Branded the greatest shoal on earth, the famous sardine run sees these fish travel in seething masses stretching up to 15 kilometres in length, three and a half kilometres wide and nearly 40 metres deep. As millions of sardines travel north, between May and July, along the gorgeous and rugged shores from Cape Point to the Eastern Cape and KZN coastlines of South Africa, the run is visible by satellite and for the first time, it will be coming to screens as a reality series, Bait Ball, showing the gruelling pursuit to witness the spectacle.
The migration is a show in itself, but the sheer number of sardines attracts hundreds of predators en masse, creating a feeding frenzy. Birds, dolphins, sharks, whales, seals, and gamefish put on a show like no other.
Patrick Walton, producer at ShootAway Productions, spoke to Screen Africa from Port St Johns during the filming of Bait Ball, which commenced on 20 June and ended on 3 July 2016. Worldwide distribution will mean initial airing in Canada and Europe before it hits local screens. Walton anticipates that part one of the series will include 13 episodes.
The series is inspired by footage taken by Frogsquad, a marine support and commercial diving company that services the SA film industry. Frogsquad’s Jason Martin and Jimmy Fraser showed Walton their run footage and shared the idea to film the skippers doing the run. Walton thought that it had potential to be as good, if not better than the successful series, Deadliest Catch. The trio created the format and filmed a pilot so that Walton would have the tools necessary to pitch the series for funding abroad.
Finding international partners and an international distribution company was key to accessing funding. “Local funding for Bait Ball was turned down by a number of entities as it does not fit within the scope of their funding mechanisms,” says Walton.
The pilot, shot in 2013, went well but Walton says they were hampered by the lack of local funding. “Despite a small compact crew, we came away with enough content to create a six-part series,” says Walton. He then travelled abroad to a number of film and TV festivals pitching the idea. The series was optioned by Peace Point Rights, a Canadian based distribution and production company, and collaboratively they started to tackle investors and broadcasters to find the funding.
“Ultimately we received investment from Canada and Italy just two months ago so preparation time has been very short,” says Walton.
“Due to the nature of the shoot we have spent a lot of time discussing cameras suitable for the conditions the operators will be under,” Wlaton says. They ultimately settled for the Sony PXW-FS7 4K XDCAM. “ShootAway recently completed servicing of The Bachelor and these cameras worked really well in run-and-gun, ENG style filming,” explains Walton.
Planning for rough seas and inclement weather, particular attention was paid to waterproofing of all equipment. “There is not a lot out there besides the traditional splash bags to protect gear. We are on open super ducks with no option for cover and confined spaces. We brought solutions in from Germany with the assistance of Digital Media Services and Media Film Services. We have also been inventive with pool noodles for rifle mics and waterproof dive bags for sound gear,” explains Walton. “Shooting in high seas was a challenge both technically and physically for our crew,” he adds. “Eight to 12 hours on boats meant being well prepared with data, power and other technical requirements.”
Raw and real, the series is not scripted, and dolphins, whales and gannets certainly played their part, to the delight of the story producer, Bobby Janic. Walton says: “By its very nature there is enough action going on.” He explains that the run is unpredictable, and it comes down to luck and timing. “With the sardine run running late, there was the risk of us not finding enough action but we were fortunate in so many ways with what we were able to capture. Despite freezing mornings, rough seas and very long days we had no fallout from our crew.”
Walton confirms that despite unpredictable challenges filming went extremely well, and their long hours were rewarded with incredible footage above and below the ocean. “There were days where we had scoured many square kilometres and hit gold only on our return home,” says Walton.
Post-production is currently underway in Canada on Avid, and the show will be delivered in full HD. “We now go into post for six months, which is going to be a daunting task considering the amount of footage we have. We are confident with our Canadian partners, we have a great show.”
The crew were all South African with Walton and Martin Leitch directing 40 passengers and a team of 24 divers, skippers, safety divers and dive masters. On the final day of shooting Walton says that an encounter with a whale left divers with tears in their eyes. “Such was the impact of this remarkable footage we shot.”
The show follows skippers Greg Da Valle, Jimmy Fraser and Carl Elkington as they take clientele to chase the run. “The SA crew displayed on this show why they are considered the best in the world,” says Walton. “This was a brutally tough job.” Audiences at home will be able to witness the remarkable phenomenon, captured by a team that risked it all to get the shots.15
