Great Migrations
Encyclopedia
Great Migrations is a seven-episode nature documentary
television miniseries
that airs on the National Geographic Channel
, featuring the great migrations of animals across the globe. This is truly one of the greatest pieces of nature documentary there is. The producer, David Hamlin, has won 3 Emmies in his entire career. The seven-part show is the largest programming event in the ten-year history of the channel and is part of the largest cross-platform initiative since the founding of the National Geographic Society
. It premiered on 7 November 2010 with accompanying coverage in the National Geographic magazine and an official companion book. It was filmed in HD
. On December 2, 2010, it was reaveled that Great Migrations has the highest percentage of votes for the 2010 end of year votation.
s to Mali elephants. Cinematographers went to great lengths to film the species and their migratory habits, although none were hurt in the process. Filming provided rare footage of various animal scenes, including the documentation of an elephant's funeral for the first time outside East Africa
. Various technologies were used to film the show, such as the use of high-tech tags on Monarch butterflies and elephant seal
s.
The Cineflex Heligimbal
gyrostabalized cameras was widely utilized in the production. It allows rock-solid closeups to be shot from a kilometer up, a height that does not disturb the animals being filmed. The series also uses the ultra-slow motion Phantom HD camera by Vision Research and the "beyond high-def" Red camera.
remarked of the show's "compelling grandeur"; reviewer Tom Shales
noted how contemporary nature films would inevitably be compared with the BBC classics, Planet Earth
and Life. Great Migrations, he felt, superseded both in its narration and music score. The Edmonton Journal
went to the extent of praising the show's photography as being "so magnificent that there will be a boomlet in sales of high-definition televisions".
Nature documentary
A natural history film or wildlife film is a documentary film about animals, plants, or other non-human living creatures, usually concentrating on film taken in their natural habitat...
television miniseries
Miniseries
A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
that airs on the National Geographic Channel
National Geographic Channel
National Geographic Channel, also commercially abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo, is a subscription television channel that airs non-fiction television programs produced by the National Geographic Society. Like History and the Discovery Channel, the channel features documentaries with factual...
, featuring the great migrations of animals across the globe. This is truly one of the greatest pieces of nature documentary there is. The producer, David Hamlin, has won 3 Emmies in his entire career. The seven-part show is the largest programming event in the ten-year history of the channel and is part of the largest cross-platform initiative since the founding of the National Geographic Society
National Geographic Society
The National Geographic Society , headquartered in Washington, D.C. in the United States, is one of the largest non-profit scientific and educational institutions in the world. Its interests include geography, archaeology and natural science, the promotion of environmental and historical...
. It premiered on 7 November 2010 with accompanying coverage in the National Geographic magazine and an official companion book. It was filmed in HD
High-definition television
High-definition television is video that has resolution substantially higher than that of traditional television systems . HDTV has one or two million pixels per frame, roughly five times that of SD...
. On December 2, 2010, it was reaveled that Great Migrations has the highest percentage of votes for the 2010 end of year votation.
Episodes
Great Migrations debuted on November 7, 2010 worldwide. The series airs on the Sundays of the same month, spread across four hour-long chapters which excludes three supplemental hours which run on other dates. The National Geographic Channel estimated that the show's premiere would be accessible in 330 million homes across the globe.| # | Title | Original airdate |
|---|---|---|
Production
The production team traveled 420000 miles (675,922.8 km) over two and a half years tracking multiple species ranging from army antArmy ant
The name army ant is applied to over 200 ant species, in different lineages, due to their aggressive predatory foraging groups, known as "raids", in which huge numbers of ants forage simultaneously over a certain area, attacking prey en masse.Another shared feature is that, unlike most ant...
s to Mali elephants. Cinematographers went to great lengths to film the species and their migratory habits, although none were hurt in the process. Filming provided rare footage of various animal scenes, including the documentation of an elephant's funeral for the first time outside East Africa
East Africa
East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...
. Various technologies were used to film the show, such as the use of high-tech tags on Monarch butterflies and elephant seal
Elephant seal
Elephant seals are large, oceangoing seals in the genus Mirounga. There are two species: the northern elephant seal and the southern elephant seal . Both were hunted to the brink of extinction by the end of the 19th century, but numbers have since recovered...
s.
The Cineflex Heligimbal
Heligimbal
The Cineflex Heligimbal is a recently developed form of gimbal technology in the form of a motion-stabilized helicopter mount for motion picture cameras....
gyrostabalized cameras was widely utilized in the production. It allows rock-solid closeups to be shot from a kilometer up, a height that does not disturb the animals being filmed. The series also uses the ultra-slow motion Phantom HD camera by Vision Research and the "beyond high-def" Red camera.
Reception
Great Migrations was highly acclaimed, with praise directed effusively at its cinematography and photography. The Washington PostThe Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
remarked of the show's "compelling grandeur"; reviewer Tom Shales
Tom Shales
Thomas William "Tom" Shales is an American critic of television programming and operations. He is best known as TV critic for The Washington Post; in 1988, Shales received the Pulitzer Prize...
noted how contemporary nature films would inevitably be compared with the BBC classics, Planet Earth
Planet Earth (TV series)
Planet Earth is a 2006 television series produced by the BBC Natural History Unit. Five years in the making, it was the most expensive nature documentary series ever commissioned by the BBC, and also the first to be filmed in high definition...
and Life. Great Migrations, he felt, superseded both in its narration and music score. The Edmonton Journal
Edmonton Journal
The Edmonton Journal is a daily newspaper in Edmonton, Alberta. It is part of the Postmedia Network.-History:The Journal was founded in 1903 by three local businessmen — John Macpherson, Arthur Moore and J.W. Cunningham — as a rival to Alberta's first newspaper, the 23-year-old...
went to the extent of praising the show's photography as being "so magnificent that there will be a boomlet in sales of high-definition televisions".
External links
- Great Migrations on the National Geographic ChannelNational Geographic ChannelNational Geographic Channel, also commercially abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo, is a subscription television channel that airs non-fiction television programs produced by the National Geographic Society. Like History and the Discovery Channel, the channel features documentaries with factual...
official site - Great Migrations official companion book on Amazon.comAmazon.comAmazon.com, Inc. is a multinational electronic commerce company headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the world's largest online retailer. Amazon has separate websites for the following countries: United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Japan, and...