Life on Discovery Channel - Episodes Five and Six

Life, the nature documentary show by BBC, was shot entirely in high definition and gives viewers an absolutely astounding view of nature up close. The BBC series ran from October to December 2009 and now Discovery Channel has brought it to the United States. The series consists of ten 50 minute episodes, each with its own theme of animals. The US is late compared to other countries in showing this series, as it has already been shown in Canada and Latin America. This is the third week of episodes featuring "Birds" and "Insects," each 50 minutes long and full of amazing video clips of interesting creatures. Each episode is narrated by the famous Oprah.

Filming

Life is rumored to have been given the largest budget of any previous documentary: 10 million pounds (or at its current conversion, 15.29 million US dollars). The first year of production for the film involved researching places that the camera crew could shoot and what animals would be interesting to observe. Then, the crew spend the next three years doing over one hundred and fifty shoots on all seven continents. The use of new filming techniques and technologies such as the ability to make steady shots from moving vehicles and use high speed cameras helped to create amazing results for the crew.

Episode 5: "Birds"

Birds are distinguished by their feathers and for the most part their ability to fly. This has made them highly adapted for survival and adaptation. It's not easy to catch something that can take to the air whenever it needs to, and what better way to find more food than to travel hundreds of miles by air? In this episode we see high speed shots of hummingbirds; this allows us to see their small wings beating in the air in amazing detail. Next we see lammergeiers, mountain birds who collects bones from carcasses and drops them from great distances to smash them on the rocks below. Chinstrap Penguins breed on a volcanic island off the Antarctic Peninsula in order to protect themselves from potential predators. We see male sage grouse fighting one another for mating rights and dominance. In West Papua, we get the strangest birds of all. The small Volgelkop bowerbird male decorates his body with bright and colorful objects from the forest to attract the females!

Episode 6: "Insects"

Though they may sometimes seem alien to us, insects are the most abundant creatures on Earth and not for no reason. With their systems of armor and wings, insects are well adapted to survive in a number of diverse ways. We first see Darwin's beetles locking horns in a male battle for the right to mate. One beetle throws the other off a branch and down to the ground below. We see a frog attacks a damselfly who I am guessing was looking for a different prince charming during the mating season. We get some amazing views of the beautiful and famous Monarch Butterflies as they migrate to Mexico for their hibernation. High speed cameras give us some remarkable shots of the oogpister beetle squirting acid into the face of a nearby mongoose. In that same vein, we see bombardier beetles shooting hot caustic liquids from their abdomens. Insects are also famous for their teamwork mentality, however, as we see when, after a bear destroys their nest, the bees all work together to carry their honey to a new location. In Argentina, the famous grasscutter ants form huge settlements of over five million strong. They feed on fungus which they grow to eat underground, much like how we humans have developed our agriculture.

Amazing video clips from these two episodes. The video production levels of this show are astounding. I look forward to the next episodes!

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_%28BBC_TV_series%29