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Just a heads up for the new series of blue planet tonight at 8pm.
Love watching it but haven’t ever managed to make it through a whole episode without falling asleep. There is something about the pace of it that knocks me out.
Like....
Do you think I should buy a 4K telly for it?
You'll have to be quick.
Do you think I should buy a 4K telly for it?
Looks bloody marvellous on my decade old 42” Sony Bravia, depends how you set the display up.
You do know Robot Wars is on the other side.
This. Is. Incredible.
That was epic.
Love watching it but haven’t ever managed to make it through a whole episode without falling asleep. There is something about the pace of it that knocks me out.
Time travel lag?
Spectacular!
Alternately grinning like a fool, shouting in amazement and slack-mouthed in awe all the way through.
I set it as 'homework' for all my classes over half-term.
Just amazing, it's rare that I am completely engrossed in something all the way through without reaching for my phone, I didn't even thing to pick it up. Just plain wonderful.
Great show! same great footage as always! People liking this should watch planet earth if they dont already
Great on BBC1 HD on a 208" screen. I thought they'd over-used that very expensive drone. But still wonderful.
Sorry but I'm out....
Massive fan of the camera work, and the following quibbles won't stop me watching every second of it.
I do wish that there was more factual content and less anthropomorphism, earlier shows like Life on Earth were much more like a science lesson and better for it IMHO. The 10 minutes at the end given over to a "making of" documentary which is presumably stitched together into the 6th/8th episode on ad-supported TV makes me a bit sad as well.
But those Giant Trevally and the false killer whale/dolphin interactions... mind blowing!
The waves in the opening scene looked cgi. Thanks to the 'making of' bit it turns out they weren't using a drone but some nutter on a jetski.
Lights out, volume up and sat in awe at how they do it.
Excellent programme! Can't fault that.
less anthropomorphism
Walrus "[i]baby[/i] by any chance, it's a bloody pup.
Apart from that I thought it was brilliant, I never knew about sex change fish 😯
Astonishing filming, fish that can snatch birds out of the air I’d have said was impossible a month ago, I’m just agog at that! The dolphin/false killer section went in a completely different direction to what I was expecting, and the surfing dolphins were just stunning, the footage of those enormous waves just breathtaking.
more bird eating monster fish (woah), trans gender fish and whales please.
less killer whales and dolphins (albeit incredible I've seen enough of them). was nodding off at the walruses looking for somewhere to sunbathe bit too.
Just mega. 🙂
Some great photography but dull switched off
Sex-changing fish! 😯 😮
I couldn't watch the bird eating fish without being reminded of the enemy craft from Stingray, was shocked by their agility too. They seemed quite cumbersome when swimming about but they couldn't half jump!
The waves footage was incredible, if I'd have been sat on that board with the wave closing in I wouldn't have been shouting go, I think I'd have worn out the beep machine!
Were you expecting more exploding helicopters? Or aliens?
Thought the cameraman on the back of the jetski looked absolutely terrified. And not surprising either! Look of relief when he got back was palpable.
The 10 minutes at the end given over to a "making of" documentary
I find that usually the most interesting bit. They could have a while other series just showcasing what the film crew get up to four the one shot they need.
Friend of mine is a cameraman. His story about the shot is often more interesting than the footage.
I do wish that there was more factual content and less anthropomorphism, earlier shows like Life on Earth were much more like a science lesson and better for it
Agree with this... I little more background about the life cycle of the animals and not just the onece-a-year events. What do the fish easy when not catching fledgling birds?
metcalt - MemberI couldn't watch the bird eating fish without being reminded of the enemy craft from Stingray, was shocked by their agility too. They seemed quite cumbersome when swimming about but they couldn't half jump!
Have you seen the size of those fish?! Up to 1.8m and 80kg!!
It was astounding - the scene with the rays leaping, then the underwater phosphorescence...
It really is wonderful isn't it.
I thought it was spectacular, just the beauty of it all brought a tear to my eye more than once.
I also have many unanswered questions, but isn't that part of the point? We have the internet and we can find things out for ourselves.
Haven't googled yet but I'm interested in whether any of those sex changing fish are actually born male or are all males sex changers?
Also, you can never have too many dolphins and killer whales. As long as they are being shown in new ways doing things we haven't seen before.
