• View from Here
The director of the “Cities” episode for the second series of BBC’s Planet Earth chats about the challenges of capturing the antics of animals in urban environments.
Why an episode about cities in a nature documentary? Cities are earth’s fastest growing habitat and animals are adapting. We wanted to show which animals were doing well in urban environments – from leopards in Mumbai to peregrine falcons in New York.
What are the challenges of shooting in a city? Shooting in a city is much harder than anywhere else. Normally if you’re filming in a nature reserve you only need one permit for your entire shoot. In New York, for example, we were looking to access the rooftops of about 30 different skyscrapers. We hardly did any drone filming because you’re likely to harm someone if it falls – or at least damage someone’s car. Not much research has been done about animal behaviour in cities so we had to adopt a new way of thinking: urban environments as a habitat for wildlife. We read lots of scientific research, talked to conservation biologists and gathered a huge amount of information, but we also turned to social media to ask questions and collect stories.
How has technology changed since the first Planet Earth series? The biggest improvement is that stabilised technology has become much more compact. Whether you’re shooting handheld on foot or from the air, you can move around much more easily, which gives the footage a more intimate feel – the animal as if seen through its own eyes. Cameras and hard drives are also able to buffer now, which basically means you can shoot continuously. This gives you a much better strike rate capturing action scenes.
The best part of your job? Observing the natural world. I lose myself when I’m watching animals, trying to understand what’s driving them. I couldn’t tear myself away while we were filming langurs in India for “Cities”, even when it became too dark to film and the monkeys were falling asleep!
The toughest part? Being away from my family. I have two daughters aged four and six and time away from them is difficult because they’re growing up so fast. When I visit the wonderful places my job takes me, I often wish I could have my family there with me.
Your favourite storyline from the episode? We filmed the hyenas of Harar in Ethiopia. They roam the city at night without ever attacking humans or livestock. It’s a peace pact that has been in existence for 400 years: The hyenas get bones from the butcher and in turn they leave the residents of the city in peace. The pact only seems to be valid within the city limits, however, because the hyenas do kill livestock further away. I have always found hyenas terrifying so it was wonderful to see them co-existing with humans. It’s was the most surprising story.
Your next project? I’m making a film about the Antarctic that will be released in three years’ time. It’s all about how wildlife survives in such a hostile environment.
If I won the lotto… I’d spend the vast majority of the money replanting as much of the Amazon as possible. Planting forests not only creates rich wildlife habitats, but it’s great for climate change because the trees absorb so much carbon dioxide. Areas of pristine wilderness are important for the human psyche. You benefit enormously when you visit true wilderness and see animals living as they have done for so many years. You feel calm and that must be good for your health. Planet Earth will be screened on BBC Earth (channel 184 on DStv) – watch “Cities” on 12 March.