BBC | BBC Natural History Unit | Extraordinary Rituals

In every culture, our rituals reveal what it means to be human. They allow us to express our identity, join us together and help us navigate through life. Extraordinary Rituals explores moments we all experience from birth and death to marriage and funerals. Highlighting ancient and modern ceremonies, spectacular and extreme, from the cities of Japan to the jungles of New Guinea.

I was lucky enough work on several stories for this BBC landmark series and each was an epic adventure in its own right. From a remote river tribe in Papua New Guinea who revered the crocodile so much that a rite of passage for men, and also women, was to undergo a bloody skin cutting ritual. To a high society Tuareg wedding deep in the Sahel desert region of Niger. Also an endearing courtship ritual in rural China, like a medieval Oriental version of Grease. With motorbikes.

Skills and Services required. Location Sound recording, stereo atmos, Inspire 1 Pro drone flying, flight planning and permissions, desert, jungle, hostile environment training.