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Plants have a family tree, stretching back
nearly half a billion years.
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00:00:30,530 --> 00:00:35,150
They have developed an extraordinary range
of strategies to survive.
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00:00:38,170 --> 00:00:41,050
This tree is a bristlecone pine.
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00:00:41,510 --> 00:00:44,410
It's taken thousands of years to reach
this size.
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00:00:45,730 --> 00:00:51,470
It has seen empires rise and fall,
kings, queens and presidents come and go,
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00:00:52,310 --> 00:00:56,790
and may have seen the sun rise more than
one and a half million times.
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00:00:59,150 --> 00:01:03,310
Bristlecone pines are the oldest living
things on Earth.
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00:01:13,020 --> 00:01:16,040
Bamboo is the fastest-growing plant.
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00:01:18,660 --> 00:01:23,120
It will be full-grown 30 metres tall in
just 90 days.
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00:01:33,150 --> 00:01:38,290
Like animals, plants are constantly
competing for food...
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00:01:40,970 --> 00:01:43,470
striving to produce offspring...
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00:01:44,790 --> 00:01:47,650
and battling against predators.
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00:01:55,670 --> 00:01:57,370
They will deceive...
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00:01:58,130 --> 00:02:02,210
and in some cases, they will even hunt.
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00:02:28,360 --> 00:02:33,020
We often don't notice such dramatic
behaviour because, to our eyes,
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00:02:33,220 --> 00:02:34,280
it happens so slowly.
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00:02:35,065 --> 00:02:40,340
But if time is compressed and you shift
perspective to the plant's point of view,
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00:02:40,820 --> 00:02:43,440
their world comes spectacularly to life.
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00:02:44,160 --> 00:02:49,360
The events in this woodland can build to a
view of half a year in less than a minute.
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00:03:33,870 --> 00:03:37,440
Like animals, plants need food and water.
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00:03:50,140 --> 00:03:52,180
But what sets them apart...
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00:03:53,180 --> 00:03:54,900
is their struggle for light.
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00:04:06,080 --> 00:04:08,820
Plants must have light in order to grow...
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00:04:08,821 --> 00:04:12,020
and will do anything to get as much as
they need.
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00:04:16,050 --> 00:04:20,810
The forest might appear to be the perfect
place for plants to thrive.
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00:04:22,500 --> 00:04:26,530
Yet down here, on
the forest floor, is one
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00:04:26,531 --> 00:04:26,530
of the hardest places
for plants to thrive.
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00:04:26,531 --> 00:04:28,091
One of the hardest places imaginable...
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00:04:28,440 --> 00:04:30,850
for a young plant to begin its life.
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00:04:33,110 --> 00:04:37,830
The canopy above is so thick... that
only a little sunlight can filter through.
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For this sapling, too little light means
death.
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But plants on the forest floor need not be
passive.
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00:05:08,060 --> 00:05:09,980
If the light won't come to them...
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00:05:10,700 --> 00:05:12,700
they can go to the light.
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00:05:18,360 --> 00:05:20,140
But they still have a problem.
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00:05:21,830 --> 00:05:24,920
The light is 50 metres above them.
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00:05:25,740 --> 00:05:27,720
So they must climb.
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00:05:37,970 --> 00:05:41,050
It's much easier to use another plant as
scaffolding.
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00:05:50,730 --> 00:05:53,030
But they won't get very high...
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00:05:53,230 --> 00:05:55,230
unless they can hold on tight.
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00:06:00,670 --> 00:06:06,630
Like fingertips searching for a hold...
this ivy's adhesive pads grip the bark.
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00:06:08,790 --> 00:06:13,590
Instead of sticking to the trees...
some climbers use sharp claws.
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00:06:18,150 --> 00:06:21,530
The cat's claw creeper hooks its
tendrils...
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into the tiniest crevices and hauls itself
to the top.
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00:06:33,330 --> 00:06:37,770
With every metre it climbs...
the light gets a little stronger...
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fuelling more growth.
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00:06:44,250 --> 00:06:46,450
This tendril of a passionflower...
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00:06:46,970 --> 00:06:49,650
seems to flail aimlessly in mid-air...
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00:06:49,651 --> 00:06:52,790
but in fact it's searching for an anchor
point.
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00:07:00,380 --> 00:07:05,580
Its tendril coils on itself... pulling
the plant towards its support.
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00:07:14,320 --> 00:07:16,100
In a matter of just days...
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these climbers make it to the canopy.
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00:07:22,540 --> 00:07:25,020
Now, with light in plentiful supply...
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these plants are able to flower.
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00:07:33,530 --> 00:07:35,580
Other plants have a different strategy...
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00:07:35,755 --> 00:07:38,320
to find the light they need in the crowded
forest.
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00:07:42,105 --> 00:07:43,180
These are air plants.
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00:07:44,160 --> 00:07:46,760
They grow on the upper branches of tall
trees...
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and spend their whole lives basking in the
light.
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00:07:51,890 --> 00:07:54,460
But growing 50 metres above the ground...
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00:07:54,760 --> 00:07:55,920
does have its drawbacks.
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Most plants get water and nutrients...
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through their roots in the ground.
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00:08:03,660 --> 00:08:06,097
For an air plant...
with their roots planted
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00:08:06,109 --> 00:08:08,340
in the treetops...
this isn't an option.
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00:08:09,700 --> 00:08:11,640
But they have a solution.
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00:08:14,580 --> 00:08:17,480
First, the bare roots... have
an extraordinary ability...
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00:08:17,481 --> 00:08:19,680
to soak up water like blotting paper.
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00:08:22,860 --> 00:08:27,140
The slightest rain or mist...
and they absorb every drop.
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00:08:30,990 --> 00:08:33,810
They also have a way of gathering
nutrients.
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00:08:37,750 --> 00:08:42,890
Their roots trap falling leaves... which
eventually rot and provide the plants...
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00:08:42,891 --> 00:08:44,870
with their own personal supply of compost.
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00:08:52,960 --> 00:08:57,840
20,000 different plants...
orchids, bromeliads and ferns...
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00:08:58,140 --> 00:09:00,240
have taken up this remarkable lifestyle.
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00:09:23,630 --> 00:09:25,080
For a plant to thrive...
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it must not only get enough nutrients...
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but also the right balance of nutrients.
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00:09:30,940 --> 00:09:36,500
The soil in this waterlogged bog... is
very poor quality, lacking in nitrogen.
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00:09:39,065 --> 00:09:40,900
But these strange plants...
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00:09:41,300 --> 00:09:42,440
have an ingenious strategy.
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Their leaves are covered in
tentacles... tipped with droplets...
