Lowveld couple Jacques and Antoinette Goosen’s years of experience in producing wildlife documentaries saw them assist the BBC Natural History crew with the production of a series called Mammals, narrated by Sir David Attenborough.
The pair are the owners of the Southern African Natural History Unit, operating as SANHU Productions, and specialise in setting up international film crews when visiting the country to produce, among others, blue-chip wildlife documentaries.
Speaking about Mammals, Antoinette said the pair were very involved in the first episode of the series. “We were intensely involved with the episode called ‘Dark’, which takes an in-depth look at the habits of mole rats that spend their entire lives underground,” she said.
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The episode was shot with the assistance of the University of Pretoria, which hosts an ongoing project study on mole rats.
“We had to build a whole set to recreate the habitat of these fascinating creatures.”
Antoinette said the crew was one of the most highly skilled and experienced teams from the BBC, which has been involved in series such as Planet Earth, Blue Planet and many others.
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Talking about how they began their careers as fixers, Antoinette said the couple had started off in television with the SABC, and in the early 2000s, they moved to Skukuza to film and produce international wildlife documentaries for channels such as Nat Geo, Disney and Discovery, to name a few. Over the years, this path has led them to facilitating and fixing international crews.
“Fixing is a very specialised trade, and the finest details need to be attended to, to ensure crews’ productions, while filming in South Africa, run smoothly and without a hitch. The smallest mistake can costs thousands of rands and derail a film shoot very quickly. Our task as fixers cover every logistical detail, from initial research with the international production team, organising location permits and permissions, booking accommodation, arranging transport, organising safe passage through airports to ensuring the crews are fed.”
The series will be available to watch on BBC Earth, Channel 184, on DStv soon.
