Film Info48 minutes
National Geographic Studios for National Geographic Channel Available for Free events ONLY Synopsis: Investigative journalist Bryan Christy is setting out on a groundbreaking mission to expose how the ivory trade funds some of Africa’s most notorious militias and terrorist groups. Working with one of the world’s top taxidermists, he conceals a sophisticated GPS tracker inside an incredibly realistic faux ivory tusk and drops it in the heart of ivory poaching country and monitors its movements to track down the kingpins of the ivory trade. Action Items
Filmmaker Q & AJJ Kelley, Director / Producer
What inspired this story? This story came on the heels of a 1-hour documentary our team produced that dug into the growing demand for elephant ivory from markets in China. After exposing luxury markets in Hong Kong and mainland China on the cover of National Geographic Magazine and though a one hour documentary, Battle for the Elephants, we were heartbroken to learn of an ongoing slaughter and the death of rangers who’d dedicated their lives to save a dwindling species. The final straw was a report that 23 elephants were militantly gunned down via helicopter in Chad. |
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More than reporting on the issue, we wanted to influence the demand. We were enraged. That’s when the idea came to insert tracking devices into fake elephant tusks and follow the bloodline of a trade into the camps of the warlords profiting from not only ivory but guns, sex workers and drugs.
Describe some of the challenges faced while making this film
This film was a real investigation with many messy dead-ends and fruitless leads. We worked for over a year to create a satellite tracking device that had never been made before; a device that if improperly manufactured would mean the death of the assets helping us on the ground in central Africa.
We traveled into the heart of the Congo—on the frontline of a war—where people and animals wantonly die everyday. The safety concerns were very real and producing in the remote bush demanded that the crew be hearty and up for a dangerous assignment.
Our field team collected an unbelievable story, but it was one that needed extraordinary diligence in post. The mountain of footage required the care of a post production team who could extract an entertaining yet cohesive narrative. Ultimately the story did truly come together in the edit. With over 150-hours of footage, the careful eye that our editors gave to each frame made this film made for the success of National Geographic Explorer’s premiere episode in 2015.
How do you approach science storytelling?
Science is at the very DNA of National Geographic, and with every story we endeavor to explain the wonders of the natural world. For this film we worked with world-class behavioral biologists to understand stress signals exhibited by elephants being poached. We also worked with a taxidermist who creates works of art for the Natual History Museum of New York; his insights and experience were paramount in our effort to create a tusk that would have the correct weight proportions and color profile. Lastly, because we didn’t know where the tusks would travel, we had to integrate satellite and GPS technology that could last for a full year, completely self contained, something we could track in an artificial tusk anywhere in the world. Our viewers demand science in excruciating detail, and we were honored to oblige with this film.
What impact do you hope this film will have?
I hope the technology we pioneered will be used by future conservationists and filmmakers for years to come. We tracked poachers like the D.E.A. would track a drug dealer. We learned that ivory syndicates operate with slave labor, sex workers and arms deals. These villains are responsible for genocides, and they may kill the last elephants on earth.
When we look at an elephant population that was once 20-million but now hovers at 350,000, there is not much time remaining. We must be aggressive in defending the herds we still have. It would be a tragedy if our children read about elephant in history books, and never had the chance to see them in the wild. I hope this film serves as a warning to poachers that we will fight this battle to the end.
Were there any surprising or meaningful moments/experiences you want to share?
After the tusks had been dropped into the hands of a trafficker, we watched as they headed out of the Democratic Republic of Congo on foot into South Sudan then into the known location of Joseph Kony and the Lords Resistance Army in Sudan. We were astonished to learn that an internal criminal wanted on genocide crimes was also dealing in ivory. This revelation perked the ears of the U.S. government, and we were able to hold court with the head of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. What resulted is an ongoing program to track and monitor illicit ivory smugglers worldwide.
What next?
National Geographic has launched a Special Investigations Unit that will continue to tell in-depth investigative stories. Explore also carries on with 25-hours of original programing coming to the National Geographic Channel this fall.
