky Assistant editor: Marjorie Sacks Post production: a52, Los Angeles
Music licensing: Aaron Mercer, wool & tusk Music: "under the trees' voices" Ezio Bosso, Sony music Italy