The standard way to shoot a multi-country African series is to hire a fixer in every country and hope each one is as good as the last. It works until it doesn't, usually at a border, usually with your camera gear on the wrong side of it.
Five countries in three weeks
For Man Eats Wild season two, the schedule crossed Namibia, South Africa, Botswana, the Seychelles and Zimbabwe inside a three-week window. Every country meant new wildlife permits, new location access, new filming permissions, and a border crossing where equipment carnets either work smoothly or eat your schedule alive.
What "one team" changes
- The handover disappears. No re-briefing a new fixer at each border. The people who planned Namibia are the people running Zimbabwe.
- Carnets are handled between countries, not at them. Paperwork problems get solved before the trucks arrive, because the same team is looking two borders ahead.
- One point of accountability. When something goes wrong at 11pm, the production calls one number. Whose fault it is never enters the conversation. It's ours to fix either way.
The takeaway
The series delivered on schedule across all five countries. Multi-country production will never be easy, but it can be someone's job, start to finish. That's the difference between hiring help in Africa and having a team there.
