Super/Natural — Docu-Series

In the summer of 2022, I was on set for a pre-light on a separate project when I was tapped for a Zoom meeting with Plimsoll Productions from Bristol, UK. Before our intro call, I was unfamiliar with Pilmsoll's work. Still, I was delighted to meet Producer/Director Stephanie Thompson and learn about their incredible work in the nature documentary space. The project she was working on was so exciting because it was so unlike the typical commercial projects I do. The ask was simple; Stephanie and her team of three would be traveling to Chicago to film a segment on the Peregrine Falcon for a new show called "SuperNatural Planet." Not only did they need a local producer to help with permits in the city, but they needed to permit rooftops of skyscrapers! In addition, they were looking for a drone team and an FPV pilot to film shots of the birds in flight as well as film from the "bird's perspective," giving the audience an intensely immersive experience of what these incredible birds see as they dive down the sides of the tallest buildings in the city. What a great creative challenge! 

My Production Coordinator Katie Kranz and I dove into this immediately, bringing on Skeye Hawk Productions, made of Joekean Tang and Nick Blaising, as our Drone team. They added an expert FPV drone pilot, Paul Nurk, to the team, and with the three of them at the aerial helm and my locations team pulling permits, we were firing on all cylinders! 

Throughout the nine-day production, we supported Stephanie and her team with production resources, transportation, and equipment rental needs. The footage that her DP, Christopher Openshaw, and our Drone team were able to capture began to tell a story of these city-living Peregrine Falcons and the cycle they go through as they train their young to hunt and survive in the city of Chicago. Months later, I caught up with the Plimsoll team to see how the post-production process was going. Then, I learned that Benedict Cumberbatch was to lend his Voice to the series, another highlight of this project. When released on Disney+,  our Chicago-based portion was featured in episode 2, "Bloodline." It was a thrill to have been a small part of this incredible series, but the proper credit goes to Stephanie and her vision for capturing the beauty of nature in the concrete jungle that is Chicago.