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Tune in to the trials and romances of the meerkats
Premieres Monday 10th September at 8.30pm
Premieres Monday 10th September at 8.30pm
THE CAST AND CREW
Meet the stars and the filmmakers
The Crew
It took a dedicated crew of producers and camera operators to
bring Meerkat Manor to life. Robin Smith and Gavin Thurston were
the main cameramen who have worked all over the world on filming
projects, including with the famous Sir David Attenborough. Robin
and Gavin spent most of their time filming Meerkat Manor either
on their hands and knees or flat on their stomachs! The 12-inch
height of the stars of the show meant the cameramen had to get
down to their level.
The filmmakers worked closely with scientists at Cambridge University who have been studying meerkats in the Kalahari for over ten years. The scientists helped interpret behaviour and pointed out interesting interactions between the meerkats. In return, the film crew were able to show the scientists what it looked like inside a meerkat's burrow.
Specialist equipment was used to film the series, including mini infra-red cameras inside the burrows and a seven-metre crane that had a remote-controlled camera platform.
It took 25 weeks to film 13 episodes. According to Caroline Hawkins, the Executive Producer of Meerkat Manor, the most difficult footage to get was, "..the fights between the Whiskers and the Lazuli. You never know when or where they are going to happen and the meerkats move so fast when they are having an IGI (inter-group interaction) that it's hard to capture."
As to special moments never before captured on film Caroline says, "As far as I'm aware an infanticide has not been filmed before."
It took a dedicated crew of producers and camera operators to
bring Meerkat Manor to life. Robin Smith and Gavin Thurston were
the main cameramen who have worked all over the world on filming
projects, including with the famous Sir David Attenborough. Robin
and Gavin spent most of their time filming Meerkat Manor either
on their hands and knees or flat on their stomachs! The 12-inch
height of the stars of the show meant the cameramen had to get
down to their level.
The filmmakers worked closely with scientists at Cambridge University who have been studying meerkats in the Kalahari for over ten years. The scientists helped interpret behaviour and pointed out interesting interactions between the meerkats. In return, the film crew were able to show the scientists what it looked like inside a meerkat's burrow.
Specialist equipment was used to film the series, including mini infra-red cameras inside the burrows and a seven-metre crane that had a remote-controlled camera platform.
It took 25 weeks to film 13 episodes. According to Caroline Hawkins, the Executive Producer of Meerkat Manor, the most difficult footage to get was, "..the fights between the Whiskers and the Lazuli. You never know when or where they are going to happen and the meerkats move so fast when they are having an IGI (inter-group interaction) that it's hard to capture."
As to special moments never before captured on film Caroline says, "As far as I'm aware an infanticide has not been filmed before."
Images Copyright © DCI / Corbis / Associated Press / Eric Larson / Alvey Towers
