Along with the rest of the nation, I recently had the pleasure of being immersed in the long-awaited return of the Planet Earth series, first aired in 2006 and narrated by none other than the legendary Sir David Attenborough.
...
The first trailer was released for Planet Earth II back in October 2016 - and of course, we all went nuts.
It's been ten years since the first Planet Earth series first aired.
That's...
- Ten years of advancements in technology
- Ten years of discoveries and research
- Ten years of devasting impacts from climate change
BBC Earth, Planet Earth II Official Extended Trailer | BBC Earth, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8aFcHFu8QM, 2:46, October 14, 2016
The magnitude of the overall production results from the latest UHD and HDR formats for filming the entire series - creating breathtaking scenes that capture minuet and intricate species that the human eye would fail to see.
The documentary's cinematic features, charismatic narration, and emotive soundtrack compose a product of both eye-opening education and brilliant storytelling.
From Islands to Grasslands, Cities to Jungles, Mountains to Deserts - the series really does cover every corner of the earth (does the earth even have corners?) to provide an extensive understanding of our planet.
Each of the six episodes completely differs from the next.
As the creatures and landscapes change - so do their surprising and impressive ways of surviving our perilous planet.
In the initial episode, Islands, we enjoy a heartwarming scene of a sloth ambitiously crossing the sea in pursuit of its female mate.
The tempo quickly changes to the distressing Iguana vs Snake scene, where we witness a daring baby iguana scurrying across the sand to escape the deadly racer snakes.
Despite these scenes being dramatic by nature, Oscar-winning composer Han Zimmer does a fantastic job of establishing emotion and empathy with a beautifully composed soundtrack for each major scene.
Sound has a vital role in directing and triggering a response in any media piece, but in Planet Earth II, it becomes the absolute essence of the story - it drives us to empathise with that of a lizard or a bobcat.
Han treats the production of his work like any other he has produced, which includes The Lion King and Gladiator. He says,
We treat it entirely as a drama, which of course it is.
