The new dinosaur documentary series from the BBC, Planet Dinosaur, is currently about half-way through airing as I write this. Straight off the bat it is clear they are aiming for different targets with this attempt.
Previously Walking With Dinosaurs presented itself as a straight up nature doc, and was shot and narrated as such. Although it was a big hit, a lot of people mentioned how it bothered them that theories and guesswork were presented as facts. The BBC seem to have taken note of this in PD. Each episode regularly cuts away from the dinosaurs to show photos and 3D scans of real fossils, explaining what is actually known and what is educated supposition.
While I like the acknowledgement of facts and theory, I have to say personally I think it interrupts the pace of the show a bit. WWD had a better flow.
Onto the animals themselves. I watched a little 'Making Of' doc of PD, where a producer explained that something they really wanted to achieve was much more dramatic and dynamic camera shots of the creatures in action, and the best way they could figure to do this is by using all CG environments. I have to say I feel this was a mistake. The backgrounds are lifeless and dull, especially compared to the terrific locations used in WWD. The new bouncy, swirly camera angles do not add anything to the excitement of the show, but instead show the failings of the animals themselves more clearly.
And that is the shows biggest problem. Whereas in WWD the rendering and animation of the dinosaurs was hired out to a specialist CGI company, it seems very clear that PD was done in-house. It is a marked step down, particularly in the animation. WWD was fluid and just looked and felt so much more natural. In PD it is not quite right and is very noticeable - a great let-down after an advancement of 12 years. I do feel however the actual creature design was very accurate. You can see a clear similarity between the models and the actual fossils.
All this having been said however, I feel overall this a really good series, presenting some real history and facts, while managing not to insult the viewers intelligence. A good companion piece to WWD.
Previously Walking With Dinosaurs presented itself as a straight up nature doc, and was shot and narrated as such. Although it was a big hit, a lot of people mentioned how it bothered them that theories and guesswork were presented as facts. The BBC seem to have taken note of this in PD. Each episode regularly cuts away from the dinosaurs to show photos and 3D scans of real fossils, explaining what is actually known and what is educated supposition.
While I like the acknowledgement of facts and theory, I have to say personally I think it interrupts the pace of the show a bit. WWD had a better flow.
Onto the animals themselves. I watched a little 'Making Of' doc of PD, where a producer explained that something they really wanted to achieve was much more dramatic and dynamic camera shots of the creatures in action, and the best way they could figure to do this is by using all CG environments. I have to say I feel this was a mistake. The backgrounds are lifeless and dull, especially compared to the terrific locations used in WWD. The new bouncy, swirly camera angles do not add anything to the excitement of the show, but instead show the failings of the animals themselves more clearly.
And that is the shows biggest problem. Whereas in WWD the rendering and animation of the dinosaurs was hired out to a specialist CGI company, it seems very clear that PD was done in-house. It is a marked step down, particularly in the animation. WWD was fluid and just looked and felt so much more natural. In PD it is not quite right and is very noticeable - a great let-down after an advancement of 12 years. I do feel however the actual creature design was very accurate. You can see a clear similarity between the models and the actual fossils.
All this having been said however, I feel overall this a really good series, presenting some real history and facts, while managing not to insult the viewers intelligence. A good companion piece to WWD.