Hello readers,
Today’s post is the second in my New Perspectives series. This week, I will be looking at Prehistoric Planet 2 and share how my perspective changed watching the show after having worked on it. I worked on Series 1 as well but more extensively on Series 2.
This was such a lovely show to work on with a great crew and I am glad that it has been so well received. When I joined the project in 2021, I had no idea really what it was but after hearing the names David Attenborough and Jon Favreau, I knew it would be good.
Each series has 5 episodes with the storylines split into environments. In Series 2 they are: Islands; Badlands; Swamps; Oceans and North America. Each episode contains a few interweaving stories about the creatures that lived in those conditions during the Cretaceous period – 66 million years ago.
Prehistoric Planet 2 (2023)
The first episode Islands included a few sequences that I worked on but not in depth so the story lines were a little more of a surprise. The way we worked on it, we got the vague storyline but not specifics and each sequence was strictly separated so I never saw how they all flowed together until watching the episodes. Seeing the creatures fully comped with look grades on top made them appear very life-like and I could really see the expressions on their faces, particularly with the Zalmoxes on the raft. I remember the Hatzegopteryx sequence where the male tries to woo a female and has to fight off a love rival was one of the first I saw for this episode.
Badlands was overall my favourite episode of Prehistoric Planet 2. I got to work on most of the sequences so I knew it well and I loved the plotlines with the babies having to migrate to safer grounds with the lava and black rocks in the background. I never knew that dinosaurs existed in those areas so it was interesting to learn about. The sequence where they move through the canyon was a tricky one to do and I remember lots of discussions of how to make it look cinematic and interesting but I think all the camera angles and hopping from creature to creature worked well and the end result was visually stunning and interesting.
Swamps again was not an episode I worked on much but I do remember the sequence with the Edmontosaur in the dark fighting the T-Rex being particularly tricky. There was also a fun sequence featuring a Beelzebufo, a returning toad-like creature from Series 1. While Swamps is just one environment, I feel like the episode covered a lot of different sub areas with a lot of different creatures.
The ammonites were a popular creature in Series 1 so they are back in the Oceans episode where we get to see their life cycle and a few varieties – Nostoceras; Baculites and Diplomoceras. We also see the hunting cycles of Hesporornis and the Phosphorosaurus hunting the lanternfish using their bioluminescence against them. The crowd team really pulled off something amazing making the shoals of fish and I think the end result was really great. Making something look realistic in water is an added challenge in VFX but I think the team really pulled it off.
The North America episode was the first one I worked on in Series 2 and I became well versed in the animation process of the Tyrannosaurus and Quetzalcoatlus sequence where they find the carcass of an old Alamosaurus. There were a lot of different beats featuring 4 different creatures and showing them eating was particularly tricky. The Triceratops fight and mating sequence was another interesting one to work on as there were a lot of individuals gathered making a spectacular scene. Triceratops have always been a favourite of mine, I think as they look so unique . I used to think they were gentle creatures but certainly not after this episode.
I thought the series overall was fantastic and I am not a big fan of documentaries but I really enjoyed the episodes. I think David Attenborough’s narration really added to the action. There were a few shots that didn’t look quite right but I know from working with the team that this would only be due to running out of time as everyone put in so much hard work for over a year in most cases.
This project was my first in the industry and was such a joy to work on. it was also my first on-screen credit which was exciting. If you haven’t yet caught the show, both series are on Apple TV+.
Happy Watching,
Robyn
