David Attenborough's KINGDOM OF PLANTS 3D will burst onto Sky 3D screens in May 2012
Sky 3D and Atlantic Productions today announce that the ground-breaking KINGDOM OF PLANTS 3D, a three part mini-series written and presented by David Attenborough, will begin airing in May 2012.
Filmed over the course of a year at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, which houses some 90% of all known plant species in one form or another, KINGDOM OF PLANTS 3D is multi-award winning natural history broadcaster David Attenborough’s fourth collaboration with Sky 3D and Atlantic Productions. The immersive and compelling series reveals a fascinating new look at plant life through the use of stunning 3D time-lapse filming techniques.
Each of the three 50 minute episodes will cover a different area of plant life. Life in the Wet Zone looks at the adaptation of plants to wet and humid environments, with episode two, Solving the Secrets, exploringthe behind-the-scenes lives of plant movement, scent and communication. Survival, the concluding episode, focuses on the continual adaptation of plants as well as a look at Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank, which houses almost two billion seeds of more than 30,000 species of wild plants to ensure their future for generations to come.
John Cassy, Director, Sky 3D, comments: “The combination of ground-breaking technology, high quality production, fascinating subject matter and captivating narrative from the master story teller himself ensures that KINGDOM OF PLANTS 3D is at once an immersive, compelling and truly breath-taking viewing experience which we’re thrilled to offer exclusively to Sky customers.”
Anthony Geffen, Executive Producer and CEO of Atlantic Productions adds: “Having already worked together on two 3D films, David and I were keen to really push the technological boundaries in macro. So when the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew suggested working together to create a film, it seemed a perfect fit. With David’s passion for plants, and one of the largest botanical collections in the world in which to film, we were able to push the 3D technology to capture the lives of plants like never before.”
David Attenborough commented: “One of the most wonderful things about filming plants is that you can reveal hidden aspects of their lives. You can capture the moment as one plant strangles another, and as they burst into flower. But whilst time-lapse photography allows you to see things that no human being has ever seen before, the added element of 3D takes the audience even further still. Stamens extend and burst to reveal their pollen grains in exquisite detail, and we can see close-up the incredible insects that partner up with these plants. The whole experience in 3D is just entrancing, and hypnotically beautiful.”
Professor Angela McFarlane, Director of Public Engagement and Learning at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew adds: “There is more to Kew than just a beautiful garden landscape. Every new perspective on Kew reveals new marvels and wonders, and never more so than through the remarkable technology of 3D. We have been delighted and amazed at the Atlantic footage, and coupled with the unique insights of Sir David Attenborough, the results are simply irresistible. We hope this fantastic series will instill a new enthusiasm in viewers for plants and show them as the compelling, dramatic organisms they are.”
Commissioned by Celia Taylor, Sky’s Head of Factual and Features, KINGDOM OF PLANTS 3D is part of Sky’s commitment to increase its investment in original British content by 50% over the next three years. By 2014, Sky expects to invest £600million a year in British programmes across its portfolio of channels.
Since launching Sky 3D in October 2010 Sky has broken new ground across a range of genres, including natural history, live music, the arts, spots and movies. Highlights have included David Attenborough’s The Bachelor King 3D, a number of summer music festivals, opera and ballet, Kylie Minogue live from the O2, Got to Dance, the 3D TV world premieres of Avatar, Alice in Wonderland and the Toy Story Trilogy as well as more than 150 live sports broadcast spanning a range of domestic and international sports.
Kingdom of Plants 3D airs in May 2012 on Sky 3D and will be simulcast in 2D on Sky Atlantic HD.
For further information please contact
Megan MacLeod - Publicist, Sky Movies HD, Sky Atlantic HD
T:
E: megan.macleod@bskyb.com
Notes to editor
Sky 3D and Atlantic Production’s first 3D film Flying Monsters 3D with David Attenborough won the Specialist Factual award at the 2011 Philips British Academy Television Awards.
Synopsis:
David Attenborough narrates an astonishing look at the secret lives of plants at Kew Gardens, revealing a dramatic world otherwise invisible to the human eye.
Around 2 million people visit Kew Gardens every year, but they only catch a tiny fraction of the true beauty and marvel of its 30,000 different types of plants. Entering the strangely slow world of plant time, Attenborough explores how plants cleverly adapt to the changing seasons, including the explosive drama of seed dispersal and the bursts of colour as they bloom. Three episodes focus on the world-famous gardens’ different climate zones, exploring plants which thrive in cool temperatures, warm arid areas and the rainforests and mangrove swamps of the wet tropics. Wherever they live, they employ extraordinary strategies for survival. Here, time lapse unearths their surprising change over months and years, in a stunning look at why a plant's private life is one of constant adaptation and struggle.
