Productions

For over thirty years producer-cameraman Richard Matthews  has been producing documentary wildlife films, firstly with the BBC Natural History Unit and thereafter with his own independent companies Zebra Film Productions Limited and Wild Images. Richard is renowned for producing the highest quality wildlife documentaries and has worked with many high profile clients in a wide variety of ground-breaking and award winning programmes. Richard recently formed Table Mountain Films which from now on will produce the films leaving Wild Images to concentrate on aerial photography and image acquisition..

Who we have worked for

A selection of our clients include:

Productions

Running with Wolves
2009
 This film follows ex world champion endurance athlete and wolf biologist, Gudrun Pflueger, through her life-threatening battle with brain cancer. Her long road to recovery is helped along by her determination to return to the wild and to continue her work with the wolves of The Rocky Mountains and to once again be Running with Wolves.
Search for the coast wolves
2006
 We follow field biologist and world champion endurance athlete, Gudrun Pfleuger as she tracks the illusive coast wolves of British Columbia. While some startling discoveries are made about these interesting wolves and their way of life, Gudrun has some revelations of her own, revelations that are both life changing and life threatening.
Flying with Condors
2004
 We follow the adventures of world champion glider pilot Judy Leden as she flies wing-tip to wing-tip with condors in the Andes. A high definition, fifty two minute production for ZDF, BBC and NHK. Richard is Director and principal cameraman.
Ultimate Snake: Death Squeeze
2003
 World anaconda expert Jesus Rivas takes us on a journey of discovery to find some of the world’s most fascinating constricting snakes.
Snake Hunter in Costa Rica
2002
 Rom Whitaker’s whirlwind tour of the world’s most amazing snakes takes him to Costa Rica in Central America. Not much bigger than Switzerland, this country is just loaded with snakes. There are more types here than in the whole of North America. Some of the snakes have awesome reputations – like the infamous bushmaster and fer-de-lance. In Rom’s journey across this land of adventure and mystery he will meet the gold miners who found out about snakes the hard way, but above all he’ll be looking for snakes, lots of them!
Wild Indonesia
2000
 A natural history of the greatest island chain on earth. Spanning 5,000 kilometres of equator, between Asia and Australia, Indonesia’s 17,000 islands make up by far the largest and most varied archipelago on earth. From freezing glaciers to coral reefs, from orang utans to komodo dragons, the sheer diversity of landscapes and life defies the imagination. This series tells the comprehensive story of one of the world’s most fascinating regions and its magical wildlife.
Golden Seals of the Skeleton Coast
2000
 We follow the incredible life of a male Cape fur seal on an action-packed journey from the chaos of the breeding colony to the dramas of the open ocean. The odyssey, a ten year, three thousand mile voyage takes our seal around the coast of Southern Africa. En route he encounters many challengers – the beaches are patrolled by jackals, the oceans by sharks. Always he is on the lookout for food – fledgling gannets and huge shoals of migratory fish sustain his ample bulk. But his wanderings bring him into conflict with people – fishermen and hunters are not always a seal’s best friend.
Thunder Dragon
1999
 In a bustling Sri Lankan suburb, water monitors are a part of everyday life. At a garbage dump, swimming in a canal or waiting with the dogs for scraps at the meat shop they are a common sight. Elsewhere, where monitors are found, they are exploited heavily for their meat and skin but in Sri Lanka they enjoy a unique immunity granted by Buddhism and they seem to know it. Meanwhile emerald waves gently froth along the white shoreline of a paradise island in the Indian Ocean. Above the lapping waves, two 8-foot-long monitor lizards battle for dominance.
The Octopus Hunter
1999
 An extraordinary new species of octopus has recently been discovered in Indonesia. It’s been dubbed the ‘mimic octopus’ for its extraordinary ability to change its shape and its behaviour to imitate a wide range of other marine creatures. These include sea snakes, lion fish and flounders. This film follows Australian octopus expert Mark Norman on an exhilarating underwater journey in his search to find the mimic octopus and see for himself the amazing behaviour of this unusual animal. His task won’t be easy as this creature has only been seen by a handful of people.
Flying Hooves, Fleeting Shadows
1999