As for anthropomorphisation. Part of what people need to know is that we are not as unique as we used to think we were. They have shown animals (and now fish) using tools and taking part in war. Is it really "anthropomorphising" to show them cooperating, grieving or caring?
[i]As for anthropomorphisation[/i].. I think it's the mind of the viewer. People watch it now expect/hoping for it so they can feel all clever and have a moan. That's my view on it.
Superb programme. Can't wait for the deep sea stuff next week.
Is this available in 4k?
The shot, it was almost a still really, of the mother walrus vertical in the water holding her pup to give it some rest was an "ahhh" moment.
Never heard of False Killer Whales before, would have been interesting to see if they and the dolphins hunted together. Seems odd that two species socialise without any other reason. According to Wikipedia -"A false killer whale and a bottlenose dolphin mated in captivity and produced a fertile calf." so genetically they must be very closely related.
No it’s not.
Do you think I should buy a 4K telly for it?
It will be on Blu-Ray (and HDR). But broadcast is only 1080p*Is this in 4k
-
*Unless they are running the iPlayer 4K trials and you are part of the trial. Edit: Doesn't look like they have put it on the iPlayer UHD trial yet.
The shot, it was almost a still really, of the mother walrus vertical in the water holding her pup to give it some rest was an "ahhh" moment.
Properly set me off, that did...
Do animals and birds and fish really make all those whoosh sounds like the BBC wildlife programmes overdub? It's beginning to get out of hand. Those trevallys sounded like the bloody Farnborough air show.
[i]DezB said[/i]
As for anthropomorphisation.. I think it's the mind of the viewer. People watch it now expect/hoping for it so they can feel all clever and have a moan. That's my view on it.
I think it's because people don't want to feel uncomfortable being emotionally drawn in to a documentary about animals. A bit like the back-stories in X-Factor... but not really.
Maybe they should interview one of the dolphins about how they were bullied at school, but managed to overcome the subsequent self-esteem issues in order to go surfing, all while an appropriate Coldplay track plays in the background, then a close family member bursts into tears?
I bet Harry Hill's done that one already.
Do animals and birds and fish really make all those whoosh sounds like the BBC wildlife programmes overdub?
I know a couple of folk that work(ed) with natural history unit and companies they subcontract for footage. The answer to your question is almost always no. Particularly for things like fish and other marine animals that don't use sound to communicate.
It's also the case for virtually any type of movement, fighting, rustling through leaves etc that you see in land-based filming. You just can't capture specific sounds from the distances you're working with in most cases, unless the action will happen in a predictable place.
But I agree, it has gone too far, but this is editors' faults, not sound crews - a lot of prime-time natural history productions are very dumbed-down and anthropomorphised or edited to tell a "story" - a real shame in my view, as it undermines the craft and artistry of the film crews.
Another thing I was told was the nasty side of filming kills, nest raids, offspring abandonment etc - e.g. we don't see the 15 minutes of agonising death whilst a gazelle is being opened up via its bottom and having its guts pulled out and eaten while it watches.
Case in point ^^
I'm sure there are 'raw' footage videos on the internet, I'm sure you can find the story of a walrus that just sits on a piece of ice flow for days, but the BBC are providing entertainment, as well as beautifully shot, documentary footage. If it's not your thing, rise above us all and hunt through the web for what you want to watch.
I know everyone is entitled to an opinion and I totally respect that, but anyone who wasn’t impressed by that bit of telly last night must be dead inside 😆
If it's not your thing, rise above us all and hunt through the web for what you want to watch.
I love watching it as much as the next person (The original Blue Planet played a big part in me foolishly getting a PhD in oceanography), only that as some have said, the more contrived instances of scripting through editing and jarring overdubs can cheapen the consistently incredible footage somewhat.
I really hope they release lots more footage from the 4 years' filming in due course through standalone episodes or as blue ray extras etc. I imagine there must be hours and hours of fantastic footage that didn't quite make the grade!
I imagine there must be hours and hours of fantastic footage that didn't quite make the grade!
Not as many as hours of nothing that was worth using though.
Resurrection:
Looks like it will be in 4K and HDR from Dec 10th on iPlayer:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2017/iplayer-blue-planet-ii-best-ever-quality
Ah ha! Might be the lever I need to push for a new telly... 🙂
Yup my thoughts too Pondo.