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of what appears to be morning dew.
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00:09:54,700 --> 00:09:57,981
These droplets give the
plant its name... the sundew.
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00:10:04,270 --> 00:10:07,930
They're sweet-smelling...
and attractive to many insects.
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But they're also extremely sticky.
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Mosquitoes emerge in huge
numbers... from the boggy water...
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and the sundews are ready.
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00:10:55,840 --> 00:10:59,840
The sundew's tentacles...
are living flypaper.
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00:11:07,610 --> 00:11:09,970
Struggling only makes matters worse.
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00:11:13,430 --> 00:11:17,070
With each contact...
the plant tightens its grip.
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00:11:24,570 --> 00:11:27,690
As more and more
tentacles... envelop the prey...
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the droplets spread across its body.
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00:11:33,730 --> 00:11:38,530
Eventually, the insect is
smothered... and drowns in sticky fluid.
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00:11:40,650 --> 00:11:45,350
Digestive enzymes break down the body...
into a nitrogen ring... a rich meal...
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00:11:45,351 --> 00:11:47,250
which is absorbed by the plant.
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Without animal tissues...
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this plant would not survive.
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00:11:56,440 --> 00:12:02,120
But there's another carnivorous plant...
that's an even more sophisticated predator.
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00:12:11,280 --> 00:12:13,500
The Venus flytrap.
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00:12:22,140 --> 00:12:25,400
Like the sundew... it
makes itself very attractive...
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oozing nectar across
the brim... of each leaf.
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00:12:41,230 --> 00:12:44,990
But any visiting insect...
had better watch out...
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for these six tiny hairs.
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00:12:59,460 --> 00:13:02,120
This fly... has
to tread carefully.
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00:13:09,300 --> 00:13:11,800
If it strikes one hair...
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00:13:13,085 --> 00:13:14,880
it can carry on feeding.
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00:13:15,860 --> 00:13:18,280
But a timer has been set.
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00:13:25,710 --> 00:13:30,670
A second strike in less than 20
seconds... and the fly is doomed.
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00:13:39,930 --> 00:13:43,910
An electrical impulse is
triggered... and the leaf snaps shut...
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00:13:43,911 --> 00:13:45,230
in just a fraction of a second.
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00:13:47,490 --> 00:13:50,470
The tips lock together...
like prison bars.
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00:13:59,300 --> 00:14:04,220
If the fly is very big or very small...
it may just manage to escape.
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00:14:05,560 --> 00:14:07,700
But most are trapped.
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00:14:33,130 --> 00:14:35,890
Ten days later...
the trap reopens.
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00:14:39,300 --> 00:14:42,780
All that remains... is a husk.
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00:14:43,560 --> 00:14:46,140
The plant has finished its meal...
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and resets itself...
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for its next victim.
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00:14:53,250 --> 00:14:55,410
But there is one time of year...
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00:14:55,660 --> 00:15:00,131
when the Venus flytrap needs...
some of the visiting insects... to live.
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00:15:00,990 --> 00:15:04,050
It needs their help...
to be pollinated.
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00:15:05,850 --> 00:15:07,290
It sends up flowers...
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00:15:07,465 --> 00:15:11,391
on tall stems... well away from
the danger... of the traps below.
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00:15:25,580 --> 00:15:29,361
Here... insects can
feed safely... on nectar.
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00:15:31,280 --> 00:15:34,161
In return... they
provide a vital service...
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00:15:34,173 --> 00:15:36,680
carrying pollen
from flower to flower.
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00:15:41,430 --> 00:15:43,110
But the truce...
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00:15:43,610 --> 00:15:44,670
is only temporary.
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00:15:46,220 --> 00:15:50,271
When pollination is over...
it's back to business... as usual.
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00:15:59,290 --> 00:16:03,411
80% of plant species
on Earth... have flowers.
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00:16:05,370 --> 00:16:09,610
Flowers have just one
role... to enable the plant...
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to produce offspring.
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00:16:13,450 --> 00:16:18,470
Colour, perfume... nectar... and
shape... all act to make a flower...
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irresistible.
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00:16:21,530 --> 00:16:24,370
Sunflowers grow...
to face the rising sun.
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00:16:25,260 --> 00:16:28,890
The warmth of the rays...
speeds the production of nectar...
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00:16:28,891 --> 00:16:30,890
and this lures pollinators.
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00:16:33,510 --> 00:16:37,590
One after another...
hundreds of individual florets...
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00:16:37,591 --> 00:16:39,370
produce pollen-covered stamens.
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00:16:50,980 --> 00:16:54,440
And like most
flowers... sunflowers...
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establish a close relationship...
with animals... in order to ensure...
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their reproduction.
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00:17:05,360 --> 00:17:11,140
As these bees busily feed on nectar... they
unwittingly brush against the stamens...
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00:17:11,141 --> 00:17:14,780
collecting pollen... and then
carry it... from flower to flower.
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00:17:19,630 --> 00:17:22,290
The sunflower... is fertilised.
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00:17:28,360 --> 00:17:31,540
In the sun-drenched
fields... of southern France...
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00:17:31,765 --> 00:17:33,580
the flowering season is a long one.
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00:17:34,880 --> 00:17:37,061
But not all plants...
have this luxury.
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00:17:40,290 --> 00:17:41,760
Cradle Mountain in Tasmania...
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00:17:42,200 --> 00:17:45,340
is blasted... by
bitter Antarctic winds.
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00:17:48,520 --> 00:17:49,780
To reproduce...
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00:17:50,515 --> 00:17:52,801
the richer honeybush...
must flower.
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00:17:54,420 --> 00:17:58,341
But the delicate parts... of the flowers
risk being damaged... by the cold.
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00:18:00,260 --> 00:18:01,580
The plant...
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00:18:01,730 --> 00:18:03,980
appears to have...
an ingenious solution.
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00:18:06,340 --> 00:18:08,361
The flower petals...
fuse together...
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forming an insulated protective
case... around its stamens.
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00:18:13,190 --> 00:18:15,400
However, this creates another problem.
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00:18:17,255 --> 00:18:20,700
The flower case... is so well
sealed... that unfortunately...
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00:18:20,701 --> 00:18:23,000
it also keeps out pollinating insects.
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00:18:24,860 --> 00:18:27,520
During... brief sunny spells...
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the flowers warm up... and
suddenly... start producing nectar.
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00:18:35,060 --> 00:18:37,780
This attracts a bird...
the black currawong.
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00:18:39,625 --> 00:18:43,460
It has the strength... to rip
open... the flower's outer casing...
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and gets its reward of nectar.
