How to film a herd of elephants from space

Creating sequences that ‘zoom in’ from far above Earth takes planning, patience… and luck.

Step 1 Find your elephants

The production team sends coordinates of their chosen elephants’ most recent location to the satellite company. Its technicians programme their satellite to acquire the image.

Step 2 Timing is everything

The satellite company informs the television crew of the precise time that the satellite will be passing over the required spot.

Step 3 Bring on the drone

To create a seamless zoom from a satellite image down to ground level, the television crew positions a drone. It is able to fly just high enough to match the greatest zoom on the satellite.

Step 4 Watch the weather

The crew cross their fingers and hope that clouds don’t get in the way of the image feeds. Unfavourable weather ruins many filming attempts.