About Sky:
Sky entertains and excites more than 10.4 million homes through the most comprehensive multichannel, multi-platform television service in the UK and Ireland. Sky continues to break new ground with its own portfolio of channels: Sky 1 combines its commitment to UK production with the best of the US; Sky Living pushes ahead with fresh and innovative entertainment formats; Sky Arts is the UK's only dedicated arts channel brand; Sky Atlantic is the home to HBO and other iconic drama and comedy, Sky Sports is still raising the bar in sports broadcasting; Sky News remains a pioneer in television news; and Sky Movies is leading the way in High Definition and on-demand.
Sky also works with dozens of other broadcasters on the satellite platform, as well as online and on mobile through the ground-breaking Sky Go service. Sky has also led the UK into the age of high definition television, launched Europe's first 3DTV channel, Sky 3D, and offers customer even more flexibility and choice through Sky Anytime+, its internet-delivered video on demand service. Since launching Sky Broadband and Sky Talk in 2006, the company has also been the UK's fastest-growing home communications provider.
Sky believes in making a wider contribution to the communities in which it operates, not least by increasing participation in, and access to, the arts, supporting grassroots sports, and taking positive action on the environment.
About Atlantic Productions:
Atlantic Productions is one of the world’s leading factual production companies. In 2011 it won a BAFTA, three Emmy’s and best IMAX award for three different productions. They were also nominated as Best Independent Production Company for 2011.
Television highlights include: triple Emmy-winning David Attenborough’s First Life; The Emmy-winning Jerusalem – City of Heaven; BAFTA-nominated Munich: Mossad’s Revenge; the triple Emmy-nominated The Promised Land five-part series,narrated by Morgan Freeman, and the award-winningthree-part series, Prohibition.
Atlantic’s programmes are broadcast round the world to critical acclaim and high ratings. Programmes which have rated particularly well globally include; Nefertiti: Resurrected; The Link and Predator X and multi-part series; Egypt Unwrapped; The Greeks: Crucible of Civilization and Rome Unwrapped.
The Company’s productions are complemented by pioneering cross-platform projects. Theatrical and 3D highlights include the BAFTA winning Flying Monsters 3D with David Attenborough now showing in IMAX cinemas worldwide. This film also won the Best 3D film at The Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival in 2011, the Special Award for Innovation at the International Broadcasting Convention in Amsterdam, and the Best Science Film by The Association of International Broadcasters. The Wildest Dream – Conquest of Everest, narrated by Liam Neeson,won Best IMAX award in 2011 at the GSCA festival in September; The Bachelor King 3D will be released in cinemas in the summer of 2012. The three-part series KINGDOM OF PLANTS 3D with David Attenborough airs in the summer of 2012.
About the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew:
The Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew is a world famous scientific organisation, internationally respected for its outstanding living collection of plants and world-class Herbarium as well as its scientific expertise in plant diversity, conservation and sustainable development in the UK and around the world. Kew Gardens is a major international visitor attraction. Its landscaped 132 hectares and RBG Kew’s country estate, Wakehurst Place, attract nearly 2 million visitors every year. Kew was made a UNESCO World Heritage Site in July 2003 and celebrated its 250th anniversary in 2009. Wakehurst Place is home to Kew's Millennium Seed Bank, the largest wild plant seed bank in the world. RBG Kew and its partners have collected and conserved seed from 10 per cent of the world's wild flowering plant species (c.30, 000 species). The aim is to conserve 25 per cent by 2020, and its enormous potential for future conservation can only be fulfilled with the support of the public and other funders.
Kew receives funding from the UK Government through Defra for approximately half of its income and is also reliant on support from other sources. Without the voluntary monies raised through membership, donations and grants, Kew would have to significantly scale back activities at a time when, as environmental challenges become ever more acute, its resources and expertise are needed in the world more than ever. Kew needs to raise significant funds both in the UK and overseas. Members of the public can support the work of the Millennium Seed Bank Partnership by getting involved with the ‘Adopt a Seed, Save a Species' campaign. For £25 an individual can adopt a seed or for £1000 anyone can save an entire species. www.kew.org/adoptaseed