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00:18:46,360 --> 00:18:50,620
At the same time... it exposes the
delicate stamens... to waiting insects.
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00:18:56,640 --> 00:19:01,680
With luck... there's enough time for
pollination... before the biting wind...
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kills the flowers.
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00:19:11,120 --> 00:19:15,380
For some plants... the
relationship... with their pollinators...
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00:19:15,381 --> 00:19:16,860
is not collaborative...
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it's war.
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Butterflies... and in such numbers...
would seem to be perfect pollinators...
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for any flower.
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00:19:28,740 --> 00:19:31,334
The sandhill
milkweed... blooms every
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00:19:31,346 --> 00:19:34,501
spring... in the sandy
meadows... of Florida.
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It times its flowering...
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00:19:37,840 --> 00:19:40,540
perfectly to match the
arrival... of monarch butterflies...
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00:19:40,790 --> 00:19:42,060
migrating here from Mexico.
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00:19:44,960 --> 00:19:47,500
The monarchs... search
out milkweed plants...
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00:19:47,512 --> 00:19:49,620
but they have
something other than...
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pollination on their minds.
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Rather than collect pollen...
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00:19:54,360 --> 00:19:57,300
this female lays her
eggs... on the milkweed leaf.
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00:20:02,170 --> 00:20:05,550
This is the only plant...
the caterpillars can eat.
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00:20:11,190 --> 00:20:16,880
But the milkweed... has
a defence mechanism.
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00:20:22,140 --> 00:20:27,660
As the caterpillar bites... into a
vein... a kind of latex... swells out...
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engulfing it.
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00:20:33,630 --> 00:20:37,190
If the caterpillar... isn't
quick... it will drown.
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00:20:38,750 --> 00:20:41,971
Or find its jaws...
glued together.
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00:20:44,170 --> 00:20:45,330
But the caterpillars... don't.
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00:20:45,331 --> 00:20:49,010
The plant's defence... is so
effective... that only one third...
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00:20:49,011 --> 00:20:51,490
of the monarch caterpillars...
make it through the first day.
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00:20:53,970 --> 00:20:59,230
But the caterpillars... that
survive... grow in size and strength.
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00:21:07,880 --> 00:21:09,140
And they go...
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00:21:09,240 --> 00:21:10,240
for the jugular.
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00:21:11,380 --> 00:21:14,480
By carefully chewing...
through the main vein...
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00:21:14,481 --> 00:21:19,540
the caterpillar drains the leaf
of latex... and cuts off its supply.
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00:21:20,860 --> 00:21:23,561
The milkweed's leaf...
is now defenceless.
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00:21:23,770 --> 00:21:27,960
And the caterpillar... eats in
safety... before preparing to pupate...
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00:21:27,961 --> 00:21:29,140
into a butterfly.
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00:21:35,740 --> 00:21:41,040
But after about ten days... it becomes
clear... why the plant has endured...
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00:21:41,041 --> 00:21:42,041
this onslaught.
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00:21:44,420 --> 00:21:48,900
A newly hatched monarch... simply
can't resist... the nectar-filled cups...
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00:21:48,901 --> 00:21:49,901
of the milkweed flowers.
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00:21:51,440 --> 00:21:55,720
As it moves... across the
flower heads... its feet slide...
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00:21:55,721 --> 00:22:00,701
between grooves in the petals... where
the flower's pollen sacs... are waiting.
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00:22:02,680 --> 00:22:04,100
As it flies off...
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00:22:04,420 --> 00:22:08,280
the monarch's feet... hook out the
pollen... and carry it to the next flower.
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00:22:08,660 --> 00:22:10,840
And pollination is achieved.
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00:22:12,785 --> 00:22:18,080
Although the milkweed... has paid a heavy
price... in the end it used the monarch...
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00:22:18,081 --> 00:22:19,081
to get its way.
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00:22:23,790 --> 00:22:25,000
Here in Dominica...
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00:22:25,100 --> 00:22:27,763
there's a plant... that
is so manipulative...
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00:22:27,775 --> 00:22:30,101
that it has enslaved...
its pollinator.
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00:22:32,035 --> 00:22:34,201
The bright red structures...
of the Heliconia...
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00:22:34,380 --> 00:22:35,920
are actually modified leaves.
217
00:22:40,330 --> 00:22:40,990
These...
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00:22:41,090 --> 00:22:42,090
are its flowers.
219
00:22:43,200 --> 00:22:44,270
They may be small...
220
00:22:44,445 --> 00:22:46,570
but they play a very important role...
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00:22:46,695 --> 00:22:49,990
keeping nectar well guarded... at
the very bottom of their long stems.
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00:22:50,340 --> 00:22:55,710
The purple-throated... Carib hummingbird...
with its long, curved beak...
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00:22:55,885 --> 00:22:59,510
is the only bird capable of
reaching... this energy-rich food.
224
00:23:01,540 --> 00:23:02,250
But cleverly...
225
00:23:02,550 --> 00:23:05,790
the Heliconia rations... the
amount of nectar it produces...
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00:23:05,791 --> 00:23:07,690
to force the hummingbird...
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00:23:07,840 --> 00:23:10,810
into returning to the
flower... time and time again.
228
00:23:16,750 --> 00:23:20,940
Every time it makes a visit... it picks up
more pollen... on its beak and feathers.
229
00:23:27,580 --> 00:23:29,540
The hummingbird...
is like an addict.
230
00:23:29,860 --> 00:23:33,640
Not only does it never stray...
but it will aggressively defend...
231
00:23:33,641 --> 00:23:34,780
the flowers from thieves.
232
00:23:36,660 --> 00:23:40,240
The plant... is the
master... in this relationship.
233
00:23:42,560 --> 00:23:44,940
To ensure... it
gets pollinated...
234
00:23:45,090 --> 00:23:47,981
Heliconia has made the
hummingbird... its prisoner.
235
00:23:55,970 --> 00:23:59,590
The plant's problems don't
end... once it's been pollinated.
236
00:24:01,770 --> 00:24:05,590
Plants need... to spread their
seeds... as far away as possible...
237
00:24:05,615 --> 00:24:09,531
otherwise the adults... will be in
direct competition... with their offspring.
238
00:24:11,990 --> 00:24:15,770
Here in South Africa...
one flower achieves this...
239
00:24:16,020 --> 00:24:17,890
by performing a remarkable trick.
240
00:24:24,730 --> 00:24:29,450
The plant waits... dormant
underground... for more than a year.
241
00:24:31,550 --> 00:24:35,530
The first heavy rains... for
many months... are the trigger...
