Call: +44 (0) 207 193 7819
Email: info@gapafricaprojects.com
Call: +44 (0) 207 193 7819
Email: info@gapafricaprojects.com
Are you passionate about wildlife film making? Would you like to learn how to become an independent wildlife filmmaker? If the answer to these questions is YES then our 3D Wildlife Film School is for you!
Being the first 3D Wildlife Film School in the world we will not only teach you everything about wildlife film making, we will also give you a once in a lifetime opportunity to make your first short wildlife documentary in 3D. Based in the heart of the Tsitsikamma forest on the Garden Route of South Africa, we offer a 30 day course about Pre-Production, Production and Post-Production lectured by professional wildlife filmmakers who have a passion for wildlife and teaching.
Neighbouring numerous wildlife sanctuaries give you the unique opportunity to produce, film and edit your own short film about animals such as elephants, lions, leopards, cheetahs, hyenas, wild dogs, caracals, servals, numerous species of monkeys and birds to name a few.
Project Type: 3D Wildlife Film School
Location: Garden Route – South Africa
Pick up Point: George Airport – South Africa
End City: George Airport – South Africa
Duration: 30 Days
Price: from £2,099
Accommodation: Comfortable Backpackers based near Plettenberg Bay South Africa
Meals: Three meals a day included plus unlimited tea and coffee
Age Range: 16+
If you wish to make your first step into the very rewarding wildlife film making industry and/or you have an interest in learning the ropes about 3D camera equipment and 3D video editing, Beyond Borders Film School is the best choice you can make.
The Course Content
To keep it simple we have divided the course into three parts:
Part 1 – Pre-Production (Theory in classroom)
– Orientation – We will take you to all the different possible locations for your production to give you an overview of what can be done and where it can be done.
– Brainstorming about the different topics you can chose from for your own short documentary
– Script writing
– Wildlife film screenings of award winning international films
– Introduction to 2D and 3D camera technology
– Introduction to 2D and 3D camera techniques
– Introduction to our 2D camera-trap. Each student, during the course of the month, will have an opportunity to set up the camera trap for a few days wherever he/she wants in our 16 hectares forest. You may be lucky and get some great footage and photographs of our local wildlife: bush pigs, duikers, bushbucks, vervet monkeys, baboons, reptiles….and who knows?
– Introduction to sound and voice-over recordings
– Finalising your script and getting your shot list ready
Lectures take place either inside a classroom or outside in our beautiful “boma” depending on the weather. Lectures are from 09:00 AM to 05:00 PM with a one-hour lunch break, this is flexible depending on the number of students and the topics they chose for their documentary.
Part 2 – Production (Out in the wild)
It’s now time to go out and have fun! This is your opportunity to get all the footage you need in order to make your documentary real!
We will provide you with a 2D/3D camera, tripod and other necessary accessories needed for your production. You will be responsible for the maintenance of the equipment. A highly experienced wildlife filmmaker and a guide, depending on the topic you chose, will accompany you.
List of topics for your short documentary includes:
Our Farm!!
200 hectares of forest and valleys with its incredible bird diversity, local troop of vervet monkeys and baboons, impalas, fallow deers, bushbucks, cape clawless otters, caracals and leopards. Do not be fooled you will not see a caracal or a leopard but our camera traps will! Landmark FoundaLon (www.landmarkfoundaLon.org.za) is a non governmental organisation doing research about the free roaming predators (mainly leopards and caracals) in the area. Plenty of stories for short documentaries lie with them and they are always willing to help with interviews and access to scientific data. Please visit their website for more info. A forest is always full of content and stories, you just need to open your eyes and look for it! And we will train you for this.
Monkey Land
In walking distance we have one of the biggest monkey sanctuaries in the world. With 10 primates species of monkeys from all over the world (Africa, Madagascar, Asia and South America) Monkey Land is simply the perfect place for any student wanting to make a little 3D or 2D production about a certain species of monkeys or about the story of a particular individual monkey or the whole place in general.
Beyond Borders Film School will help you on site with more details.
Birds of Eden
In walking distance we also have the largest free flight bird sanctuary in the world. Birds of Eden Sanctuary offers a 2.5km wooden boardwalk over a gorge of indigenous forest. With over 250 different species of birds from all over the world, this is your life time opportunity to make a world-class 3D or 2D short documentary about a bird species or about the story of a particular individual bird or again about the entire place in general.
Beyond Borders Film School will help you on site with more details.
Elephant Sanctuary
Situated 10 minutes away by car, Elephant Sanctuary also offers a multitude of little stories suitable for your short production. The sanctuary provides a safe haven for five African elephants and offers a unique platform for guest education and interaction. You have the opportunity to touch, feed and even walk trunk-in-hand with these magnificent animals.
Learn about this sanctuary, its vision and the story behind it, where each elephant come from and why are they there, the story behind them and the special relationship between each elephant and his trainer…The list of topics within the Elephant Sanctuary is simply endless!
Tenikwa Wildlife Awareness Centre
The centre offers a unique wildcat experience with cheetahs, leopard, African wild cats, servals and caracals. They also have a population of South African national birds, Blue Crane and some Marabou Storks and meerkats. These educational tours offer a great opportunity for you to make a very interesting and fascinating little 2D or 3D short documentary about either the centre or one of their creatures. It is also a lifetime opportunity to be able to walk (accompanied by a guide) with cheetahs through the indigenous Tsitsikamma forest, spend some time with them and share their story with the world. Beyond Borders Film School will help you on site with more details.
