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For 'Planet Earth,' Filming Proves to Be a Wild Ride

Posted on: Thursday, 22 March 2007, 06:00 CDT

By Gary Strauss

Stunning photography is the hallmark of The Discovery Channel's Planet Earth documentary series, which kicks off Sunday (8 to 11 p.m. ET/PT) with the first three of 11 episodes. A look at the series, along with producers' comments about some of the challenges of filming in the wilds:

*Pole to Pole. The premiere illustrates the effects of climatic and seasonal change. It also traces polar bears emerging from hibernation and migrating Canadian caribou. Among unique scenes are those of African hunting dogs tracking impalas, captured through the first aerially mounted Cineflex gyro-stabilized camera, which can provide clear close-up shots from afar.

*Mountains. From the Himalayas to the Andes, mountain ranges hold abundant but rarely photographed wildlife. This episode shows the interaction between Ethiopia's endangered Walia ibex (a cliff-dwelling member of the goat family) and high-meadow Gelada baboons to avoid predators. Also featured: close-ups of Siberian snow leopards in the wild.

*Deep Ocean. A look at the planet's least-explored area, with dolphins, whale sharks and life-sustaining underwater volcanic chains.

*Deserts. Harsh temperature extremes characterize Mongolia's Gobi Desert. The seldom viewed, double-humped Bactrian camel took two months to track.

*Ice Worlds. Time-lapse cameras tracked the breeding cycle of emperor penguins. "The most dangerous experience was probably driving during a blizzard," says producer Wade Fairley. "We could not see the cracks in the sea ice very well, and if they were fresh, (it) could have been life-threatening." An Arctic polar bear is seen swimming more than 60 miles and later, exhausted, attacking a walrus herd.

*Shallow Seas. A humpback whale and her calf take an epic journey. Newly discovered Indonesian coral reefs reveal pygmy seahorses.

*Great Plains. Mongolian gazelles are shown on their annual migration. A pride of lions on a chaotic night elephant hunt was filmed with infrared night-vision equipment in the Botswana bush. "We didn't know how the lions were going to react," producer Jonny Keeling says.

One evening, 30 lions surrounded his pursuit truck, then ran by it. "I just fell and curled into a ball," Keeling says. "The hunt itself was amazing to witness, but it was equally upsetting to see this big, beautiful animal brought down."

*Jungles. They cover just 3% of the planet's surface but contain 50% of the species, including New Guinea's unusual birds of paradise. "Some of the seemingly short and simple sequences took 600 hours just to film 20 minutes -- these birds were very difficult to capture," producer Huw Cordey says.

High-definition cameras provide detailed views of jungle life. Featured: Uganda's Ngogo Forest, which holds the world's largest collective society of chimpanzees.

*Fresh Water. Included are Venezuela's Angel Falls, the world's highest at more than 3,000 feet, and Siberia's Lake Baikal, 400 miles long and the world's deepest at more than a mile, containing species such as giant 6-foot salamanders found nowhere else.

*Forests. From California's redwoods to India's teaks, forests are among the world's oldest living organisms. The huge taiga forest, which stretches across Canada and Eurasia, contains a third of the Earth's trees. Featured: Russia's nearly extinct Amur leopards.

*Caves. From the startling opening shots of base jumpers parachuting into Mexico's 1,300-foot-deep Cave of the Swallows, "Caves" explores the hidden underworld. For some, film crews had to descend on thin ropes, staying underground for up to 10 days.

"Getting down to film on a 400-meter rope was possibly the most terrifying thing in my life," producer Cordey says. New Mexico's little-explored Lechuguilla Cave required two years to gain permission to film.

Source: USA TODAY

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