Celebrated natural history production partnership has begun filming
12 hours of 4K wildlife and nature content in Zambia and
12 hours in a new location, Sri Lanka
A Toque Macaque monkey, spotted on location in Sri Lanka
(Toronto, ON, September 28, 2017) – Love Nature, home to the world’s largest library of 4K wildlife and nature content, and UK-based Plimsoll Productions announced today that production has begun on Part II of its celebrated 4K natural history project, Camp Zambia. Following up on the incredible success experienced on this production, the camp is shooting 12 new hours of wildlife and nature programming in Zambia once again, then heading east to base themselves in Sri Lanka to create another 12 hours of new content. All 24 hours are scheduled for delivery in Summer 2018.
“Camp Zambia was truly one of Love Nature’s most innovative production partnerships, allowing us to create 50 hours of stunning 4K natural history series and documentaries, all delivered in house within two years,” said Ward Platt, CEO, Global Networks, Blue Ant Media. “Following up on all of its success, Camp Sri Lanka brings endless possibilities as we embark on a new production project that will see us producing new stories about the region’s extraordinary creatures and habitats.”
“We are extremely pleased to roll out the innovative Camp model of natural history filming to a new territory,” said Andrew Jackson, President of International Production for Plimsoll Productions. “Camp Sri Lanka will definitely serve as a challenge to our team, but they are excited and inspired by Camp Zambia’s runaway success with incredible wildlife stories.”
In Zambia, the team will follow up with the award-winning project’s stars, including The Misfit and Kamuti from Africa’s Hunters. Returning series from this project include Africa’s Hunters, Season 3 (6×48’; 4K), Tales from Zambia, Season 3 (4×48’; 4K) and Guardians of the Wild, Season 3 (2×48’; 4K).
Similar to the Camp Zambia production, the Camp Sri Lanka team will immerse themselves in the region’s wildest locations to follow the action 24/7, focusing on individual animal characters and families and capturing their lives in unprecedented detail. Home to Asia’s most sensational wildlife, Sri Lanka is monsoon country, with an eco-system driven by the most powerful storms in the world. The country is surrounded by the Indian Ocean and has hundreds of square miles of pristine wilderness, made up of a mosaic of habitats and has the highest rate of biological endemism in the world. The island is also home to a dazzling variety of wildlife, 830 of which are only found in Sri Lanka. There are over 90 species of mammal, including Sri Lanka Asian Elephants, sloth bears, sambar, leopards and wild buffaloes. The region is also home to rare red slender loris, touque macaque, purple-faced langur and over 430 bird species.
The Camp Sri Lanka will base themselves out of three specific locations on the island:
- Yala National Park: located in the South East of Sri Lanka, Yala is a beautiful area of lowland dry scrub, sitting on a long stretch of coastline, punctuated by rocky outcrops. It is the premier national park of Sri Lanka, full of mammals, insects and birdlife. This is leopard country and the perfect place to get to know these enigmatic big cats
- Minneriya National Park: situated in North Central Sri Lanka, this location houses an unusually wide range of habitat types, from dry tropical forest to wetlands and grasslands. It forms part of the elephant corridor that joins up with Kaudulla and Wasgommuwa national parks. Hundreds of elephants travel each year to the shores of ancient reservoir built by a king more than 1,700 years ago. It is here that, during the dry season, hundreds of elephants gather to form the largest meeting of Asian elephants in the world
- Polonnaruwa: The beautiful lost city of Polonnaruwa is home to a vast monkey population living amongst the impressively preserved ruins. This ancient archaeological site is the best place in the country to get up close and personal with Sri Lanka’s three diurnal primates: the purple-faced leaf monkey, the toque macaque and the grey langur
The team’s aerial cameras will fly over monsoon forests and expansive grasslands; rocky outcrops and thorny scrub; mangrove swamps and golden beaches.
Like Camp Zambia, Camp Sri Lanka’s content will, once again, be very character focused. The team will follow and tell the stories of elephants, sloth bears, leopards and several species of monkeys. Their stories will play out among the breath-taking displays of peacocks, the antics of formidable wild pigs, rutting chital deer and nesting sea turtles.
