Design and Construction of Wildlife Camera Vehicle 2001
BBC ONE 'Pride - Talking With Lions' John Downer Productions Ltd

The starting point for vehicle concept and equipment / devices is user need. My design for the production vehicle for BBC1's wildlife drama 'Pride - Talking With Lions' and 'Elephants - Spy in the Herd' is a particular example of form following function.

The overall concept is packed with original features to aid radical new filming techniques.
Groups of microwave-controlled cameras were mounted on small-wheeled vehicles and covered with GRP shells to become 'Bouldercam' and 'Dungcam'. Originally lowered at arm's length from the door of a Landrover, these robots became too heavy to deploy safely, so the whole operation had to be re-thought.

Standard practice on most wildlife shoots is for the main camera operator to work from the rear part of the vehicle, through apertures at the side and rooftop hatches.

A second crewmember drives the vehicle. In this instance, the second crewmember deploys, operates and recovers the robot camera. This means that the first crewmember has to be the main camera operator and also the driver.
The film company had searched for a 4x4 vehicle that had a wide and high enough driver's door opening, so that he could stop the vehicle and swing the camera out with ease. Also, the steering wheel cramps the driver's movement and makes it difficult to reach for the bulky camera on the left of the driver and to swing to the right.

No vehicle met the criteria (the top of the Landrover Defender door is at eye level) but the Defender is the most appropriate mechanically and in bodybuilding options - especially if the rare extended chassis 130 model is used.
After meetings with the company and crew, I re-designed the whole driver environment and designed and built a complete, fit-for-purpose body, developed to fit the operating needs of the crew and director (only the bonnet and wings remained of the original Landrover).

The top of the standard windscreen is at the eye level of passengers in the rear, so to meet one of the requirements, i.e. good vision in order to spot wildlife; I made an extra deep windscreen. This was possible because the cab was completely replaced by GRP panels and special, full-width roof hatch (a unique design in itself), all of which fitted onto a steel frame, which also supported a foldout side 'balcony' and formed the basis of the bodywork.
The door was removed and a removable GRP side panel made. This created the required working space. Driver comfort was improved (the crew could work in the vehicle for 12 hours in each day) by raising the seat by 50mm. The seat rails were lengthened by 300mm into the rear section so that they could create space by sliding the seat back.

Combined, these features created extra legroom, consequently the steering wheel had to be replaced by one with a smaller diameter. The front passenger seats were replaced with a purpose built camera box with two lorry size batteries to power electrical equipment underneath. For comfort of the crew in transit, I fitted a high quality air-sprung Volvo lorry seat in the rear. This rig was fitted to a stainless steel lateral tube, so that the seat could be moved from side to side, to create working space at whichever side door was being used.

The rear compartment was 300mm wider than the standard Landrover with an interior height that allowed walk-in ease of movement. Giant, 'ice-cream van' sliding windows were designed and fitted for good vision and use as extra camera apertures. An extra revolving director's seat was fitted, so that a still or movie camera could work through these windows. Hatches were fitted above these seats, with a specially designed double rail sliding camera mount (look out for a copy on BBC1's 'Big Cat Diary').

The roof was flat with the vehicle sides at 90 degrees so that the camera could be operated at the extreme limits of the vehicle dimensions, without the cameraman's legs causing an obstruction inside the vehicle. The director could also watch a bank of monitors and there was space for 'Bouldercam' and equipment storage. Special seating squabs were made to double as impromptu beds and protection for camera equipment in transit. These were covered in a hard wearing dust proof material and seat covers were made in the same material, with dust proof lens pockets on the back.

Unlike most wildlife vehicle camera ports, it was possible to make the camera balcony 700mm wide - the rest of the vehicle steel frame cantilevered the weight of balcony and crew.
This same frame was also designed to provide safety in the event of being rammed by a bull elephant (not tested yet!). A winch discreetly lowers the robot through the floor of the balcony, with a canvas skirt option for extra secrecy.

Steel tubes slide from inside the vehicle frame at roof level to support a purpose made canvas cover - to provide shade and protection from rain and dust on the open side of the vehicle.

Although this particular vehicle appears rather utilitarian and not the kind of car styling I might have dreamed of as a student, it has proved to be successful and has been in almost constant use since 2001.