The BBC Natural History Unit (NHU) is a department of the BBC dedicated to making TV and radio programmes with a natural history or wildlife theme, especially nature documentaries. The NHU has been based in Clifton, Bristol since its formation in 1957. The Unit is presently headed by Neil Nightingale as part of the BBC's Vision Studios. Every year it makes about 100 hours of television and 50 hours of radio making it the largest wildlife documentary production house in the world[1]. A commercial arm of the NHU, Wildvision, produces a variety of programmes for both the BBC and external broadcasters, notably Discovery's Animal Planet digital channel, in which the BBC is a joint partner with Discovery Networks.
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History
First steps in natural history broadcasting
The BBC’s natural history links to Bristol date back to the 1940s, when Desmond Hawkins, a young producer, joined the West Region staff. His personal interest in the subject led to a radio series called The Naturalist, which began on the Home Service in 1946 and proved an immediate success, later augmented by Birdsong, Out of Doors and Birds of Britain. By the early 1950s, Hawkins had been promoted to Head of Programmes, West Region and was keen to translate his success to the developing medium of television. At the time, radio still commanded much higher audiences than the fledgling television service but Hawkins was not alone in recognising the potential for natural history programmes in the audiovisual form. His vision was shared by Frank Gillard, the regional Head, and the two men would become the driving force behind the establishment of the Natural History Unit (NHU) in Bristol. Until such formalities were completed, natural history programmes were the responsibility of the Features office of the West Region Film Unit. One of the first programmes was an outside broadcast from Slimbridge in 1953, the first TV collaboration between the BBC and Peter Scott. Occasional programmes continued the following year, but it wasn’t until 1955 that a regular studio-based series presented by Scott began: it was called Look. One of the early problems for the Film Unit was the difficulty in sourcing film stock. At the time, the only wildlife cameramen were amateurs and the footage wasn’t always good enough for broadcast. Some of Scott’s own expedition films were used for early episodes of Look. One particularly outstanding film from 1955, shot by Heinz Sielmann, showed woodpeckers inside a nest hole.
The Unit is formed
By 1957, with Look firmly established and Gillard and Hawkins lobbying hard, the BBC management in London approved the official formation of a Natural History Unit. Gillard was on the search for a senior producer to head the new Unit, and asked David Attenborough to take on the role. Attenborough had impeccable credentials (he was a trained zoologist) but declined, having recently settled in London with his young family. Instead, he was placed in charge of the newly-formed Travel and Exploration Unit, striking a deal which would allow him to continue to film his popular Zoo Quest series whilst the NHU built up its own portfolio of specialist wildlife films from around the world. Nicholas Crocker, a senior producer with West Region, was installed the Unit’s first Head in September 1957. Founder members included Tony Soper (producer) and Christopher Parsons (assistant film editor), both of whom would go on to play a major part in the Unit’s development. The first series broadcast under the banner of the new unit was Faraway Look featuring Peter Scott in Australia. Over the next few years, the output was to diversify. On Safari with Armand and Michaela Denis introduced viewers to East African wildlife, and Undersea World of Adventure with Hans and Lottie Hass did the same for marine creatures. Animal Magic, a series for children presented by Johnny Morris, began in 1962 and ran for over 20 years. Gerald Durrell allowed his animal-collecting expedition to Australia and New Zealand to be filmed by the BBC for the series Two in the Bush (1963).
Colour television arrives
In the early 1960s, natural history filmmaking was being held back by the limitations of the available technology, particularly the restrictions of shooting often fast-moving subjects in poor light and spectacularly colourful subjects in black and white. The second of these problems was about to be resolved. Around the same time, the technology to broadcast and receive colour television was being developed, and the BBC made funds available to begin filming in colour to allow filmmakers to experiment with the latest equipment in preparation for the switchover. The Major (1963), produced by Parsons and filmed largely by New Forest cameraman Eric Ashby, told the story of an ancient English oak and was the Unit’s first colour production. Colour transmission finally arrived in 1967 on BBC2 under the stewardship of David Attenborough, who had retired from programme-making to move into BBC administration. The first natural history film to be shown in colour was Ron Eastman’s Private Life of a Kingfisher, produced by Jeffrey Boswall. Attenborough wanted to make a strong statement on BBC2 of the boundless possibilities that colour television offered, and recognised that natural history was the obvious subject matter to choose. He commissioned a series called The World About Us that would broadcast in a 50-minute Sunday evening slot. Because of the challenge of producing enough colour material, the commission was shared between the NHU and London’s Travel and Exploration Unit. The extended opportunities offered by the 50-minute format and improvements in film technology and expertise finally allowed the NHU to begin showcasing its talent.
