Documentary Hidden Kingdoms - Secrets Forests

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BBC Program 

Narrator - Stephen Fry 
Producer - Verity White 
Series Producer - Mark Brownlow 
Executive Producer -Michael Gunton

When I started watching the documentary I was fascinated with the whole design of it. The colours, the technique and the sound design. 

It opened with an overview of all the animals it was going to talk about (with VO giving a quick description) and CRYSTAL CLEAR images, which made me speechless.There technique was done so that they could show the audience what its like to live in that world. How small animals feel against big animals, therefore they had to get down low to capture all this. 


The tree plays a key role in the documentary, as its used to change topic. it is done with a tracking shot and light coming through all the leaves. 








Colours: warm/brown (dark colours) 

Sound Design: each sound of every animals is amplified through effects but also the sound effects such as eating, falling, chewing etc 

We never actually see the presenter, he's there in VO only. The way it's done is they follow the animals around and Stephen Fry explains what is happening but also gives information about each animal in that. 

Music: dramatic music which goes with the actions of of the animals = dramatises it, makes it realistic 

Introduces another animals by linking the, 

Target audience: everyone 

Something which I found different and unique was that towards the end of the documentary they showed the camera crew filming, and the difficulties they had to face. I was shocked as to the amount of equipment they were using. The reason behind doing this is for ethical reasons. They wanted to show that it was set up but also at the same time that it adds to the realism of the documentary (as we see the crew waiting for hours for something to happen)


Things that inspired me:
  1. The QUALITY! It was amazing. In our documentary I would like to get clear images/shots of the butterflies and show there beautiful colours. 
  2. One thing I still want, is a presenter. At times I got bored, so I still feel that having a presenter will keep the audience interested 
  3. I liked the introduction bit; where they quickly spoke about what they will show before starting. That is something I will take into consideration.
  4. Even though I liked the sound design in this documentary, I do not want it in mine. I don't think it would suit it. 

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