What were some of the specific editing challenges you had to address?
Pacing was a tremendous challenge with this film. A real investigation shot over the course of a year, there were many shoots—some which didn’t ultimately serve the story. Tough decisions were required to streamline a very complex narrative.
We spoke with people who had been the raped, witnessed murder and been forced to kill. Respecting their stories while keeping the overall flow of the film moving was one of the hardest elements of an edit. Each day we’d be gutted as we watched the footage.
Ultimately, the story that emerged was complex and pointed. Making a film from a real life investigation was a tremendous challenge, but it was a process that rendered one of the greatest films of our careers.
Describe some of the challenges faced while making this film
This film was a real investigation with many messy dead-ends and fruitless leads. We worked for over a year to create a satellite tracking device that had never been made before; a device that if improperly manufactured would mean the death of the assets helping us on the ground in central Africa.
We traveled into the heart of the Congo—on the frontline of a war—where people and animals wantonly die everyday. The safety concerns were very real and producing in the remote bush demanded that the crew be hearty and up for a dangerous assignment.
Our field team collected an unbelievable story, but it was one that needed extraordinary diligence in post. The mountain of footage required the care of a post production team who could extract an entertaining yet cohesive narrative. Ultimately the story did truly come together in the edit. With over 150-hours of footage, the careful eye that our editors gave to each frame made this film made for the success of National Geographic Explorer’s premiere episode in 2015.
How do you approach science storytelling?
Science is at the very DNA of National Geographic, and with every story we endeavor to explain the wonders of the natural world. For this film we worked with world-class behavioral biologists to understand stress signals exhibited by elephants being poached. We also worked with a taxidermist who creates works of art for the Natual History Museum of New York; his insights and experience were paramount in our effort to create a tusk that would have the correct weight proportions and color profile. Lastly, because we didn’t know where the tusks would travel, we had to integrate satellite and GPS technology that could last for a full year, completely self contained, something we could track in an artificial tusk anywhere in the world. Our viewers demand science in excruciating detail, and we were honored to oblige with this film.
What impact do you hope this film will have?
I hope the technology we pioneered will be used by future conservationists and filmmakers for years to come. We tracked poachers like the D.E.A. would track a drug dealer. We learned that ivory syndicates operate with slave labor, sex workers and arms deals. These villains are responsible for genocides, and they may kill the last elephants on earth.
When we look at an elephant population that was once 20-million but now hovers at 350,000, there is not much time remaining. We must be aggressive in defending the herds we still have. It would be a tragedy if our children read about elephant in history books, and never had the chance to see them in the wild. I hope this film serves as a warning to poachers that we will fight this battle to the end.
Were there any surprising or meaningful moments/experiences you want to share?
After the tusks had been dropped into the hands of a trafficker, we watched as they headed out of the Democratic Republic of Congo on foot into South Sudan then into the known location of Joseph Kony and the Lords Resistance Army in Sudan. We were astonished to learn that an internal criminal wanted on genocide crimes was also dealing in ivory. This revelation perked the ears of the U.S. government, and we were able to hold court with the head of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. What resulted is an ongoing program to track and monitor illicit ivory smugglers worldwide.
What next?
National Geographic has launched a Special Investigations Unit that will continue to tell in-depth investigative stories. Explore also carries on with 25-hours of original programing coming to the National Geographic Channel this fall.
What were some of the specific editing challenges you had to address?
Pacing was a tremendous challenge with this film. A real investigation shot over the course of a year, there were many shoots—some which didn’t ultimately serve the story. Tough decisions were required to streamline a very complex narrative.
We spoke with people who had been the raped, witnessed murder and been forced to kill. Respecting their stories while keeping the overall flow of the film moving was one of the hardest elements of an edit. Each day we’d be gutted as we watched the footage.
Ultimately, the story that emerged was complex and pointed. Making a film from a real life investigation was a tremendous challenge, but it was a process that rendered one of the greatest films of our careers.