Birth of the blockbuster
One of Attenborough’s main achievements as Controller of BBC2 was to commission Civilisation (1969), a major series on art history presented by the respected Kenneth Clark. It was a resounding success with critics and the public and spawned the birth of the ‘blockbuster’ documentary series. Parsons, by then an experienced producer with the NHU, recognised the potential for a similar treatment with natural history as the subject and approached Attenborough in 1970 with the idea. Attenborough was receptive, even to the idea that he should present the series, but both men realised at that time that it was beyond the scope of the Unit’s capabilities. When Attenborough resigned from his administrative duties to return to programme making at the start of 1973, planning for the blockbuster series resumed. It was another three years before the resourcing and financing were agreed, the outline episode scripts written (by Attenborough) and a production team in place. Parsons would serve as series producer and share production duties for the individual episodes with Richard Brock and John Sparks. Filming took place in 39 countries, featured over 650 different species and involved over 1 million miles of travel. Attenborough himself has said that if it hadn’t been for computerised airline schedules, the series would have probably been impossible to film. When it finally broadcast in 1979 on BBC1, Life on Earth was watched by up to 15 million people in the UK and has since been seen by over 500 million people worldwide.
After Life on Earth
If Life on Earth put the Natural History Unit firmly on the map, its output in the years since has sealed its reputation as one of the foremost production companies for wildlife films. A succession of 'blockbuster' series have followed the format established by Life on Earth, often presented or narrated by Attenborough and transmitted on BBC1. The Blue Planet (2001) and Planet Earth (2006) typify these signature programmes, characterised by high production values, specially-commissioned musical scores and often ground-breaking footage of wildlife from around the globe. The NHU has also diversified into other programme formats. Its Diary series have featured African big cats, elephants, orang-utans and bears in a nightly wildlife soap opera. One of the longest-running programmes was David Attenborough's Wildlife on One series which ran for nearly 30 years in a regular early evening slot. The Continents strand on BBC2 has featured series on all the world’s major land areas over the past fifteen years, including Land of the Tiger (1997), Andes to Amazon (2000) and Wild Down Under (2003). Also on BBC2, the annual Springwatch and Autumnwatch series have brought live pictures of British wildlife into millions of homes.
50 Years of Wildlife Broadcasting
In 2007, the Natural History Unit celebrated its 50th anniversary by launching the BBC Wildlife Fund. The charity raised over £1.5 million for conservation of endangered species through the Saving Planet Earth season of programmes[2]. The NHU received a special award at the 2007 International Broadcasting Convention in recognition of its unique contribution to wildlife film and documentary making[3]. The successes of 2007 were tempered by the announcement later the same year that the NHU would be losing a third of its production staff as part of a wider series of job cuts across the BBC. Some programmes will be affected, such as Bill Oddie's Sunday evening Wild strand which will not be recommissioned[4].
Filmography
See NHU Filmography article for details.
In production
As well as returning series such as Natural World, Big Cat Diary and Springwatch, the Natural History Unit has a number of major commissions currently in production:
- Elephant Diaries returns for a second series from 7 January 2008 on BBC One
- Life in Cold Blood will be the final series in David Attenborough's long-running Life strand. Due for transmission on BBC One from 25 January 2008, the five episodes will tell the story of reptiles and amphibians, the longest surviving groups of animals on the planet.
- Wild China, announced by the BBC in October 2006[5], will mark the culmination of BBC Two's Continents strand and is the first co-production between the Natural History Unit and China Central Television (CCTV). It will consist of six 50-minute episodes and will be broadcast in March 2008.
- Pacific Abyss is the third in the Abyss series of diving documentaries. It was originally due to be broadcast in 2007 but has now been put back to 2008.
- A brace of three-part, high-definition series in the Expedition strand have been commissioned for BBC One. Expedition Guyana follows a team of scientists and biologists deep into the South American rainforest on a month-long expedition filmed in September 2007 for broadcast in summer 2008. The challenges of Expedition New Guinea include filming birds of paradise displays, exploring new cave systems and encountering remote tribes. [6]
- LIFE is one of several high-profile commissions to mark the 150th anniversary of the publication of Charles Darwin's The Origin of Species in 2009. The Natural History Unit will contribute a 10-part series for BBC One in which David Attenborough will tell the story of evolution, the first time he has tackled the subject since his seminal 1979 documentary Life on Earth. The series will be filmed in high-definition. Oher series marking the occasion will include The Human Race and The Human Planet, both airing on BBC Two and expected to feature content by the NHU. The former is a study of hisory of mankind and the latter a celebration of our anthropological diversity, spearheaded by Bob Geldof.[7]
- The Frozen Planet is a second new collaboration with David Attenborough. Six episodes filmed in high-definition will present the most comprehensive study of life in the polar regions ever filmed. Billed as the follow-up to Planet Earth [8], filming began in late 2006 with a shoot on South Georgia, enlisting the help of Royal Navy helicopters for aerial footage.