Nature’s Valley
Situated 10km away, Nature’s Valley is next to a beautiful lagoon on the Indian Ocean, enfolded with mountainous forest with rich flora and fauna and is a bird watchers paradise. There are plenty of scenic walks; you will be revitalised and inspired within this true garden on the Garden Route. The Knysna Turaco is plentiful in the forest as well as Cape Bushbucks and bush pigs. This Garden of Eden with its kilometres long beaches is an incredible niche for remarkable stories and a great place to get stunning landscape and time lapse shots.
Jukani Wildlife Sanctuary
Jukani is a big cat sanctuary which was relocated from Mossel Bay to The Crags. This means that less than 10km away from us there is a sanctuary with more than 120 predators such as leopard, black panther, tawny lion, white tiger, bengal tiger, siberian tiger, wild dog, spotted hyena, brown hyena, caracal, serval, jaguar, puma (also called mountain lion), cheetah, zorilla and honey badger. This is an incredible opportunity for short films about small and large predators where you will be accompanied by a guide at all times and therefore safe among all these teeth and claws.
Part 3 – Post Production
Time to wrap up your footage and give it a professional look in our edit suite.
– Introduction to Mac and Final Cut Pro editing software.
– Introduction to 3D editing – 3D monitors and 3D televisions.
– Cutting all the hours of footage you have down to three minutes! This is the most difficult part of an editor’s life – choosing the best of the best! As always our
professional 3D video-editor will be on site to help and advise you.
– Voice-over narration. You can either record your own voice for the narration of your documentary or you can use one of your fellow student’s or lecturer’s.
– 3D editing for the students who chose to make their three minutes film in 3D.
– With the guidance of our on site professional 3D video-editor you will learn how to horizontally and vertically converge your selected footage.
– Introduction to colour grading and the possibility to colour grade your documentary if you wish to and if you have enough time in your hands.
– Laying down voice-over narration, royalty free songs and ambient sounds. We have a library of thousands of royalty free songs for you to use.
– Final audio mix.
– Finalising your documentary – making it broadcast safe and exporting it on your customised menu DVD.
– Screening – On the last evening we organise a screening where we watch each student’s three-minute documentary on a big TV Screen. And if it is a 3D documentary we all put
our 3D glasses on and enjoy the experience!
Your accommodation whilst at the 3D Wildlife Academy is at Ingwe Forest Lodge. The lodge is easily accessible and in a pristine indigenous forest setting in The Crags 14km’s east of Plettenberg Bay on a privately owned farm of 200 hectares.
The accommodation comprises of two dormitories with nearby ablutions, a forest cottage with 8 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms along with a kitchenette with basic self catering facilities and a lounge. The communal areas on the farm consist of a large wooden boma, swimming pool, BBQ area and a sports field.
The farm has had game introduced and is a haven for plant, bird and animal life. There are massive fields which are great for camera practice and developing an eye for pictures.
Our 3D Wildlife Film School is situated in the heart of the Tsitsikamma Forest, on the Garden Route of South Africa.
Our physical address is in The Crags (+/- 20km or 5 miles East of Plettenberg Bay) where we are neighbouring with Monkeyland, Birds of Eden, Elephant Sanctuary, Tenikwa Wildlife Awareness Centre and Jukani Predator Park.
We are also very close to many nature reserves such as Nature’s Valley, Storms River Mouth, Tsitsikamma National Park and Plettenberg Bay Game Reserve to name a few. The area is one of the most beautiful places in South Africa with pristine beaches and untouched forests and riverbeds.
On the last day, students can enjoy our swimming pool and our forest Spa with Jacuzzi and sauna (massages can also be organised) or relax and enjoy the peace of the Tsitsikamma forest in front of their bedroom.
Thanks to our great location, there are also plenty of activities to do only a short driving distance away:
– Whale-watching: in season only (July, August, September, October, November)
– Bungee jumping from the highest bungee bridge in the world (Bloukrans Bridge)
– Sky-diving
– Zip lining
– Mountain hiking
– Mountain biking
– Kayaking
– Horse riding
– Surfing
– Boating
And the list goes on and on…
Students can also enjoy our neighbouring wineries and sip on a glass of Sauvignon Blanc while admiring the beautiful mountain range that surrounds us.
From £2,099 per person sharing
£200 deposit to secure placement at time of booking, final balance due 8 weeks prior to departure
– Accommodation of your choice (luxury tent/cottage/dorm) at Rocky Road Backpacker on the Garden Route of South Africa.
– Three meals a day and unlimited tea and coffee.
– All transport during the duration of the course as well as the road-transfers from George Airport and return (1h30 minute one way).
– Access to professional 2D and 3D video and editing equipment.
– Lectures and tuition for three students minimum and six maximum by professional 2D and 3D nature filmmakers who will be with you during Pre-Production, Production and Post-
Production.
– Course notes.
– Access to the school’s library of books and DVDs about nature film making.
– Access to Internet.
– Filming fees for any of our neighbouring locations where you want to make your own documentary
– A certificate of completion of the course.
– A DVD of your own broadcast-safe three minute nature documentary made with Beyond Borders Film School.
– Flights
– Personal Travel Insurance
– Any vaccinations as recommended by your GP
– Personal laundry (it can be arranged once a week on site with Rocky Road Backpacker for a minimum fee)
– Personal expenses such as drinks, phone calls, tourist activities, souvenirs, and tips to the staff from Rocky Road Backpacker…
If you have any questions, or if you’d like to find out more about this incredible adventure and create some unforgettable memories, just fill in the form below and one of our team will be in touch as soon as possible.