planet earth
I’ve never been a big fan of the saying "words can’t describe it," but this new program on Discovery HD Theater is just about as close as I’ve ever seen.
Actually, while words might describe, this presentation is so visual that that’s how it ought to be experienced. So check it out, and be sure and watch both the clip and the trailer for the series. But just take my word for it that you’ll want to see every episode. I’ve seen three so far, and there hasn’t been a dull second.
I think it’s the greatest natural footage that’s ever been created. That’s in part due to the amazing HD camera technology they’re using. They can be more than a mile away from the action and render an HD image that puts you right in the scene. This also makes for predator/prey sequences unlike anything I’ve ever seen. They alternate between very wide angle views, so you can see how a pack of wolves or wild dogs approach a kill tactically (f’ing amazing), and then see the very close in action. It’s really a wonder.
Bonus: So far, almost no enviro-nut hand wringing and lamenting.
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Free The Animal is an eclectic writing project about everything since November 2003. 23 years, 5,500 posts, 5 million words.
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It is truly amazing! One of the most incredible scenes was the great white shark killing a seal and the photography of the shark hanging in mid air. The picture quality of the 45 second action was amazing….you could see individual drops of water with perfect clarity…freaking amazing!
I agree. I posted two notices for planet earth on my blog Mike's Eyes prior to the first show. So far there hasn't been any environmental lamenting of anything. It's been an excellent documentary so far.
I really don't know what you mean by "inherently non-archival media." The beauty of digital is that there can exist unlimited copies. It can exist on hard drives, tape backup, DVDs, and soon, SD cards and whatever other cheap and voluminous storage they come up with.
Yes: HD does indeed look like very sharp, detailed, high-resolution video.
But the best feature of HD is that it is digital, which means that it is stored on inherently non-archival media. I like to imagine that far future humanity will therefore be left with no photographic or cinematic record at all of our shameful era, and will puzzle about what sudden catastrophe or descent into barbarism might have happened, while still being able to watch 16mm Kodachrome movies from, say, 1934, still unfaded.
Best of all, nearly the entire output of worthless present day Hollywood will vanish without a trace, while Welles and Fellini and Ozu will survive for the ages.
There are, now and then, a few minor consolations for having to live in this shitty, shabby world of the future.