Last we saw planet Earth, it was dying. More than 90% of all life choked to death. But if there’s one constant in the chaos, it’s that life somehow finds a way. This is the story of the unlikely survivors who rose to dominance, conquering the world – only to then be toppled by the success of a new dynasty: the reptiles.
Reptilian giants, including some of the most terrifying creatures the Earth had ever seen, would soon rule the land, sea and air. But none could have predicted it would rain for over a million years, creating the perfect conditions for the arrival of the dinosaurs.
Key moments
Lystrosaurus Survives – The previous chapter ended with a Lystrosaurus wandering forlornly through the landscape, desperate to survive the apocalypse, and Chapter 4 opens with a different Lystrosaurus, his lineage having made it through armageddon. Once again, an underdog from the last era has made it through where the dominant dynasty could not.
This was the first VFX scene filmed for the series, and perhaps the best example of how the two filmmaking worlds collided – a natural history crew used to challenging conditions but not VFX, and a VFX crew used to big crews and great sets, but less so the wilderness. Together they found themselves trudging up and down sand-dunes in Chile’s Atacama desert in the heat of the midday sun.
Over a year later, when the sequence was completed with VFX, one of Life on Our Planet’s palaeontology consultants became so enamoured with the model Lystrosaurus (which he described as “the most accurate ever made”) that he hopes to borrow its design to use in the further study of its ecology.
The Rise of Fungi – While Fungi are a truly ancient dynasty, they reached their zenith in some ways after the Permian Extinction. According to fossil records, there was a fungal spike at this time bigger than ever before. Filming the fungal takeover was challenging, requiring the skills and patience of time-lapse camera operator Richard Kirby for all the close ups, and the talents of ILM for the wide shots.
The “Double Life” of Komodo Dragons – The story of juvenile Komodo dragons’ unique living arrangement (the youngsters live high up in the trees to avoid cannibalistic elders) hadn’t been told before, and makes for a key part of Life on Our Planet’s narrative.
In addition to capturing young Komodo dragons in the trees, the crew were also keen to film an adult hunt sequence. On only day three, they got lucky, when out of the blue they were confronted with a remarkable predation. Thanks in part to a new stabilized rig system (aka “the buggy”) DoP Jamie McPherson specially built for the shoot, it was all captured on camera.
Epic Rain – The way mother nature has intervened in the story of life is often remarkable. But perhaps one of the most surprising moments is the Carnian Pluvial Event (CPE), which happened around 232 million years ago. A period of volcanic activity caused the planet’s climate to heat up. As warm air hit a mountain ridge in the northern hemisphere, it started to rain – for a million years.
Rain brings darkness to the natural world, making even monsoon rain hard to see. So to depict these torrential downpours, the crew had to improvise. They brought a 20,000 litre fire truck (filled with drain
runoff water) to a working quarry, unleashed it with giant hoses, while shining 42,000 watts of light at it and filmed it at 1,000 frames per second.
The First Dinosaurs – COVID restrictions meant the magical world of the newly hatched Plateosaur babies had to be filmed in the UK, in a mossy patch of coniferous forest in the Lake District. The eight-person filming team waited 12 days for the rain to stop, and on day 13, it stopped – for just two hours. With large storm clouds still in the air, this break in the weather created a magic-light effect that brought the scene to life.
Dozens of people were involved in the design of the Plateosaurus – inside and out. Inside meant accurate skeletons, musculature, ligaments, teeth and tongue. Outside meant their size, their shape, their colour, gait, texture, mannerisms, and speed, all double- and triple- checked. The fact file for Plateosaurus alone runs to 55 pages.
The sequence even includes a nod to Jurassic Park in the moment the camera tilts up to the adult. Eagle-eyed viewers should watch out for Easter eggs like this throughout the series!