242
00:24:35,531 --> 00:24:36,830
the plant has been waiting for.
243
00:24:51,850 --> 00:24:54,790
Bronze vigia...
burst into flower.
244
00:25:02,700 --> 00:25:04,800
Their timing is perfect.
245
00:25:05,300 --> 00:25:08,580
These conditions...
are ideal for insects too.
246
00:25:11,220 --> 00:25:15,981
The flowers enjoy... a few
days of frenzied... pollination.
247
00:25:26,980 --> 00:25:30,980
But it's not long... before
the searing heat... returns.
248
00:25:31,500 --> 00:25:35,640
The flowers start to
wilt... shrivel... and die.
249
00:25:40,940 --> 00:25:44,980
Bronze vigia now needs...
to disperse its seeds widely.
250
00:25:45,320 --> 00:25:48,060
Yet the flowers still have...
their seeds trapped inside.
251
00:25:51,000 --> 00:25:53,620
But the flower...
isn't finished yet.
252
00:25:56,440 --> 00:25:59,800
There are strong winds...
that blow across this landscape.
253
00:26:00,160 --> 00:26:04,640
They snap the dry dead stalks...
sending each and every plant...
254
00:26:04,641 --> 00:26:08,160
cartwheeling across the
ground... casting seeds as it goes.
255
00:26:35,430 --> 00:26:40,030
With the heat... threatening to dry
them out... the seed's germination...
256
00:26:40,031 --> 00:26:41,230
has to be immediate.
257
00:27:01,960 --> 00:27:06,680
Deep in the forests of Borneo...
some plants also use the wind...
258
00:27:06,681 --> 00:27:06,940
to disperse their seeds.
259
00:27:06,941 --> 00:27:12,761
But in a completely different
way... by giving their seeds... wings.
260
00:27:16,360 --> 00:27:20,960
Some are helicopters... that twist
and turn... their way down to the ground.
261
00:27:33,560 --> 00:27:36,580
But there is one...
that has a design...
262
00:27:36,581 --> 00:27:40,021
that enables it to travel greater
distances... than all the others.
263
00:27:43,320 --> 00:27:45,540
This is Alsomitra.
264
00:27:45,720 --> 00:27:47,000
Its football size...
265
00:27:47,140 --> 00:27:51,180
pod is packed... full of
hundreds... of extraordinary seeds.
266
00:27:54,160 --> 00:27:59,500
Each is an almost... aerodynamically
perfect glider... that can be supported...
267
00:27:59,501 --> 00:28:00,920
by even the slightest breeze.
268
00:28:06,080 --> 00:28:10,520
Its paper-thin... upswept wings...
allow it to travel... hundreds of meters...
269
00:28:10,521 --> 00:28:11,521
through the forest.
270
00:28:33,250 --> 00:28:38,170
Once the seed hits the
ground... the wings rot away...
271
00:28:39,270 --> 00:28:40,270
and starts to germinate.
272
00:28:51,750 --> 00:28:58,400
A new Alsomitra vine... starts to
grow up... towards the canopy...
273
00:28:58,401 --> 00:29:01,800
and into the light... well
away from its parent.
274
00:29:06,040 --> 00:29:09,040
There are other ways...
to disperse seeds...
275
00:29:09,940 --> 00:29:13,480
and plants have evolved... different
tactics... depending on where they live.
276
00:29:14,780 --> 00:29:18,700
In the desert of
Arizona... lives a master...
277
00:29:23,560 --> 00:29:24,360
called a cactus.
278
00:29:24,410 --> 00:29:25,540
In the cool of the night...
279
00:29:25,765 --> 00:29:27,820
the cacti open...
their radiant flowers.
280
00:29:39,430 --> 00:29:40,600
They are soon visited...
281
00:29:40,825 --> 00:29:42,200
by nectar-feeding bats.
282
00:29:43,580 --> 00:29:46,240
And as the bats move...
from cactus to cactus...
283
00:29:47,190 --> 00:29:48,190
they pollinate them.
284
00:30:07,320 --> 00:30:10,060
Each flower...
only lasts a night.
285
00:30:11,620 --> 00:30:15,840
But over three weeks... each cactus
will produce... more than 200 flowers.
286
00:30:23,970 --> 00:30:28,280
Every pollinated flower... immediately
begins... to form a fruit at its base...
287
00:30:28,281 --> 00:30:30,180
packed with thousands of seeds.
288
00:30:45,030 --> 00:30:47,910
The mature saguaro cacti...
289
00:30:48,160 --> 00:30:51,770
are superbly adapted... to
survive out in the intense heat...
290
00:30:52,070 --> 00:30:53,210
of the Sonoran desert.
291
00:30:55,270 --> 00:30:56,510
But their seeds are delicate...
292
00:30:56,930 --> 00:31:01,051
and must find shade... or they will
scorch to death... before they germinate.
293
00:31:02,070 --> 00:31:04,650
The seeds are covered...
with succulent sweet flesh...
294
00:31:04,651 --> 00:31:08,270
a meal that all sorts of desert
creatures... find irresistible.
295
00:31:13,480 --> 00:31:16,940
White-winged doves... are among
the first... to reach the ripening fruit.
296
00:31:18,980 --> 00:31:21,440
The seeds survive...
in the birds' stomachs...
297
00:31:21,965 --> 00:31:26,300
and will be carried many miles... before
being deposited... in their droppings...
298
00:31:26,301 --> 00:31:28,760
their own little packet of fertiliser.
299
00:31:31,575 --> 00:31:34,320
But the cactus...
doesn't just rely on birds.
300
00:31:35,600 --> 00:31:39,260
Fallen fruit... provides a bonanza...
for creatures on the ground.
301
00:31:43,240 --> 00:31:46,761
Foraging ants... quickly
gather seeds... and flesh.
302
00:31:47,700 --> 00:31:49,080
That's if a tortoise...
303
00:31:49,205 --> 00:31:50,205
doesn't get there first.
304
00:31:52,790 --> 00:31:56,440
The greater range of animals...
the cactus can get to eat its fruit...
305
00:31:56,441 --> 00:31:59,800
the more likely the seeds within...
will be carried to the perfect place...
306
00:31:59,801 --> 00:32:00,801
to germinate.
307
00:32:01,600 --> 00:32:06,860
The ants carry the seeds... underground
into their nests... often excavated...
308
00:32:06,861 --> 00:32:08,060
among the roots of trees.
309
00:32:11,800 --> 00:32:14,361
The tortoise too...
will head for shade.
310
00:32:14,500 --> 00:32:17,600
It spends much of its day...
cooling off under trees...
