Filmmakers Spent Four Years Following a Lion On His Journey to Become King

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Kio looks into the distance. (National Geographic/Sophie Darlington)

National Geographic’s latest documentary series, Lion, directed by Jon Favreau, premieres this week. It follows a lion cub for four years on his journey to become a leader.

Lion features incredible cinematography by local Kenyan talent, including aerial cinematographer Anthony Njuguna. PetaPixel spoke with Njuguna about his camera work on the series and how he uses his drone to tell powerful nature stories.

A man wearing a National Geographic cap and a light-colored vest holds a drone remote control while standing in a field.

As Njuguna tells PetaPixel, he uses his DJI Inspire drone for much more than the typical top-down aerial shot.

“There are quite a lot of hidden drone shots in the series that I’m not too sure most people would pick up on,” Njuguna explains. “There were some low shots.”

A man seen from behind holds a drone remote control while looking toward a drone flying in the distance over a field.

The talented cinematographer explains that with advancements in drone technology, both in terms of the cameras and how stable they are in the air, it’s possible to get extremely cinematic and interesting shots with a drone, even when flying close to the ground.

A drone can move faster and into areas a camera operator cannot, which is especially true when filming wildlife like lions.

A person in the foreground, seen in silhouette, watches a drone flying in a hazy, golden sky above a distant landscape.

Sunlight streams through gaps in dark, heavy storm clouds over a vast, flat savanna with a few scattered trees.

A male lion with a dark, thick mane stands in tall green grass during a light rain shower.

A lone acacia tree stands in silhouette against a massive, bright yellow sun setting over a dark, grassy horizon.

Autumn, Summer’s sister, looks into the distance. (National Geographic/Tania Escobar)

An adult lioness and a younger lion walk side-by-side through a dry, grassy savanna.

In Njuguna’s case, he used his Inspire with super-wide, standard, and telephoto lenses. Wide-angle shots are great for establishing the scene and showing where lions live and hunt, while standard and telephoto lenses can get a much closer view of the lions while they rest or hunt.

“You can get such beautiful, dynamic framing,” Njuguna says of working with his drone.

“I think I enjoyed using my 50mm lens the most. Because we were shooting on a Super35 sensor, it gave me many unique shots from a good working distance from the lions,” Njuguna says.

Being able to shoot from farther away meant that he didn’t disturb the lions or disrupt their behaviors.

Njuguna typically shot from inside a vehicle alongside a guide. Njuguna controlled his drone from inside, watching the footage from a monitor while keeping a close eye on the drone itself in the field. He always had to maintain line of sight on his drone, which was not only safe but also helped him quickly get the best framing.

A man in a maroon shirt sits in a vehicle, looking down at a remote control while a drone hovers in the background.

A male lion with a full mane and a lioness rest together in the grass, with several elephants visible in the background.

Kio in focus next to his one of his big brothers. (National Geographic/Sophie Darlington)

A lioness stands in silhouette atop a grassy mound against a vibrant orange and purple sunset.

Sunlight filters through a dense forest canopy at sunset, illuminating a grassy field where an elephant stands in the distance.

While on some docuseries, different cinematographers work relatively independently, often shooting their segments separately from other cinematographers, that’s not how it worked on Lion. Njuguna worked very closely with fellow cinematographers, and they all had to work together to achieve a consistent look and cover each other.

Five people pose for a group photo inside and around a green safari vehicle parked in a grassy field.

Njuguna and his fellow filmmakers constantly shared footage and helped each other improve during production. In Njuguna’s case, he says the best advice he got during production was to trust himself and trust his instincts when filming in the field.

The production on Lion was extremely long. Jon Favreau and BBC Studios executive producer Mike Gunton followed a lion cub, Kio, on a four-year journey to become the king of his pride. This is a remarkably long time to follow a single animal, and the journey includes many ups and downs.

Being able to spend so much time out in the field with the lions, and importantly, other people, was a truly special experience for Njuguna. He hopes viewers can appreciate the complexity and dynamism of lions and how they live and interact with each other.

“I want the viewers to enjoy the beauty of the relationships, how dynamic they are, and how similar we are [to lions],” Njuguna tells PetaPixel

“How they go through their emotions is so, so interesting,” he adds.

Lion premieres on Nat Geo on August 19 and will stream the next day on Disney+ and Hulu.

Image creditsNational Geographic

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