About us
South African Company
Wild Images
Wild Images is the trading name of Wild Images and Television cc. We are an independent media organisation specialising in television programme production and the provision of moving and still images of "wild" subjects. Based in Cape Town, South Africa, Wild Images is a completely new company and combines the interests of our two UK companies Zebra Film Productions and Wild Images Limited.
Cape Town is a booming media city attracting international feature films and advertising commercials. Surrounded by spectacular mountains, dramatic seascapes, rolling sand dunes and endless beaches, Cape Town is the ideal base for aerial filming. The city also boasts a number of top quality facility houses and equipment rental companies.
Our services include:
- Licensing of high quality stock moving images.
- Running an extensive photographic stills library service.
- Aerial film work.
- Equipment hire for filming.
United Kingdom Companies
Zebra Film Productions Limited
Formed in 1992, Zebra Film Productions was a documentary production company based in Bristol, the heart of natural history film production. The company boasted a complement of up to 15 staff and continued until 2003 when the Managing Director, Richard Matthews, decided to move his base of operations to South Africa. In streamlining the companies Richard decided to close down ZFPL and transfer its assets and production interests to his other UK company, Wild Images Limited.
Wild Images Limited
Formed in 1994 the Wild Images photolibrary was originally run from our production base in Bristol. In 1998 we decided to market our collection of images through the RSPCA Photo library which is based in Southwater, West Sussex. This greatly increased our marketing reach and allowed us to sell online via the RSPCA Photolibrary website. In 2004 Wild Images UK expanded its interests to take on those of our old production company ZFPL.
Principal Staff
Richard Matthews
A graduate in zoology and in film, photography and television, Richard Matthews, is a world-renowned filmmaker with over twenty years of film experience in wildlife production, camerawork and directing. He has garnered many awards for excellence in productions, including three International Emmys.
Richard began his career with the internationally recognised BBC Natural History Unit working on such programmes as Animal Magic, Wild Track, Wildlife on One, The World About Us and The Natural World series. Richard was an assistant producer on Sir David Attenborough's Emmy award winning series, The Living Planet, producing one of the programmes "Seas of Grass".
In 1985 Richard left the BBC to make his own programmes independently, working as both producer and camera operator. In 1992 he formed his own company Zebra Film Productions Limited. Richard has filmed all over the world for numerous high profile organisations including the BBC, Survival Anglia, National Geographic Television, Channel 4, ABC Australia, The Discovery Channel, PBS, WNET, ZDF, NHK and Devillier-Donegan Enterprises.
His filming experience includes 16mm, standard and high definition video, infra-red, thermal imaging, night vision, long lens and macro work. He developed the original balcony car door mount now widely used for filming throughout Africa and recently developed a unique pan and tilt camera platform, Wing Cam One™, for fixed wing aircraft. Richard's still and cine work is represented by Getty Images, BBC Worldwide and Marco-Polo-Archive.
Richard holds a UK and South African Pilots' Licence and is a qualified media sub-aqua diver.
Samantha Matthews
Samantha was born and brought up in Kenya and attended Berkeley University in California. She has been involved in the making of natural history films for the last 15 years as researcher, sound recordist and assistant producer. She has worked for the BBC Natural History Unit and for freelance film makers. For 5 years Samantha lived in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania working with Richard on films and doing still photography. In 1992 she won First Prize in the Animal Portrait category of the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition. For many years Samantha was represented by Planet Earth Pictures and in the last few years by Getty Images.
