RATS OF THE SKY
Director, Short Documentary
ABOUT
Kendra, a young wildlife advocate, traverses through the bustling city as she helps stringed-foot pigeons, making new bird-friends along the way.
Pigeons were domesticated by humans only to be forgotten
My directorial debut!
Pigeons are opportunistic. Shooting them can be difficult because it's hard to plan exactly where they're going to be, what shape they'll be in, and what they'll be doing. I wanted to appraoch this project with a plan, but with the knowledge that we don't know exactly what we would find, this was a challenge.
Making a misunderstood topic understood
I collected as much knowledge as possible to approach this subject with respect and responsibility. I met with an expert on the science of city pigeons and with Kendra, the subject of the documentary, to come up with a story that would make a positive impact for pigeons and viewers alike. Coming up with a storyline that involved scouting pigeon-populated locations was incredibly important for the funtionality of production.
"I can do something...so why am I not doing something."
- Rats of the Sky (2026)
MY PROCESS
PITCH & GREENLIGHT
I pitched this project for my Documentary Production class. It was one of 10 out of 30 projects to be greenlit and move forward with production. We formed a small group of people to get the project started.
PRE PRODUCTION
I booked a scientific consultation meeting with pigeon expert Rosemary Mosco to determine what would be the best approach for this project. I sourced Kendra, our host, and met with her to start creating my story to suit her niche within the city wildlife-aid community. I created interview questions and scouted locations, as well as met with the Director of Photography to get shot lists and equipment ready.
PRODUCTION
Over the course of 4 shoot days, we shot interviews with Kendra at various locations, a variety of pigeons, street interviews, and B-roll.
POST PRODUCTION
As the Director, I was responsible for overseeing the entire creative narrative during post production. I created the script, paper edit, and oversaw the graphic designs for the title key and credits, ensuring all of these elements were delivered in time with our post-production schedule.
Concept Created by Rhaia Egleston • Directed by Rhaia Egleston • Produced by Rhaia Egleston & Jaime Levitan • Production Managed by Jaime Levitan • Cinematography by Jasmine Andrews & Amanda Hu • Edited by Mac Clarke • Starring Kendra Hart-Lee •
All project screen captures belong to Rhaia Egleston