A single emperor penguin walking along the shoreline, in Penguins 3D

Six months on South Georgia with a crew of three keeping native stereo rigs running, for the giant screen and Sky 3D.

What it was

After Flying Monsters, David Attenborough's next stereo film went to South Georgia and its millions of penguins, for the giant screen and for 3D television. The problem was the footprint. The island is reached only by small boat, the shoot ran six months, and the native rigs had to be nimble enough for a crew of three to maintain while reacting to animals that do not wait.

Technical approach

Chris Parks worked with director of photography Paul Williams in pre-production on a way of shooting that could survive the shoot: rigs light enough to move, tough enough for the South Atlantic, and quick enough to follow penguins through the mating and breeding season and the elephant seals on the same beaches. Chris then oversaw the post production in the UK.

In their words

Shooting with unwieldy 3D camera rigs, many of which they modified especially for the film, must have been indescribably difficult on a location like this.

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astonishing 3D technology takes us right into the middle of the scene, giving us the chance to have an insider's perspective into the Bachelor King's highs and lows

The Upcoming, Eleonora Ricotta · Read ↗
The already BAFTA-winning duo Attenborough and Geffen (Flying Monsters) succeeds once again in striking us with the immediacy of life, heightened by wonderful 3D.

The Upcoming, Eleonora Ricotta · Read ↗