| ADCETERA
Africa made magical by a drone In three minutes and 51 seconds you are transported to another world in Rhino Africa’s latest promo video. Made up of spectacular drone footage, which inimitably traverses the heights of Africa, poetically piecing together its gems as if floating on a cloud, flying through a painting, that’s the feeling you are left with after watching this Rhino Africa vid.
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long with the awe-inspiring scenery, you see elephants, leopards, lions and more wildlife than you can count, from a perspective that shows you their magnitude in their pristine settings. The montage was three years in the making, with the team painstakingly gathering the drone footage, which whisks the viewer across the continent in less than four minutes. The stunning footage and the soundtrack portray Africa as the magnificent continent it is. The Rhino Africa team were tasked to “Capture Africa’s beautiful and iconic landscapes and animals with a drone and in so doing take viewers where they’ve never been before and will want to go,” explains Ryan Rapaport, creative director of Rhino Africa and director of this short. “Rhino Africa, Africa’s leading safari company, has spent the past three years exploring Africa to capture breathtaking drone footage of the continent’s most
beautiful places. Visiting iconic places such as Victoria Falls, Sossusvlei, the Okavango Delta, the Garden Route and Cape Town, the video team at Rhino Africa has managed to take viewers on an unprecedented journey through Africa from the sky,” Rapaport adds.
This is where the video takes you, the locations and the companies involved: Madikwe Game Reserve – South Africa; Vumbra North – Botswana; Jao Camp – Okavango; Delta – Botswana; Zarafa Camp – Botswana; Mombo Camp – Okavango Delta – Botswana; DumaTau – Okavango Delta – Botswana; Blouberg Beach – Cape Town; Gorah Elephant Camp – Addo National Park – South Africa; Jacks Camp – Makgadikgadi Pans in the Kalahari Desert – Botswana; The Marine – Hermanus – South Africa; Clifton Beach – Cape Town – South Africa; Dune 45 – Sossusvlei – Namibia; Knysna
Ryan Rapaport behind the scenes on the Rhino Africa piece
Capturing the soul of Africa behind the scenes on the Rhino Africa piece
Lagoon – Garden Route – South Africa; Robberg Nature Reserve – Plettenburg Bay – South Africa; Knysna Forest – South Africa; Royal Chundu – Victoria Falls – Zambia; Machaba – Okavango Delta – Botswana; Table Mountain – Cape Town – South Africa; Tsitsikamma – Garden Route – South Africa; Kwandwe Game Reserve – Eastern Cape – South Africa; Kwandwe Game Reserve – Garden Route – South Africa; Knysna Heads – Garden Route – South Africa; Delaire – Franschhoek – South Africa. Aiming for dramatic aerial shots, Rapaport says, “The result is an aweinspiring bird’s-eye view of the immense wetlands, plains, forests, deserts, mountains and wildlife of Africa.” He explains that the drone footage was filmed using the DJI Inspire 1 and the DJI Phantom 2 and 4 with nothing but natural light. The team of four included director, photographer, cinematographer and
certified drone pilot. Rapaport says they have been dabbling in drones for years and DJI are the best in the world. “It’s the best bang for your buck, and gives near movie-like quality.” He further explains that flying in tiny planes across southern Africa meant they need to keep equipment tight. The DJI Phantom comes with its own camera, and for the DJI Inspire they used a Micro X5 camera for its flexibility. It was then edited and strung together like a poem using Premiere Pro and After Effects. The song was sourced from Audio Network. The crew from Rhino Africa began filming in November 2014 and the video was released on 18 October 2016. The Rhino Africa team say they would not call the film a commercial. “It’s made from our passion and love for Africa and we want to share it with the world,” explains Rapaport. He says that “Whether you can afford a safari or not, we want to share the beauty of Africa with the world.” – Cera-Jane Catton
January 2017 | SCREENAFRICA | 15