 This is the story of the most graceful and varied mammals on earth – Antelopes. Some are the size of a rabbit, others are larger than a cow. Many are shy and solitary, others congregate in huge herds and migrate hundreds of miles in search of fresh grass. Amazingly, some even eat meat!
Spunky Monkey
1998
 It’s a hot afternoon in India – an ordinary day in an ordinary town. People shopping, markets full. But here, you’d better watch your back. This is no ordinary thief… it’s a bonnet macaque, a sly, smart and spunky monkey. A fast-paced roller-coaster ride of a film following a troop of mischievous city monkeys transported out into the countryside. Will they be able to fend for themelves in this new habitat?
Sea Bears of the Diamond Coast
1998
 This is the real-life saga of one female Cape fur seal and her struggle to raise a pup against all odds; from her tumultuous arrival at the breeding colony where she must fight her way past thousands of aggressive neighbours, to the trials and tribulations of mating and birth. In scenes never filmed before she faces the great-white shark and the brown hyena which catches seal pups in broad daylight. In the sea we play and surf alongside the growing seal pups before they venture out to the open ocean.
Nightmares of Nature
1997
 Five half hour programmes: Maneaters, The Deep, In Cold Blood, Squirm, A Cry in the Dark. The original ground-breaking series about animals dangerous to man and the truth behind the worlds most terrifying creatures. Using reconstructions of real life incidents and exciting natural history photography this gripping new series uncovers the facts behind the legends. What’s the most dangerous snake in the world? How many people are really killed by sharks each year? What are your chances if you come face to face with a lion?
King Cobra
1997
 The extraordinary tale of the world’s longest venomous snake and the real King of the Jungle. This award-winning film explores the relationship between the charismatic king cobra and creatures of the Indian forest such as tortoise, vine snakes, cow elephants, and giant squirrels. The filming which took place mainly in the rainforests of Kerala wasn’t without its perils. One cameraman escaped narrowly when struck on the head by the cobra during close-up filming.
Benguela and the Burning Shore
1997
 Mile upon mile of twisting sand dunes poking through the sea of fog like miniature mountain ranges, alongside a freezing ocean. This is no fairy tale. This is the Namib Desert, where penguins and fur seals live alongside dancing lizards, hand standing beetles, and blind sand swimming moles. Also known as Namib: Africa’s Burning Shore for ABC’s Living Eden’s series.
Lake of the Flies
1995
 The biggest buzz in Africa. Billions of tiny mosquito-like flies form spectacular swarms over Victoria, the second largest lake in the world. Today the swarms are on the increase and can be one thousand feet high and over a mile long. They are a death threat to fishermen yet essential to their lives. Lake of the Flies is a story of underwater monsters, misguided scientists and some of the most beautiful fish in the world.
The Secret Leopard
1986
 The family life of Africa’s most charismatic animal; the leopard, filmed entirely on location in the splendour of Kenya’s renowned Maasai Mara Game Reserve. For four months we follow a leopardess as she struggles to raise her three cubs in Africa’s competitive and hazardous big cat country. A solitary hunter of supreme strength and incredible strength, the leopardess is an opportunist willing to tackle antelope many times her own size. But a misjudged attack leaves her injured and cubs vulnerable.
Snake Hunter in North America North America encompasses an extraordinary variety of habitats from the scorching heat of the Arizona desert to the icy wastes of Canada. Incredibly, snakes are found almost everywhere, but to find them you better go with an expert. Few people know snakes better than herpetologist Rom Whitaker. Born in New York City, Rom now runs a crocodile farm in India where dealing with dangerous reptiles is a daily chore, but his true love is snakes. We join Rom as he returns to the land of his birth and meets up with old buddies on a quest to find North America’s most fascinating snakes.
Queen of the Beasts The first really detailed portrait of how lion society revolves around the females in the pride. The film includes a unique sequence on lion infanticide which itself took over six weeks to film.
Crater of the Rain God The Ngorongoro Crater is one of Africa’s most spectacular wildlife sanctuaries and forms the centrepiece of the Crater Highlands of Tanzania. A natural wonder of the world, this huge extinct volcano, is some 12 miles wide and completely encircled by walls 2000 feet high. All Africa seems crammed within Ngorongoro. On its wild stage play deadly contests between hyenas, lions and hippos. Elephants and rhinos find refuge here. But the high walls isolate the wildlife and lead to inbreeding.