- Earth's Great Events will be an in-depth portrait of six natural phenomena from around the globe, including the Alaskan salmon run. It is the first BBC co-production with Spain's Wanda Films.[9]
- Last Chance to See will be a follow-up to the original book and BBC radio series from 1990 by writer Douglas Adams and zoologist Mark Carwardine. The new six-part series will see Stephen Fry join up with Cawardine as they revisit the species at risk of extinction which were previously featured, and discover whether their plight has improved in the last 20 years.
- Yellowstone, a profile of the USA's famous National Park for BBC Two which will adopt the recent format of a three-part series on locations rich in wildlife (Galápagos, Ganges).
- South Pacific, a six-part series for BBC Two, for which filming began in April 2007 and is expected to continue until late 2009.[10]
- The Meerkats is a feature film co-produced by BBC Films and The Weinstein Company and will aim to build on the popularity of Meerkat Manor.[11]
- In an interview with The Daily Telegraph to promote Earth, senior NHU producer Alastair Fothergill announced he was working on a feature-length documentary on chimpanzees. It will take five years to film.[12]
Awards and recognition
The Natural History Unit as a whole was awarded the Gold Medal at the 2001 Royal Television Society awards for its "outstanding contribution over the past 44 years to broadcasting about the natural world". It was praised for being a "a national resource for people's understanding and love of wildlife on our planet, and a symbol of both quality and talent in public service broadcasting"[13]. The programmes and major contributors have been recognised by many other awards, including the Emmys, BAFTA, the Queen's honours list and various wildlife film festivals. Further details are provided in the relevant articles for specific series. Recognition has also come in the form of high audience viewing figures and audience approval ratings, particularly for 'blue-chip' series such as Planet Earth. When first screened in the UK it was watched by more than 8 million people[14].
Heads of the NHU
- Nicholas Crocker (1957 - 1959)
- Bruce Campbell (1959 - 1962)
- Nicholas Crocker (1962 - 1973)
- Mick Rhodes (1973 - 1979)
- Christopher Parsons (1979 - 1983)
- John Sparks (1983 - 1988)
- Andrew Neil (1988 - 1992)
- Alastair Fothergill (1992 - 1998)
- Keith Scholey (1998 - 2003)
- Neil Nightingale (2003 - present)
References
- ^ Directory of Production Companies. The International Association of Wildlife Filmmakers. Retrieved on 2007-07-06.
- ^ Saving Planet Earth - The Fund. Retrieved on 2008-01-03.
- ^ "IBC Honours BBC Natural History Unit For Contribution To Wildlife Film", 4rfv.co.uk, September 21, 2007.
- ^ "Shock at BBC Natural History Unit cuts", The Guardian, October 24, 2007.
- ^ "BBC goes wild about China", The Guardian, October 12, 2006.
- ^ "BBC charters new territories with two new Expedition series", BBC Press Office, November 8, 2007.
- ^ "Geldof helps map human A-Z", The Guardian, April 17, 2007.
- ^ "Attenborough is back - again", The Guardian, September 21, 2007.
- ^ Nota Buzz #82 - March 12th 2007. IMCA Blog Archive. Retrieved on 2007-07-06.
- ^ "BBC sets sail for South Pacific", The Guardian, April 16, 2007.
- ^ "The Meerkats: BBC Films and the BBC Natural History Unit collaborate on ambitious first feature film", BBC Press Office, November 1, 2006.
- ^ "Revolutionary look at planet Earth", The Daily Telegraph, November 17, 2007.
- ^ RTS Programme Awards - 2001. Royal Television Society. Retrieved on 2007-07-01.
- ^ "BBC finds a treasure in Planet Earth", The Observer, April 9, 2006.
Information in the History section is largely drawn from the following sources:
- Parsons, C. (1982) True to Nature: Christopher Parsons looks back on 25 years of wildlife filming with the BBC Natural History Unit. Patrick Stephens Limited. ISBN 0-85059-530-4
- Attenborough, D. (2002) Life on Air: Memoirs of a Broadcaster. BBC Books. ISBN 0-56348-780-1
The list of Heads of the Natural History Unit is taken from the following source:
- BBC/2entertain Great Wildlife Moments DVD (2003). Bonus feature: Heads of the BBC Natural History Unit
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