This article was taken from the January 2015 issue of WIRED magazine. Be the first to read WIRED's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online.
Documentary film-makers have taken us from ocean trenches to snow-capped peaks; but filming animals in flight remains a challenge. "Flight is one of the most incredible things that happens on the planet," says Anthony Geffen, executive producer of 3D nature series Conquest of the Skies. "But how do you capture that?"
Helicopters are too loud and light aircraft are limited to flying at certain heights. The answer: drones. For the new Sky series, narrated by iconic naturalist David Attenborough, the production team used an octocopter custom-built by production company Colossus and Digital Cinema Films. Weighing 9.2kg, the drone carries two stabilised 5K Red EPIC cameras to enable ultra HD and 3D filming.
While shooting a sequence on bats nesting in the Gomantong Caves in Borneo, Attenborough found himself hoisted 100 metres up so he could present to the new camera. "[With drones] the opportunity of making something fairly spectacular exists," says Attenborough. "You have everything going: slow-mo, highly sensitive cameras, you've got the lights and you've got 3D."
Conquest of the Skies has also been filmed for Oculus Rift using an eight-camera 360° rig. "We thought, who would be cooler in virtual reality than David?" says Geffen. Their next project,Alchemy VR, will be a documentary about the earliest life on Earth and will use live-action 3D, HD and CGI. "[1998's The Life of Birds] was good at the time," says Attenborough. "But what we're able to do now is just mind-blowing."
Conquest of the Skies starts in December on Sky 1 HD and Sky 3D
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
