Working Animals

hand-crafted motion pictures and digital experiences for all screens


Science Documentary series of 26 episodes

Project Title: Working Animals

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About the Project

cathie&lion_2_1
Working Animals was inspired by my lifelong love of and fascination with animals. When I pitched the concept as “the science of how animals and people work together” to Discovery Channel Canada, they immediately got it. To help produce the ambitious project I teamed with the production company, The Film Works and we went into production on 26 half-hour episodes.

Though the series was filmed on four continents, our budget was more appropriate for a domestic shoot. Therefore, to put most of that budget on the screen, we worked with small, versatile crews and used technology to reduce the need for travel. It was normal to virtually scout locations in China (via video-conferencing), then screening dailies from India, and prep to direct a shoot in Texas. During 26 episodes we filmed over 60 stories of incredible working animals and their people – from a lion that’s a movie star to ostriches that guard livestock, and llamas that are golf caddies to stingrays that help children who are struggling with adversity in their lives.

Golf caddie llama from "Working Animals" episode "The Teammates".

Golf caddie llama from “Working Animals” episode “The Teammates”.

Through Working Animals I met many wonderful people and amazing animals and it was a privilege to share their stories with audiences around the world. Thank you Discovery Channel Canada for a fantastic project.[/one_half]
[one_half last]Target Audience
12-54+

Goal
Entertain while informing about the wonderful ways animals and people work together.

Format
Science Documentary series, 26 x 23-minutes

Style
Live-action

Platforms
Broadcast

Services Provided
Complete creative and technical services from concept development to delivery of the final project. Create and distribute ancillary digital materials.

What the client says
As the showrunner (producer, writer, and director) Cathleen assembled and led a production team, wrote a series bible and all episode scripts, and liased with Discovery Channel’s Programming Manager to meet and exceed all requirements to deliver a premium prime-time documentary series. A notable quality of working with Cathleen is the good-spirited and confident atmosphere that surrounds her productions. As any broadcast executive can attest, it is a pleasure to have fun with a project and rest assured the show will go on. Although the series was shot on a modest budget in far-flung places such as China, India, and South Africa, the content was superb and Discovery’s schedule was always met.

In her dealings with Discovery Channel, Cathleen was a congenial self-starter with a clear vision who can communicate goals and accommodate her client’s needs and her team’s ideas. Her genuine exuberance for the series was infectious to many who worked on it. She won our confidence such that our affiliate channel, the newly launched Animal Planet Canada, asked her to produce its first Canadian-commissioned original program.

Paul Lewis
President and General Manager, Discovery Channel Canada
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