Remote Doesn't Mean Impossible

HOW CREWS REACH THE WORLD'S WILDEST PLACES

Unlike traditional productions, wildlife documentaries rarely involve straightforward travel routes. A single shoot may require multiple legs: commercial flights, charter aircraft, long drives on rough terrain, and sometimes boats or on-foot access for the final stretch. Media Flights can help with all of this.

Wildlife documentaries rarely involve straightforward travel routes. A single shoot may require multiple legs: commercial flights, charter aircraft, long drives on rough terrain, and sometimes boats or on-foot access for the final stretch. Each stage introduces new variables—weather conditions, equipment limitations, weight restrictions, and timing windows dictated not by schedules, but by nature itself. Reaching the location is not a one-off journey; it’s often a repeated process as crews move with animal behaviour, seasons, or evolving storylines.

What audiences eventually see as seamless, immersive storytelling is usually the result of months of careful planning, adaptability, and problem-solving behind the scenes.

LEARNING FROM THE WILDLIFE FILMMAKING COMMUNITY

Attending industry gatherings can be just as revealing as time spent in the field. At last year’s Wildscreen Festival, conversations with filmmakers, producers, and conservation storytellers highlighted just how complex wildlife productions have become. Across panels and informal discussions, common challenges surfaced again and again: tightening budgets, longer production timelines, increasing ethical responsibilities, and the logistical strain of working in ever more remote environments. Many crews spoke about the pressure of balancing creative ambition with practical realities— especially when access, mobility, and flexibility directly affect whether a story can be completed at all.

Hearing these perspectives firsthand reinforced an important truth: the challenges facing wildlife documentaries are rarely isolated. They are shared across the industry, and solving them requires collaboration, planning, and a genuine understanding of how productions operate on the ground. I came away feeling inspired by the powerful conversations, connections and shared passion for wildlife and impact-driven storytelling - Charlie Jacobs