311
00:32:17,800 --> 00:32:20,900
where it's sure to leave...
undigested seeds in its dung.
312
00:32:26,230 --> 00:32:28,030
Now the seeds wait...
313
00:32:28,770 --> 00:32:29,770
for the rains to come.
314
00:32:42,170 --> 00:32:47,070
Of the 14 million or so seeds...
a cactus produces in its lifetime...
315
00:32:47,071 --> 00:32:50,610
the chances are that only
one... will develop into a plant...
316
00:32:50,860 --> 00:32:51,990
that outlives its parent.
317
00:32:54,290 --> 00:32:56,450
If it was lucky
enough... to find shade...
318
00:32:56,800 --> 00:33:01,190
a seed will still take 10 years...
to become a 5cm tall cactus.
319
00:33:04,850 --> 00:33:06,490
To reach the size of its parents...
320
00:33:07,270 --> 00:33:09,730
10 meters... will take
at least 100 years.
321
00:33:15,340 --> 00:33:17,479
Plants can
survive... in the most
322
00:33:17,491 --> 00:33:20,400
unlikely... and inhospitable
places on earth.
323
00:33:21,780 --> 00:33:24,466
Here on Socotra...
a remote island... in
324
00:33:24,478 --> 00:33:27,440
the Arabian Sea...
the dry season is brutal.
325
00:33:29,280 --> 00:33:34,100
But this... strange tree...
has a strategy to survive it.
326
00:33:38,900 --> 00:33:41,020
The dragon's blood tree.
327
00:33:45,930 --> 00:33:47,270
The key...
328
00:33:47,420 --> 00:33:48,420
to their success...
329
00:33:48,650 --> 00:33:50,270
lies in their bizarre shape.
330
00:33:51,130 --> 00:33:54,490
They live on the mountain
tops... where there's little soil...
331
00:33:54,765 --> 00:33:56,831
but there are critical...
compensations.
332
00:34:01,270 --> 00:34:03,150
Occasional morning mists...
333
00:34:03,350 --> 00:34:04,810
sweep across the high ground.
334
00:34:12,820 --> 00:34:17,901
The mist... condenses on the
skyward pointing... waxy leaves.
335
00:34:23,160 --> 00:34:28,740
The droplets... run down to the center...
of the trunk... and down to its roots.
336
00:34:33,960 --> 00:34:36,220
Water is so precious...
337
00:34:36,320 --> 00:34:37,320
that the tree...
338
00:34:37,420 --> 00:34:39,060
cannot afford to waste any.
339
00:34:43,825 --> 00:34:46,440
Drops that do escape...
and fall to the ground...
340
00:34:46,890 --> 00:34:48,040
are not totally lost.
341
00:34:53,350 --> 00:34:57,110
The tree's huge...
densely packed crown...
342
00:34:57,410 --> 00:34:58,910
acts as a parasol.
343
00:35:00,830 --> 00:35:05,650
It shades the ground... so effectively...
it allows time for the water...
344
00:35:05,850 --> 00:35:06,970
to seep into the sand.
345
00:35:11,920 --> 00:35:16,760
And it also shades... the network of
roots... that lie just under the surface.
346
00:35:19,760 --> 00:35:22,840
Another plant... shares
this parched desert...
347
00:35:23,460 --> 00:35:25,340
and survives... in
a very different way.
348
00:35:28,540 --> 00:35:29,930
The desert rose.
349
00:35:32,090 --> 00:35:34,050
In really harsh conditions...
350
00:35:34,150 --> 00:35:35,870
it jettisons its leaves...
351
00:35:35,970 --> 00:35:37,310
to minimize water loss.
352
00:35:39,670 --> 00:35:40,350
Strangely...
353
00:35:40,550 --> 00:35:43,051
it chooses this
time... to flower.
354
00:35:44,440 --> 00:35:46,690
Its bulbous trunk...
is like a barrel...
355
00:35:46,840 --> 00:35:48,550
that stores water all year round.
356
00:35:53,815 --> 00:35:54,670
It's so hardy...
357
00:35:54,820 --> 00:35:56,370
it can grow out of bare rock.
358
00:36:01,510 --> 00:36:05,891
It might seem... that conditions can't get
much tougher... for the plant... than here.
359
00:36:09,500 --> 00:36:10,500
But for some...
360
00:36:10,805 --> 00:36:12,200
the conditions are even harsher.
361
00:36:16,870 --> 00:36:22,210
Six hours ago... here on the coast of
Australia... this tree was high and dry...
362
00:36:22,211 --> 00:36:23,211
on a sandy beach.
363
00:36:24,410 --> 00:36:27,750
For almost all plants...
salt water is lethal.
364
00:36:28,050 --> 00:36:32,860
So submersion of this tree's roots...
by the tide twice a day... should kill it.
365
00:36:40,600 --> 00:36:44,141
Yet this red
mangrove... is flourishing.
366
00:36:50,580 --> 00:36:55,260
The retreating tide... reveals the
key... to surviving the sea's assault.
367
00:36:57,940 --> 00:37:01,800
The mangrove's roots... are
covered... in warty growths.
368
00:37:03,300 --> 00:37:07,860
The growths... surround pores...
that take in oxygen from the air...
369
00:37:08,035 --> 00:37:09,680
when the roots are above water.
370
00:37:14,700 --> 00:37:18,100
But the pores... become
useful... in a quite different way...
371
00:37:18,101 --> 00:37:19,560
when they're submerged again.
372
00:37:25,540 --> 00:37:28,221
They allow water...
into the plant...
373
00:37:28,545 --> 00:37:32,121
but filter out 99% of the
salt... as it passes through.
374
00:37:36,320 --> 00:37:41,140
Any salt that gets in... is pumped
into a few... sacrificial leaves...
375
00:37:41,315 --> 00:37:43,330
that turn yellow...
and are discarded.
376
00:37:51,030 --> 00:37:52,830
Plants can not only cope...
377
00:37:53,310 --> 00:37:55,910
with being poisoned...
parched and scorched...
378
00:37:56,360 --> 00:37:58,831
but they can also
survive... being frozen.
379
00:37:59,920 --> 00:38:04,130
In the world's northern forests...
the changing of the seasons...
380
00:38:04,131 --> 00:38:05,750
creates its own challenges.
381
00:38:18,660 --> 00:38:22,460
As summer moves to autumn...
plants prepare themselves...
382
00:38:22,461 --> 00:38:24,380
for the toughest time of their year.
383
00:38:28,020 --> 00:38:29,360
Broadleaf trees...
384
00:38:30,920 --> 00:38:32,360
a colourful spectacle.
