A Recap of ‘The Making of Eden: Untamed Planet’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the ‘The Making of Eden: Untamed Planet’.
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Something that we often forget when we are watching a nature documentary, is that it takes a village to bring an educational tale to life, and it is understandable as to why we just so happen to lose sight of that. Largely because, the visuals that the people that assemble these documentaries, capture… are nothing short of breathtaking and once we immerse ourselves within their beauty and hear what the narrator has to offer about this part of our world, that’s it. We’re lost to the moment and cognizant of nothing more. But it is important to take a moment and recognize the work that goes into creating these beautiful shows and thankfully, BBC America is aware of that, as evidenced by the wondrous special that aired last night.
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For it turns out that Eden: Untamed Planet had one more episode waiting in the wings, specifically… one that explored how this series came to life and well, what we learned about the assembly of this series in ‘The Making of Eden: Untamed Planet’ was fascinating and inspiring to say the least. Because this documentary wasted little time in informing us that the crews that traveled to the six remote locations that this documentary chronicled, were not only passionate about the job and what it in entails, but they were also incredibly patient. Because they had to spend months and sometimes a year away from their families, nestled in some of the harshest environments known to man in order to get the shots they needed, and in addition to great patience, their plight also took bravery and guts and a dedication that few of us will ever understand.

Because these fine folks were tested like never before. Because the elements made their quest to capture those incredible images quite difficult at times. But that didn’t stop them in the slightest. Because they pushed ahead and found a way to get their vehicles unstuck or themselves for that matter as well when nature decided to stand them pat, in order to get the shot, and the tests they endured didn’t end there. For this brave crew also got to see some of the devastation of climate change firsthand, which is something that had to be incredibly difficult, and they also found themselves in danger at times. For animals can of course be unpredictable and will charge or attack if they feel threatened. But none of these issues deterred this crew in the slightest because they were beyond dedicated to assembling this documentary.

Of course, they accomplished their mission, as evidenced by the incredible six-week journey, we just embarked upon with them and what also makes this special of note, is that it also took the time to show us how they captured some of the breathtaking imagery we were treated to. As it turns out, state of the art technology played a big part in that. Since there were special lenses used here that managed to capture animals that have never been properly photographed before, and they also used drones to help film their subjects and track them when they decided to move about the countryside. Plus, sometimes all it took to get these shots was a little ingenuity, as evidenced by the camera that basically hung from a tree in a special sling in Borneo, so it could snag some breathtaking imagery of the orangutans that live there.

In the end, this was simply a wondrous tribute to all the hard work that goes into creating the documentaries we know, and love and BBC America deserves a round of applause for bringing this special to life. Because we really don’t see the struggles and dangers that go into creating some of the incredible imagery that we tweet about and fawn over and hopefully this special gives everyone a newfound appreciation of what goes into these types of stories, and it also hopefully inspires the audience to do more to help save the environment and lessen our carbon footprint. Because if these folks are willing to risk life and limb to show us what a rare rhino looks like, we can make a little more effort in our day to recycle and go as green as possible. All so that these kinds of images can continue to be captured by the brave souls that truly appreciate the majesty and chaos of this tiny little world, we call home.

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