Camp Sri Lanka 12 hours of series and documentaries will also fuel Love Nature’s catalog and platforms for years to come. Four series slated for delivery in Summer 2018, include:
- Island of the Monsoon (3×48’; 4K): In this stunning series, we focus on Sri Lanka’s ‘A’ list species, leopards and elephants. Both are present in the island in high numbers – there are more leopards per square mile here than any other country on Earth and Sri Lanka also has the highest density of Asian elephants. Our camera teams will follow individual animals of both species over a number of months, resulting in intimate, character-driven films with dramatic, compelling stories
- Monkey World (3×48’; 4K): In an ancient location deep in the jungle, Sri Lanka’s three diurnal primates, the purple-faced leaf monkey, the toque macaque and the grey langur, make their home living amongst the enormous preserved ruins. This is a playground of epic proportions and the perfect place to uncover the secrets of the Monkey World.
- Island Secrets (3×48’; 4K): Rising from the Indian Ocean, Sri Lanka is a land where not one, but two monsoons mark time. A world where rains pour down, clouds swell, rivers flow, mists dance across the skies, frost’s dust the highlands and thousands of man-made lakes form a curious wonderland filled with a wildlife that is strange, beautiful and utterly unique. But when the water runs out, things start to get interesting. We watch as the crew follows the residents of Yala National Park as water becomes increasingly scarce, forcing animals to travel further in the harsh environment.
- Wild Crusades (3×48’; 4K): From the mysterious and elusive Sloth Bear to Sri Lanka’s magnificent Asian elephants, all of them have saviours, including people dedicated to preserving them and the delicate ecosystems in which they live. This series gets deep into the incredible stories of Sri Lanka’s amazing animals through their guardians. Among other stories, we learn about the deep and sensitive family bonds that hold elephant families together and how easily they can be disrupted, causing problems for all concerned. And we learn some rarely filmed before secrets of the Sloth Bear by following deep into their jungles at night.
Complete episodes are available for licensing via Blue Ant International. A selection of this content will also live on Love Nature’s linear and SVOD offerings. U.S. audiences will also be able to access this content on Smithsonian Networks OTT service, Smithsonian Earth.
Plimsoll Productions’ high profile production team includes Andrew Jackson, President, International Production (North America, Frozen Planet, Africa), Martha Holmes, Head of Wildlife (Blue Planet, Manhunters, Life), James Smith, Executive Producer (Tribe, Amazon with Bruce Parry), Hannah Hoare, Producer for Camp Sri Lanka (Year 1) and Karen Walsh, Producer, Camp Zambia (Year 3).
Love Nature, a joint venture between Blue Ant Media and Smithsonian Networks, brings audiences closer to the beauty and wonder of nature, sharing awe-inspiring stories and shining a light on the fight for survival in a changing world. Love Nature offers the largest library of 4K wildlife and nature content in the world and is available internationally via linear television, video streaming services and as a turnkey factual 4K channel. LoveNature.com
Blue Ant Media is a privately held, international content producer, distributor and channel operator. From our production houses around the world, we create content for multiple genres including factual, factual entertainment, short-form digital series and kids programming. Our distribution business, Blue Ant International, offers a catalog of 3,000+ hours of content, including the largest 4K natural history offering on the market. Blue Ant Media’s international channel business offers a portfolio of media brands such as Love Nature (International), ZooMoo Networks (International), Smithsonian Channel Canada, BBC Earth (Canada) and HGTV (New Zealand). Blue Ant Media is headquartered in Toronto, with operations in Los Angeles, Singapore, Auckland, Dunedin, London, Sydney, Beijing and Taipei. Blueantmedia.ca. Follow us on: Twitter/LinkedIN/Instagram
Plimsoll Productions creates and produces non scripted programming for the international television market from offices in Bristol, Los Angeles and Cardiff. The award winning creative team has produced some of the biggest factual hits of recent years, winning Emmy Awards as well as top honours from BAFTA and RTS. Since launching four years ago, the company has produced over 40 series for both domestic and international networks including Earth Live (NatGeo), Rescue Dog to Super Dog (Animal Planet), Teach My Pet to Do That (ITV), Camp Zambia (Love Nature, Smithsonian Networks), among many more. Earlier this year, the British Chamber of Commerce awarded the company the High Growth Business of the Year award, making Plimsoll the first independent production company to ever be honored with the award.
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