385
00:38:33,360 --> 00:38:37,860
But for these plants... it's the
beginning... of a series of urgent...
386
00:38:37,861 --> 00:38:39,960
and drastic survival strategies...
387
00:38:40,060 --> 00:38:41,960
to cope with the coming cold.
388
00:38:43,200 --> 00:38:47,740
They begin... by pulling all the water
and nutrients... within their leaves...
389
00:38:47,990 --> 00:38:49,200
back into the trunk.
390
00:38:51,930 --> 00:38:55,920
The last rays... of useful sunlight...
are channelled into making...
391
00:38:55,921 --> 00:38:59,920
a sugary antifreeze... that will
protect... the body of the tree.
392
00:39:03,230 --> 00:39:06,590
The green pigment...
chlorophyll disappears...
393
00:39:06,690 --> 00:39:09,991
leaving purples, reds,
oranges... and yellows.
394
00:39:11,830 --> 00:39:13,690
Finally, the leaves die...
395
00:39:14,090 --> 00:39:15,510
and the trees discard them.
396
00:39:23,840 --> 00:39:25,640
As temperatures drop...
397
00:39:25,890 --> 00:39:27,100
below freezing...
398
00:39:27,350 --> 00:39:30,560
the plants of broadleaf forests...
settle down to hibernate...
399
00:39:30,660 --> 00:39:31,660
until spring.
400
00:39:46,170 --> 00:39:49,390
Pine trees... can survive...
much colder conditions.
401
00:39:51,970 --> 00:39:56,490
They have antifreeze... in the leaves
themselves... that means that they can...
402
00:39:56,491 --> 00:39:57,570
keep them all winter.
403
00:40:00,010 --> 00:40:03,670
The needle-like leaves... also
have a thick waxy coating...
404
00:40:03,695 --> 00:40:06,211
that limits any water
loss... through pores.
405
00:40:08,270 --> 00:40:09,690
The winters here...
406
00:40:09,940 --> 00:40:11,110
are long and hard.
407
00:40:13,310 --> 00:40:18,270
The trees have to survive... temperatures
of down to... minus 40 centigrade...
408
00:40:18,271 --> 00:40:19,530
for five months.
409
00:41:06,840 --> 00:41:13,020
But one pine tree... is capable of
surviving... even harsher conditions.
410
00:41:17,020 --> 00:41:20,540
These pines... live
at the limit of life...
411
00:41:20,790 --> 00:41:24,260
above 3,000 meters... in the
mountains of Western America.
412
00:41:26,460 --> 00:41:29,460
Almost continuous...
freezing temperatures...
413
00:41:29,610 --> 00:41:31,220
and savage winds...
414
00:41:31,445 --> 00:41:32,780
make life so tough...
415
00:41:33,005 --> 00:41:34,480
that these bristle cones...
416
00:41:34,680 --> 00:41:35,980
only manage to grow...
417
00:41:36,230 --> 00:41:37,660
for six weeks of the year.
418
00:41:40,460 --> 00:41:42,900
Everything is about...
conserving energy.
419
00:41:44,410 --> 00:41:46,440
They hardly ever...
shed their needles...
420
00:41:46,665 --> 00:41:48,560
which can last more than 30 years.
421
00:41:51,080 --> 00:41:55,160
After centuries... of being blasted
by storms... a full-grown tree...
422
00:41:55,161 --> 00:41:58,740
still survives... with only a
strip of bark... a few inches wide.
423
00:42:04,310 --> 00:42:07,430
These trees live life...
at such a slow pace...
424
00:42:07,755 --> 00:42:09,390
that they can reach great age.
425
00:42:09,710 --> 00:42:12,250
Some are over 5,000 years old.
426
00:42:16,350 --> 00:42:18,310
It's been said of the bristle cones...
427
00:42:18,535 --> 00:42:22,370
that to live here... is to
take a very long time to die.
428
00:42:30,700 --> 00:42:34,520
As the northern spring approaches...
the warming temperatures...
429
00:42:34,521 --> 00:42:37,940
and increased day length...
release the land from winter.
430
00:42:44,010 --> 00:42:47,330
Plants that have... lay in
dormant... begin to grow again.
431
00:42:54,800 --> 00:42:59,960
These have overwintered... buried in the
mud at the bottom... of this frozen lake.
432
00:43:09,740 --> 00:43:12,940
The retreating ice...
allows the water to warm...
433
00:43:13,090 --> 00:43:16,920
and this white water lily... to
flourish... for another season.
434
00:43:33,690 --> 00:43:37,210
And as all the trees...
come out of their winter rest...
435
00:43:37,211 --> 00:43:40,610
the vivid green of new
leaves... returns to the land.
436
00:44:02,240 --> 00:44:07,820
From the frozen north... to the southern
deserts... the spring bloom symbolizes...
437
00:44:07,821 --> 00:44:09,460
the success of plants...
438
00:44:09,735 --> 00:44:11,880
in surviving against the odds.
439
00:44:38,120 --> 00:44:41,020
But the most successful
type... of flowering plant...
440
00:44:41,395 --> 00:44:43,360
is one that makes up 20%...
441
00:44:43,880 --> 00:44:45,620
of all plant life on the planet.
442
00:44:47,940 --> 00:44:48,940
Grass.
443
00:44:50,680 --> 00:44:53,681
There are 10,000...
different species.
444
00:44:59,880 --> 00:45:03,900
Today they form the diet... of
many thousands of different animals.
445
00:45:08,290 --> 00:45:12,850
And a few grasses...
particularly rich in nutrients...
446
00:45:12,851 --> 00:45:16,450
have developed a
relationship... with one animal...
447
00:45:16,900 --> 00:45:18,370
and together the two...
448
00:45:30,460 --> 00:45:35,140
Ten thousand years ago... we
humans started to cultivate rice...
449
00:45:35,490 --> 00:45:37,900
in order to harvest...
its food-rich seeds.
450
00:45:44,980 --> 00:45:49,420
Now half of the world's
population... depends on it.
451
00:45:58,900 --> 00:46:00,650
But there is one other grass...
452
00:46:00,875 --> 00:46:03,510
that has spread even
further... across the planet...
453
00:46:03,860 --> 00:46:05,830
due to its relationship with humans.
454
00:46:07,610 --> 00:46:08,610
Wheat.
455
00:46:13,500 --> 00:46:15,640
It underpinned the development...
456
00:46:15,890 --> 00:46:17,080
of western civilization.
457
00:46:26,800 --> 00:46:31,200
Today it covers more of the
land... than any other kind of plant.
458
00:46:39,260 --> 00:46:43,480
Plants have been residents
on land... longer than animals...
