Planet Earth part two - press pack
Programme four: Planet Earth - Shallow Seas
Following a humpback whale mother and calf on their epic journey across the richest seas that fringe the coasts, Shallow Seas reveals seas of great contrast and surprise along the continental shelf.
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From tropical coral paradises, where the newborn calf takes his first faltering breaths, to the storm-ravaged icy polar seas, the whales' great feeding ground in the Bering Sea, their migration is truly impressive.
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The newly-discovered coral reefs in tropical Indonesia reveal that they are one of the richest in the world.
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They are home to fantasy-like creatures –
such as the head-butting pygmy seahorse, the flashing "electric" clam and bands of 30-strong sea snakes which have never been filmed before as they hunt in packs, using cunning strategy.
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This episode uncovers mysterious giant colonies of seabirds nesting in the baking Arabian Desert, and ingenious surfing dolphins that have learnt to hydroplane right up onto the beach to catch their fish.
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Diving with balletic sea lions among vast swirling bait balls of anchovy, the greatest gathering of seabirds and whales in the ocean are filmed for the first time as they gorge on krill.
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New underwater timelapse photography developed for Planet Earth reveals extraordinary events normally too slow to register.
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Plagues of sea urchins fell great aquatic forests of giant kelp and star fish are shown on the rampage –
including the world's biggest, the giant sun star, a monster in its world.
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And with new ultra high speed photography, the lightning ambushes of great white sharks on seals are slowed down as they leap out of the ocean to catch their prey.
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And there's heart-stopping drama, too. Gigantic bull fur seals attack king penguins who, despite their severe weight disadvantage, put up one of the most spirited defences ever filmed.
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Producer –
Mark Brownlow
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Planet Earth Diary
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Shallow Seas – Shark Quest
By producer Mark Brownlow
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Great white sharks capture their slippery seal prey by rocketing out of the depths and shooting through the surface. Such is the impact that both shark and seal are propelled two metres clean out of the water.
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To record a breach like this in ultra slow motion, which in real-time lasts just a second, was Shallow Sea's greatest filming challenge.
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Cameraman Simon King and his crew headed off to the Cape of South Africa to team up with shark expert Chris Fallows.
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Before sunrise they sailed nine miles offshore to Seal Island, home to 60,000 fur seals and one of the greatest concentrations of great white sharks on the planet.
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Supported on the deck of Chris's small boat in the rolling high seas by the rim of a bicycle wheel, Simon stood primed with his ultra-slow motion unit.
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To reveal the action, the team had modified a specialised studio camera, normally used to analyse car crash safety tests in ultra slow motion.
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Applied to a shark breach, this revolutionary camera should slow down a one second leap into a 40-second shot.
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But the camera also had another important capability. The camera continuously records so Simon could catch the action even though the shark could strike at any time and in any place.
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On arrival at dawn the shark attacks were frenetic –
but the challenge was where to point the camera.
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Only by learning the behavioural patterns of the seals and sharks over the next month would Simon stand a chance of filming the ultimate breach.
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Battling against the Cape storms, unpredictable shark activity, heart-wrenching moments of seal injury and the threat of a shark jumping on board, Simon and the team finally got that perfect shot.
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