Frozen Planet

[speedbird591]

Is anybody else following this series on the telly?

I wasn't expecting much as I thought there wasn't much else you could do with film of penguins, seals and polar bears on ice floes. Wrong!!!

I think this must be the BBC's and Attenborough's finest ever wildlife series. It's partly to do with the amazing technology of HD and hi-motion, long-range cameras but also the incredible hardships that the camera crews go through to get the right shot. I daren't think about the cost of making it.

But every episode is better than the last and has me gasping in awe every few minutes. The scene last night in the Canadian Arctic where a herd of bison were being chased through the snow by a pair of wolves was the most amazing wildlife sequence I've ever seen. The female wolf and the young bison locked in a life or death struggle for an hour and you couldn't tell who was going to make it. They were both badly injured and exhausted but giving up wasn't an option for either of them. The male wolf wouldn't even help her.

I don't know if it's reached the US yet, but if you guys over there get the opportunity make sure you watch it.

I'm going to splurge some money on the Blu-ray box set because I have to see it again. And again!

Ian

[Garry Russell]

Sounds great Ian I must see that.

Even 'straight-forward' nature films take a lot to make

I remember years ago watching a programme on the making of these things and they showed a hide used for the filming

The built it a year in advance so the wildlife would get used to it then they went back and lived in this thing, up a tree for about six months to get a few mins or top quality final footage.

This was before the super quality remote cameras they use now, but even some of those can be many months of no use before nurture settles down around them.

The combination of modern technology and the old fashioned 'go get' pioneering spirit of teams like the BBC produce some amazing insights to real nature.

[speedbird591]

Yes, the time these guys dedicate to getting just the one shot is fanatical but I'm so glad they do. There have been some scenes set in the Emperor penguin roost in the Antarctic winter - the most inhospitable place on Earth. They dropped off a couple of cameramen to camp there for several months in the depths of winter braving 100 mph winds and no chance of a rescue in the event of illness or injury.

What I like about the BBC's episodes is that they are about 50 minutes long and I assume this is for sale to international commercial channels to pad out with ads to a one hour slot. But for transmission on the BBC with no ads they put in a ten minute mini-doc of 'the making of'. In the case of Frozen Planet they call it Freeze Frame and it show the extremes that the crews go through to get the shots they want. In the case of the wolves/bison shot they had a cameraman operating the remote camera mounted on a helicopter and standing way off so as not to disturb the animals. But it was -40 degrees in the helicopter and he had to wear gloves to operate the controls. But on the ground, alone in the snow and on foot, was a single cameraman trying to follow the action at that level. Once the chase was on the helicopter picked him up and using his knowledge and experience he worked out the route that the bison would run and they dropped him off and flew back behind them.

Amazingly, they not only went that route but so precisely that these one-ton animals actually ran either side of him and the kill actually took place only 50 metres from the spot he'd chosen. Everything about this series is amazing!

Ian

[DanKH]

It has also reached the windy shores of Denmark ... Incredible footages, we are all glued to the tube every sunday evening here.

Although the girls hold their eyes during the more "bloody parts" ....

[Prop Jockey]

I have to agree Ian, it's absolutely outstanding. They have a winning combination of film crews that push the boundaries to get the most amazing footage, together with David Attenborough to narrate the whole thing. Speaking personally, David Attenborough could read me his shopping list and I'd be captivated. I think there's a couple of episodes left ? I'm actually watching the repeat on a Sundays as it clashes with something else we record on a Weds.

Cheers

Rich

[northantsflyer]

Oh yes, its incredible - didnt think they could do it again but they have and how !!!

[simondix]

They are selling it to the states minus episode 7.

[DarrenL]

They are selling it to the states minus episode 7.

Episode 7 is the BBCs man made global warming rubbish episode. They know the US won't buy those lies so they aren't transmitting that one. They do of course consider their UK audience to be gullible.

It's a great visual series but one thing they have carefully omitted is the number of Polar Bears around now is greater than it has been for 30 years, so don't let the adverts fool you into sending money to save them.

The foremost bear expert said so, but of course the global warmists barred him from saying so - http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/colu ... mists.html

[simondix]

I will have to agee to disagree with you on this one I will take David Attenboroughs' word for it.

[speedbird591]

Wow! Cheers for that, Darren.

I have to admit that they had me worried there for a bit! I was starting to believe all that global warming stuff.

So is it just the body heat from this bloody polar bear plague that's melting all the glaciers? Should be easy to sort out if it is

Ian