
One particular scene stood out and typified its stunning new approach in the first episode though: 'marine iguana hatchling vs. Planet Earth II is a considerable step up for the nature series, and you can find me waxing lyrical about its stunning cinematography and editing at length here.
#Bbc iguana escaping lots of snakes tv
We spoke to the editor of the scene being hailed as potentially the 'greatest TV moment ever' snake scene plays out like a chase from The Bourne Identity The Independent This is absolutely in keeping with the norms of natural history film-making-and absolutely in line with the BBC's editorial policy guidelines, and was a true representation of animal behavior.This Planet Earth 2 iguana vs. The spokeswoman added: "As is common in natural history film-making, pick-up shots were filmed separately-for example close-ups of iguana eyes-to make the story of the sequence as clear as possible for the audience. What was captured in the field was extraordinary animal behavior which had never been witnessed or filmed before." "The final iguana chase in which one iguana escapes the snakes was-unusually for natural history filming-shot using two cameras, allowing us to follow both the individual iguana and the snakes' point of view. "The BBC strongly refutes any suggestion that the award-winning iguana v snakes sequence was 'faked'," a spokeswoman said. White's account has been disputed by the BBC, and I'm choosing to go with their version of events, for my continuing health and sanity. Read more: The Teen 'Lizbians' Who Risk Everything to Rate Lizards

After work, when I will certainly want to go home instead of going to the gym, I will think about the plucky iguana's NOT FAKE fight for its life, as I always do in difficult situations. In this era of darkness, we need light we need lizards. That resilient reptile gave me the strength to wake up each morning and put one foot in front of the other.Īnd that's why I've ultimately decided to believe that the iguana scene is real.

Well, I say that if a newborn lizard can wiggle out of a sailor's knot of venomous predators, then I can make it through anything. Some people say that if Britney could make it through 2007, they can make it through anything. In fact, as I laid in bed sick last week, shoveling old fried rice into my painful mouth for every meal, I thought about that iguana. That iguana symbolized the triumph of good over evil. Like anyone with a heart, when I saw that cute little iguana run past a gauntlet of snakes, my life was imbued with a hopeful glow. I felt like my life couldn't possibly go on.

Then I got angry: "SMDH," I typed with passion. First disbelief: "I'm so shook," I meekly typed to my coworkers in Slack. "For continuity, it was better to crop the scenes together based off of the two cameras we had at the time to create the best possible scene."Īs I read these words at my desk, I rapidly cycled through the stages of grief.

"It wasn't the same iguana, no, and often we have to augment it with other clips," White told the publication.
#Bbc iguana escaping lots of snakes series
Clawing my way back to my still-not-very good pre-sickness health, however, was made a lot harder when a producer on the BBC nature documentary series Planet Earth 2 revealed to the Daily Mail that the iconic iguana chase featured on the show, in which one brave, freshly-born marine iguana ultimately outwits the vicious snakes attempting to make him their meal, was faked.įaked! According to the producer, Elizabeth White, that brave iguana was actually multiple iguanas stitched together from several takes. I've been trying to slowly get back on track, starting first with de-Seamlessing my diet. Read more: My Pilgrimage to the Reptile Expo, a Bleak Haven for Lizard People I'm also, of course, living in the external reality of Donald Trump's presidency, which is bad, too. Now I'm living in the neurotic nightmare that plays out in my head when I feel like I've failed at something. I stopped going to the gym, scheduling my acupuncture appointments, and my commitment to a paleo diet devolved into ordering Chinese food on Seamless every night.