459
00:46:43,481 --> 00:46:46,941
and have had nearly half
a billion years... to evolve.
460
00:46:50,180 --> 00:46:54,020
During that time they've
diversified... into countless forms...
461
00:46:54,021 --> 00:46:56,160
and have colonized every habitat.
462
00:47:05,660 --> 00:47:08,540
This is the first time... As well
as collaborating with animals...
463
00:47:08,541 --> 00:47:13,380
plants are sometimes their masters...
exploiting them to their own advantage.
464
00:47:25,900 --> 00:47:31,000
Plants capture energy from
the sun... and all life on land...
465
00:47:31,001 --> 00:47:33,881
directly or indirectly...
depends on them.
466
00:47:34,180 --> 00:47:40,440
So ultimately... plants fuel
the diversity... of life on earth.
467
00:47:50,620 --> 00:47:54,540
To see the behaviour of plants...
as they struggle to survive...
468
00:47:54,541 --> 00:47:56,520
presented a unique challenge.
469
00:48:02,960 --> 00:48:08,080
The plants team... had to employ
many techniques... including time-lapse...
470
00:48:08,081 --> 00:48:09,420
and high-speed photography.
471
00:48:14,240 --> 00:48:18,180
They filmed in jungles...
deserts, swamps and plains...
472
00:48:18,181 --> 00:48:21,800
but they also spent many hours...
shooting in a converted barn...
473
00:48:21,801 --> 00:48:23,280
just outside Exeter.
474
00:48:23,480 --> 00:48:24,680
Plants are the only animals...
475
00:48:35,510 --> 00:48:39,450
that can survive... under the watchful
eye... of green-fingered cameraman...
476
00:48:39,451 --> 00:48:40,451
Tim Sheppard.
477
00:48:44,550 --> 00:48:48,630
Filming plants in time-lapse...
takes so long and is so susceptible...
478
00:48:48,631 --> 00:48:53,170
to changes in light levels... and weather
conditions... that some key sequences...
479
00:48:53,370 --> 00:48:54,910
had to be filmed in this studio.
480
00:49:01,530 --> 00:49:02,880
In time-lapse...
481
00:49:03,005 --> 00:49:07,300
a camera takes a series of pictures...
over an extended period of time...
482
00:49:07,560 --> 00:49:10,660
so when played back... the
action appears speeded up.
483
00:49:12,060 --> 00:49:17,180
These sunflowers actually take... three
days to open... but are seen opening...
484
00:49:17,181 --> 00:49:18,181
in a matter of seconds.
485
00:49:23,980 --> 00:49:27,120
The most complex time-lapse...
the team attempted...
486
00:49:27,121 --> 00:49:32,540
showed an entire growing season... in an
English woodland... in one continuous shot.
487
00:49:32,740 --> 00:49:35,560
A shot that took two years to create.
488
00:49:47,370 --> 00:49:52,420
As the producer... Neil Lucas... leads Tim
and Mick Conair... the graphic designer...
489
00:49:52,421 --> 00:49:55,040
out to the location...
he explains his idea.
490
00:49:55,490 --> 00:49:56,930
Well this is the one that I thought.
491
00:49:58,120 --> 00:49:58,920
That's a lovely rock.
492
00:49:59,100 --> 00:49:59,700
Which is just here.
493
00:49:59,920 --> 00:50:02,820
I think that would be great... to
have the brambles growing a lot.
494
00:50:03,200 --> 00:50:06,940
It will be a tracking shot... through
the wood... with plants growing...
495
00:50:06,941 --> 00:50:08,140
flowers blooming...
496
00:50:08,415 --> 00:50:11,220
and the woodland coming to
life... over the course of a year.
497
00:50:12,600 --> 00:50:15,221
We're condensing that one
year... down into less than a minute.
498
00:50:15,340 --> 00:50:17,636
We're going to have to have them
all... coming out at the same time.
499
00:50:17,660 --> 00:50:19,660
And that's going to be...
multiple passes isn't it?
500
00:50:19,890 --> 00:50:21,960
How long does a foxglove take to grow?
501
00:50:22,630 --> 00:50:23,750
Well if we start with the...
502
00:50:24,140 --> 00:50:25,700
just before the buds are about to open.
503
00:50:25,910 --> 00:50:28,280
You've got the whole long
spike... from top to bottom.
504
00:50:28,560 --> 00:50:29,920
That's probably about three weeks.
505
00:50:30,180 --> 00:50:33,080
So even if you wanted to... you
couldn't shoot the plants actually here.
506
00:50:33,380 --> 00:50:35,961
Because I mean three weeks...
the weather's going to change.
507
00:50:36,470 --> 00:50:39,510
You've got the day-night... and also
just leaving the equipment here running.
508
00:50:39,900 --> 00:50:41,540
It's not feasible is it?
509
00:50:41,740 --> 00:50:44,280
You just have to imagine the changes that
would happen...
510
00:50:44,655 --> 00:50:45,655
here in three weeks.
511
00:50:45,945 --> 00:50:47,120
And if that was...
512
00:50:47,220 --> 00:50:48,220
all joined together.
513
00:50:49,140 --> 00:50:51,360
And one frame the plant might be there.
514
00:50:51,420 --> 00:50:53,020
And you take a shot of it an hour later.
515
00:50:53,100 --> 00:50:54,716
And if the wind's blowing it's over here
somewhere.
516
00:50:54,740 --> 00:50:56,420
And then you join those two shots
together.
517
00:50:57,080 --> 00:51:01,180
So what we've got to do is... not
only have we got to produce a move...
518
00:51:01,181 --> 00:51:02,320
that is exactly the same.
519
00:51:02,800 --> 00:51:03,800
A repeatable move.
520
00:51:04,140 --> 00:51:06,680
A track that can be built exactly the same
again...
521
00:51:06,780 --> 00:51:07,780
in a studio.
522
00:51:08,395 --> 00:51:10,880
Build exact models of every object in
here.
523
00:51:10,960 --> 00:51:12,680
So we can put plants in the right places.
524
00:51:13,170 --> 00:51:15,000
And then time everything so they grow...
525
00:51:15,001 --> 00:51:16,961
just as the camera happens to be pointing
at them.
526
00:51:17,120 --> 00:51:17,240
Yes.
527
00:51:17,610 --> 00:51:20,400
The scale of the challenge is dawning on
them.
528
00:51:20,840 --> 00:51:22,460
Months of planning lie ahead.
529
00:51:22,860 --> 00:51:23,440
Oh wow.
530
00:51:23,640 --> 00:51:24,640
Big black slug.
