Planet Earth
Off to the RGS for the last lecture of the Autumn. And what an uplifting evening: Alastair Fothergill, the Executive Producer of Planet Earth, described how this engrossing series was made. One comes away not only with admiration for the commitment and technology involved – who would envy the two cameramen who over-wintered with an Emperor Penguin colony, or be able to emulate the skill that captured shots of Snow Leopards in close-up from a mile away – but also with a deeply satisfying appreciation of the complexity and splendour of life on Earth.
Special mention of two aspects of Fothergill’s presentation. It’s endearing to see a big chap with tears in his eyes when describing the pleasure of capturing a polar bear swimming through the ice flows; and admirable that, when challenged on the lack of a heavy climate change theme in the series, he responds that there’s still a place for documentaries with a subtle message. Don’t underestimate your audience.
It should be on telly again over Christmas, and seeing the images on the big lecture theatre screen is almost enough justification to invest in HDTV. Almost. But I promise that watching the clips left the biggest smile on my face for quite some time.
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