Today we’d like to introduce you to Brent Fannin.
Hi Brent, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
When I finished college in 2010 with a B.A. in Media Production focusing on Hollywood Film Production, I entered the workforce right in the middle of a recession. I was living in Indianapolis at the time and finding work was tough. My excitement for documentary filmmaking and cinematography took a hit as I spent more than a year trying to make ends meet.
I decided to do go out on a limb and do something I’ve always wanted: work with animals. I applied to a few different places and in 2012, I moved to Orlando to begin working at SeaWorld. After eight or so years working with animals at places like Busch Gardens, SeaWorld, Georgia Aquarium and others, I ended up at the UF Veterinary Hospital in Gainesville.
Here I met my fiance, a doctor at that hospital. We started dating just after covid began and fell in love quickly. After finishing her residency, she accepted an incredible opportunity working at a veterinary hospital in Atlanta and I agreed to move with her.
After ten years of low pay and barely being able to afford rent while working in the theme park industry, I was now afforded a chance to do whatever I wanted in a city with seemingly limitless opportunities. During the year before we moved to Atlanta, I won a documentary filmmaking grant from Project Paradise. After finishing a documentary about the death of the Florida Springs, my passion for filmmaking had been revived and I decided to nourish that passion.
After we moved to Atlanta in the summer of 2022, I began honing my drone piloting skills and working on a documentary covering the plight of gopher tortoises and the destruction of their habitat by developers. I’m still working on that project while building a client base for my newly formed drone company.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
No road worth walking is ever smooth. But I walked this one nonetheless.
The last ten years were a joy. I worked with dozens of different animal species, explored Florida’s springs and state parks, taught thousands of people about wildlife conservation, and even started my own conservation nonprofit. But there were undoubtedly hardships.
The animal training and theme park industries do not pay well. It was a constant struggle to afford rent in Florida which has one of the worst states in the country for income inequality. These industries are incredibly cutthroat and it was hard to make my dream happen. But I did.
When covid hit, I thought I was going to lose my job after finally being able to afford my own apartment for the first time. I was lucky enough to keep my job and even met my future wife in that position, but covid was immensely hard for us.
Although it’s incredibly exciting, even the move to Atlanta was tough. Both of us had been in Florida for years and had good friends there. We had only a couple of friends in Georgia but they’ve helped us with the transition and we’re now doing very well.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
In college, I studied a myriad of different types of media production. But more than anything, I was enamored with documentary filmmaking.
Although I lost that excitement shortly after college, it was rekindled during the last couple of years. My documentary, “The Water State,” was really the driving factor. It was fantastically exciting to travel to the springs around Central Florida with my production crew. We had a blast filming the wildlife, interviewing experts, and diving into the springs when we got the chance.
After finishing production on that documentary in early 2022, I began immediately looking for another story to tell. I didn’t have another film grant at that point, so I crowdfunded and was able to find a production budget donated by others who cared about wildlife. I’ve been working on my new piece, “Gopher Games,” for the last year or so.
While exploring the Florida Springs, I also developed a passion for flying drones. The springs are incredible underwater but seeing them from the air provides another amazing way to enjoy them. After I moved to Atlanta, I found this city to be just as photogenic as the springs.
I now spend much of my time editing my current gopher tortoise documentary, working on the public release of my water documentary (coming to YouTube in April), and flying my drone anywhere and everywhere I can around Atlanta.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
Obviously my fiance, Jordan, deserves a lot of credit for my success and happiness. She’s supported me in many ways, some known and unknown to me, the last few years. I’m extremely happy living here in Atlanta, and much of that is owed to her.
The last ten years have been pretty crazy, but I was able to find so many close friends to experience the ups and downs with. I call them my “chosen family” and although I am close with my related family who are spread around the country, these friends of mine have been so much of the reason I’ve had a great life. Quick shout out to my bestie David in Gainesville, my Orlando friends, and my DND crew. They’re the freaking best!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.goldenhawkdrones.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goldenhawkdrones/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brent-fannin/
Image Credits
Brent Fannin
