![]() ![]() ![]() So as it kind of slowed down and panicked, running at the rocks, this sort of Medusa’s head of snakes came out of the wall. And of course the problem is that then the snakes see them. Some of them are really cocky, and they just kind of come out, and the little things just walk down the beach like, “Isn’t this really nice? We’re having such a nice day.” And one of the first we actually watched properly emerge - and in fact, the first we saw that revealed to us where we wanted to film the story - he properly freaked out and ran toward the rocks. It’s really interesting with the iguanas. And we’re standing at the top of the beach with a pair of binoculars seeing this tiny little head, and it’s looking around and kind of going, “Oh, shit.” Mike GuntonĪnd we know it’s “Oh, shit” more than he even does! BBC America Elizabeth White It starts with a hatchling pulling its head out of the sand, and that’s its opening moments of life. it is pretty brutal, and I think the big challenge on that sequence was that we obviously need to show the drama, because it’s obviously a massive adrenaline rush to be there and to film it, because you don’t know where those little iguanas are going to come up. A nest of iguanas is - between four and six come out at any time, and so you do see successful ones and you do see ones that fail. So for that sequence, we wanted to tell that whole story. For the snakes, it’s their only really big feeding opportunity of the year. Also, we very much have tried to mention in it that for the snakes, this is a brutal place to live. The whole sequence is actually like eight minutes long, and we do show some that get away and some that don’t. My worst ever role as director, because I spent most of the time covering my eyes going, “Did it get away?!” Was it as dramatic when you were shooting it as it became after editing? It sounds like most of these scenarios are. #Lizard snake escape movieSo for a scene like the one my co-workers and I have dubbed “Snake Island” - our favorite movie of the year - I’d love to hear more about how something like that was shot. We did a bit of that on some of our previous series, but now you almost think to yourself, “How the hell did we do anything in the past without these cameras?” Because now actually every shot is done like this. We’ve taken the camera off the tripod through these miniaturizations of gyro-stabilized mounts. I think also the style that we’ve used with Planet Earth II, it’s very fluid, very dynamic camerawork. It’s almost like a studio shoot, where you can go, “Okay, cut to camera one!” That has helped. #Lizard snake escape seriesSometimes on this series we’ve actually had two cameras on one location, and that massively improves or helps your flexibility. So we’re putting cameras in positions where we’ll get those sorts of images. ![]() Unfortunately, animals don’t hit their marks or read scripts or, “Action!” So a lot of it is what you manage to capture, but we always go with very clear ideas about the sorts of stories we want to tell and the parameters with which that story should be told. The skill is in picking the best moments and making it work technically. You’re not turning a mundane piece of nothingness into something. they cry out to be presented in that way. Obviously you have to work hard, and there’s a lot of craft in it, but actually, there’s so much natural drama in these things that they do drive. When you were filming, were you looking for that specific type of footage? Mike Gunton So many of Planet Earth II’s scenes are shot and edited like sequences from an action movie. Th e following interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity. The short version? Nature is pretty thrilling (and unforgiving) all on its own, but they’ve honed some techniques to better capture it anyway. To get more insight into the making of Planet Earth II, and the “Snake Island” sequence in particular, I spoke with series executive producer Mike Gunton and director Elizabeth White. The clip raced around the internet quicker than the baby iguana fleeing certain peril, proving the power of combining life-and-death stakes with keen filmmaking and a tight edit. The drama of “Snake Island” - as the Vox Culture team calls it - would not be denied. As it begins, a baby iguana, newly hatched from an egg buried in sand, tentatively pokes its head out above the surface - and then launches itself into one of the most thrilling chase sequences ever to grace television, courtesy of the iguana’s desire to live and a truly terrifying army of snakes. When the gorgeous Planet Earth II premiered in the UK in November, one clip in particular turned heads. ![]()
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