This is another BBC production, beautifully produced and made in the same format as The Blue Planet (no visible “presenters” or other fame-hungry wombats getting in the way of the actual spectacle of the natural events).
This series covers six spectacular natural events. As a diver, the most thrilling one for me was the sardine run off South Africa’s south coast. The camera work is unbelievable. It was filmed over a few years – ordinarily one wouldn’t be so lucky as to see this much all in one season. Tony and I recently attended a slideshow of photographs taken at this year’s sardine run, followed by the showing of a short (seven minute) film clip by Mark van Coller of Earth Photos. The photographs were spectacular, but that little film clip totally stole the show, and gave a glimpse of the speed and the drama of the event. Film definitely seems to be the best medium to capture the dynamism of this spectacle.
The salmon spawning in Alaska and the ice melt in the Arctic are beautiful, but it’s the plankton bloom in Alaska that also really captured my imagination. You see groups of whales feeding on the organisms, as well as sea lions and killer whales attracted to the feast.
Also included is the flooding of the Okovango Delta, and the animal migration in the Serengeti. As one has come to expect from the BBC, the camera work is impeccable, it’s seamlessly edited, and the narration is professional, non-intrusive, and adds to the overall production.
The official BBC site for this show is here. You can buy the DVD set at Loot.co.za or Amazon.com.
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