531
00:51:26,180 --> 00:51:28,920
The following spring the team head back to
the wood.
532
00:51:29,100 --> 00:51:32,640
With no road access, manpower is the only
way...
533
00:51:32,641 --> 00:51:34,620
to get the tons of equipment into
position.
534
00:51:42,540 --> 00:51:44,620
Everyone's wondering how this will turn
out.
535
00:51:45,120 --> 00:51:46,140
Including the locals.
536
00:51:53,320 --> 00:51:54,960
Then sick.
537
00:51:56,330 --> 00:51:56,590
Just in case that guy gets in my garden.
538
00:51:56,591 --> 00:51:57,591
It's got a nice edge.
539
00:51:58,110 --> 00:52:06,110
Straight... Something like this.
540
00:52:12,050 --> 00:52:13,690
I don't know.
541
00:52:31,340 --> 00:52:32,300
No... No.
542
00:52:32,301 --> 00:52:34,320
It's pulled this wheel round.
543
00:52:37,800 --> 00:52:39,320
Two days of building...
544
00:52:39,321 --> 00:52:42,560
Testing, levelling, test runs,
and even a few minor disasters.
545
00:52:43,190 --> 00:52:45,700
And finally, the track is ready to run.
546
00:52:47,095 --> 00:52:49,480
OK, that's pretty close.
547
00:52:49,580 --> 00:52:52,640
If you move your... Can
you see that little bit of lichen?
548
00:52:52,660 --> 00:52:54,980
Go to 8,900.
549
00:52:58,620 --> 00:53:00,120
Accuracy is paramount.
550
00:53:01,795 --> 00:53:03,945
Yeah, I mean, whatever
we shoot in the studio,
551
00:53:03,946 --> 00:53:05,720
it's got to match this
landscape exactly.
552
00:53:05,780 --> 00:53:09,780
So unless we know precisely where
everything is relative to the camera,
553
00:53:10,175 --> 00:53:12,936
there's no way of placing the plants in
the studio in the right place.
554
00:53:13,905 --> 00:53:15,800
So we have to measure the hell out of it.
555
00:53:16,500 --> 00:53:18,420
Oh, bloody hell, it's spot on.
556
00:53:18,460 --> 00:53:19,460
Look at that.
557
00:53:20,080 --> 00:53:21,080
So, 250.
558
00:53:30,270 --> 00:53:36,601
Shot by shot and step by step, the camera
inches its way back up the 30-metre track.
559
00:53:36,840 --> 00:53:37,840
Well, that's working.
560
00:53:41,670 --> 00:53:43,820
This is only the background shot.
561
00:53:44,390 --> 00:53:46,840
There is still a huge amount of other
filming to be done.
562
00:53:50,840 --> 00:53:55,040
The track has to be rebuilt exactly as it
is on location back in the studio,
563
00:53:55,320 --> 00:53:57,860
a task that would take weeks to get right.
564
00:53:59,240 --> 00:54:00,240
Right
565
00:54:16,460 --> 00:54:18,180
in front of the tree at the end of the
rock.
566
00:54:21,630 --> 00:54:26,650
Using the detailed measurements taken in
the wood, the position, size and shape of
567
00:54:26,651 --> 00:54:29,090
every structure has to be matched
precisely.
568
00:54:33,490 --> 00:54:34,050
30.
569
00:54:34,330 --> 00:54:35,630
30 minus 30.
570
00:54:35,710 --> 00:54:36,710
25, yeah.
571
00:54:39,310 --> 00:54:43,150
The slightest discrepancy will put the
team back to square one.
572
00:54:45,910 --> 00:54:49,670
Chiquinoire and polystyrene form the rocks
and trees of the woodland.
573
00:54:51,210 --> 00:54:54,859
Blue screen is used to
cover every inch of the set to
574
00:54:54,860 --> 00:54:58,410
allow the original shot to be
mapped on later in graphics.
575
00:54:59,990 --> 00:55:05,050
Once built and with the plants placed in
their exact locations, filming can start.
576
00:55:06,290 --> 00:55:09,330
The stars of the show finally make an
appearance.
577
00:55:10,250 --> 00:55:11,250
Everything.
578
00:55:30,950 --> 00:55:33,789
With each plant taking
up to three weeks to flower,
579
00:55:33,790 --> 00:55:36,271
there's only one
chance of getting it right.
580
00:56:00,580 --> 00:56:05,060
A year later, and thankfully, so far,
all had gone to plan.
581
00:56:12,860 --> 00:56:15,894
The final stage is to bring
all the pieces together
582
00:56:15,895 --> 00:56:19,280
seamlessly, a challenging
task for any graphic designer.
583
00:56:20,240 --> 00:56:24,420
We've got things overlapping that wouldn't
necessarily grow at the same time,
584
00:56:24,520 --> 00:56:27,160
but all the growth of each individual
plant is absolutely accurate.
585
00:56:27,375 --> 00:56:28,320
It's exactly what they would do.
586
00:56:28,380 --> 00:56:30,200
We've just seen it in a short space of
time.
587
00:56:30,840 --> 00:56:34,820
That big rock in the foreground at the end
of the shot that we wanted to try and get
588
00:56:34,821 --> 00:56:37,580
stuff climbing along, well, that's worked
really, really well.
589
00:56:39,125 --> 00:56:41,440
This is the bramble pass here.
590
00:56:41,500 --> 00:56:44,560
We had to measure it so carefully so we
knew exactly where these things were,
591
00:56:45,140 --> 00:56:47,340
how round they were, how deep they were
from the camera.
592
00:56:47,945 --> 00:56:50,831
And then when we take
the blue out of that, you
593
00:56:50,832 --> 00:56:53,040
can see that the plants
start to sit in there.
594
00:56:53,060 --> 00:56:55,026
So we just slotted them into the shot
exactly where we wanted them to be,
595
00:56:55,050 --> 00:56:58,300
things disappearing from behind the tree,
crawling on the top of the rock.
596
00:56:58,480 --> 00:56:59,480
That's fantastic.
597
00:56:59,560 --> 00:57:00,400
So here they go.
598
00:57:00,480 --> 00:57:03,900
And if I switch those off, you can see
just how neatly they slot into the shot.
599
00:57:04,640 --> 00:57:10,680
If we play it, you can see that
everything's sticking in pretty well.
600
00:57:14,040 --> 00:57:20,100
96 layers, 15 tracks, and two years later,
the shot is finally complete.
601
00:57:24,340 --> 00:57:27,992
A 60-second shot that
proved to be one of the most
602
00:57:27,993 --> 00:57:31,221
complex ever attempted in
natural history filmmaking.
50946
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