My Best Friend's an Animal

I worked on both Season 1 and Season 2 of My Best Friend’s an Animal, filming some genuinely extraordinary relationships between people and animals.

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In the first season, I filmed Dingani and his baboon, Lucy. Their relationship was incredibly moving to witness. Around people, Dingani has a debilitating lisp and can struggle to speak, but when he is with Lucy, his speech changes completely and the lisp disappears. Watching the trust and affection between them was remarkable, and it made the sequence feel very personal.

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From there, I filmed Baye and her stallion, Richmond. Richmond was a completely different challenge — tenacious, strong-minded and not especially interested in doing anything simply because the camera needed him to. He listened to Baye, and pretty much no one else, which made filming unpredictable at times, but their bond was obvious and we eventually got the moments we needed.

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For Season 2, I filmed the relationship between Peter and Nzou, an elephant with an extraordinary attachment to him. What struck me most was the consistency of her loyalty towards Peter. She seemed incredibly aware of him, protective of him and completely at ease in his presence. It was fascinating to watch that relationship unfold through the camera.

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Technically, the series was also a real learning experience for me. I was working across drone, gimbal, long lens and handheld setups, while also taking on much more responsibility for sound than I normally would. Sound was probably the biggest learning curve, but it pushed me into a broader style of shooting and made me a better all-round operator.

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The remote UK team were fantastic throughout, and the direction from afar worked incredibly well. Emma Pound, our producer, was especially brilliant to work with and made the whole process feel collaborative despite the distance.

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Camera work included: Mavic 3 Cine drone · DJI Ronin 2 gimbal · CN20 long lens · handheld C70 · sync sound