Planet Earth II Premiere

On November 2nd, I won tickets to go to the Planet Earth II Premiere with just 200 other people. The premiere involved an ‘in conversation’ with David Attenborough, Elizabeth White (the producer of the ‘Islands’ episode) and Miranda Krestovnikoff. The episode was incredibly filmed and the conversation gave some information about how the crew made the series.

For example a tripod was not used for the camera but a Ronin Stabiliser was used which produced a much more organic smooth was of filming. The mountain episode was particularly difficult to film. Camera trap technology was left for 3-4 months at a time. The film crew worked with scientists to track the Snow Leopards. The Leopards urinated leaving a trail of their activity. The traps were left along this trail to try and film their familiar routes. They used wide shots to include the animals with the background environment.

An example of the way the new series differs from the first series was the exploration into Cities. The wildlife has mostly been pushed out of cities. However, sometimes wildlife does better inside the cities than in the wild. For example, the biggest population of Peregrine Falcons is in New York City.

Cities are filmed as an ecosystem. The ‘Cities’ episode brings a greater insight to how people and wildlife work together.

The most extreme idea for David Attenborough in this series was the opening scene of him in the air balloon over the mountains. In that environment, they can only fly one day of the year because of conditions.

Questions for David Attenborough -

What inspired you? “I didn't grow up with much television. The first film I saw was when I was 6, it was of the penguins on an island just off of South Africa. They made the Penguins comically, comparing them to men in dinner jackets.”

What advice do you have for the younger generation? “What we are doing is important for the younger generation. Most young people live in cities so you need to keep contact with the natural world. We should encourage the population to keep in touch with wildlife. Each generation becomes more remote from wildlife.

Wildlife is true, it is not trying to get your vote or money. It is always new and exciting. It is why I makes natural history documentaries.”

Why is Bristol important to the BBC regarding Natural History? “True natural drama is the way animals face day to day life. Each region has a different speciality within the BBC and Bristol is about Natural History. Desmond Hawkin’s radio was devoted to birds and natural history. He started the first radio station about nature. I fought very hard to make TV follow the way he made radio. Bristol is the worldwide capital of BBC Natural History.”

Here are some videos I took at the Premiere: