Post by Teddy Bear on May 8, 2012 21:00:29 GMT
The BBC hyped the programme as the BBC’s ‘most ambitious live wildlife experience’, boasting real-time footage of wild animals. However, the show which ran for over an hour, only featured about 20 minutes of live broadcast and a few buffalo in night vision.
Following many complaints the BBC later admitted it was not possible to broadcast live footage of wild animals without subjecting viewers to long and boring periods of inactivity.
A spokesman said: ‘Filming can be a long drawn out process with hours of inactivity. If it was all live, there would be hours of nothing happening.
‘The live aspect of the show is the presenters, who report on what happened to the animals that day in the style of a news programme.
‘Some of the pre-recorded footage was shot on the day of the broadcast.
So why advertise the programme as 'live'?
One day the BBC will admit the reporting it has been doing all these years has really been biased because it's impossible for them to make it fair and balanced.
This story shows they have no problem consciously and purposefully decieving the public.
Following many complaints the BBC later admitted it was not possible to broadcast live footage of wild animals without subjecting viewers to long and boring periods of inactivity.
A spokesman said: ‘Filming can be a long drawn out process with hours of inactivity. If it was all live, there would be hours of nothing happening.
‘The live aspect of the show is the presenters, who report on what happened to the animals that day in the style of a news programme.
‘Some of the pre-recorded footage was shot on the day of the broadcast.
So why advertise the programme as 'live'?
One day the BBC will admit the reporting it has been doing all these years has really been biased because it's impossible for them to make it fair and balanced.
This story shows they have no problem consciously and purposefully decieving the public.
Why did they bother? BBC attacked by viewers for 'live' wildlife show that was almost all pre-recorded
By Alasdair Glennie
It was hyped as the BBC’s ‘most ambitious live wildlife experience’, boasting real-time footage of wild animals.
However, nature documentary Planet Earth Live has been hit with a viewer backlash after it emerged most of the first episode was in fact pre-recorded.
During the entire 70 minute broadcast on Sunday, only 20 minutes were filmed live, and the only live animal footage was a blurry night-time shot of two water buffaloes.
Night vision filming: Incredibly, in the whole of the first episode the only animals to appear live were a few buffalo which wandered close to Hammond¿s makeshift studio in the Masai Mara game reserve while cameras were rolling
Unhappy viewers: Within minutes of the first instalment of the eight part series having gone to air, the BBC¿s points of view message boards were flooded with complaints from viewers asking just where the live action was
And despite billing the show as the ‘ultimate live global wildlife drama’, the BBC was forced to admit today that it would be impossible to broadcast live sequences of wild animals without boring viewers with hours of inactivity.
The eight-part series is hosted by Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond and Julia Bradbury, who presents Countryfile.
As viewers were shown pre-recorded film of lions, elephants, bears, whales and monkeys, the pair spoke to the camera via live satellite links from Kenya and Minnesota in the US.
Forced to present from a makeshift studio in the Masai Mara game reserve, Hammond was unable to see more than ten yards outside his tent because the African wilderness was plunged into pitch darkness.
Gesturing into the night, he excitedly promised viewers ‘real animals, real lives, in real time’.
He added: ‘Genuinely, just before we went live and came to you then, somebody reported - and in fact we saw - a buffalo over there.
‘There may be a hippo over there. Anything may happen.’
However, the only live animal footage in the whole programme came near the end of the show, with a blurry two-second shot of two buffaloes filmed with a night-vision camera.
MAKING IT UP
This isn't the first time the BBC have come under fierce criticism for misleading their viewers.
In December 2011, eight million viewers tuned in to see BBC cameramen inside an underground cave in the brutal sub-zero temperatures of the Arctic wilderness.
Having been led to believe that they were witnessing polar bear cubs in their natural environment, it was later revealed that the scenes had been filmed in a Dutch zoo using fake snow.
BBC editorial guidelines on wildlife programmes say that when it is impractical or unsafe to film something in the wild ‘it can be editorially and ethically justified to use captive animals’.
The guidelines add: ‘But we must never claim that such sequences were shot in the actual location depicted in the film.’
Writing on the BBC’s Points of View message board, viewers expressed their disappointment.
One said: ‘The BBC should be done under the trades description act, this is not live!
‘The presenter may be live but that’s about it, what’s the point? Shameful way to waste the licence fee, couldn’t they see this was going to be a big white elephant from the first few days.
‘They could have put up a disclaimer at the end of this show saying, “No animals were hurt in the making of this programme” Because we never saw any, unless you count the fly Julia swatted.’
Another added: ‘As far as I recall the only “live” wildlife in the programme was a couple of buffalo caught in a thermal imaging camera.
‘So, let me get this right. The only “live” aspect to this show is Hammond presenting the links from a dark and rainy Kenya?
‘Frankly he could be five miles down the road from me for all I know! It is really disappointing.’
A third viewer said: ‘Ooo the excitement,a buffalo.....in the rain and Hammond droning on.’
Today, the BBC admitted it was not possible to broadcast live footage of wild animals without subjecting viewers to long and boring periods of inactivity.
A spokesman said: ‘Filming can be a long drawn out process with hours of inactivity. If it was all live, there would be hours of nothing happening.
‘The live aspect of the show is the presenters, who report on what happened to the animals that day in the style of a news programme.
‘Some of the pre-recorded footage was shot on the day of the broadcast.
‘We consider the series to be a multi-media experience so the Twitter feed and website are key to the live action.’
Last year the BBC was hit with a ‘fakery’ row after it emerged supposedly ‘wild’ footage of a female polar bear and her cubs was in fact shot in a zoo, using fake snow.
The show which ran for over an hour, only featured about 20 minutes of live broadcast and a few buffalo in night vision
Billed by many as a waste of funding and time - without the buffalo shots the only live part was the presenters talking to each other on camera
By Alasdair Glennie
It was hyped as the BBC’s ‘most ambitious live wildlife experience’, boasting real-time footage of wild animals.
However, nature documentary Planet Earth Live has been hit with a viewer backlash after it emerged most of the first episode was in fact pre-recorded.
During the entire 70 minute broadcast on Sunday, only 20 minutes were filmed live, and the only live animal footage was a blurry night-time shot of two water buffaloes.
Night vision filming: Incredibly, in the whole of the first episode the only animals to appear live were a few buffalo which wandered close to Hammond¿s makeshift studio in the Masai Mara game reserve while cameras were rolling
Unhappy viewers: Within minutes of the first instalment of the eight part series having gone to air, the BBC¿s points of view message boards were flooded with complaints from viewers asking just where the live action was
And despite billing the show as the ‘ultimate live global wildlife drama’, the BBC was forced to admit today that it would be impossible to broadcast live sequences of wild animals without boring viewers with hours of inactivity.
The eight-part series is hosted by Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond and Julia Bradbury, who presents Countryfile.
As viewers were shown pre-recorded film of lions, elephants, bears, whales and monkeys, the pair spoke to the camera via live satellite links from Kenya and Minnesota in the US.
Forced to present from a makeshift studio in the Masai Mara game reserve, Hammond was unable to see more than ten yards outside his tent because the African wilderness was plunged into pitch darkness.
Gesturing into the night, he excitedly promised viewers ‘real animals, real lives, in real time’.
He added: ‘Genuinely, just before we went live and came to you then, somebody reported - and in fact we saw - a buffalo over there.
‘There may be a hippo over there. Anything may happen.’
However, the only live animal footage in the whole programme came near the end of the show, with a blurry two-second shot of two buffaloes filmed with a night-vision camera.
MAKING IT UP
This isn't the first time the BBC have come under fierce criticism for misleading their viewers.
In December 2011, eight million viewers tuned in to see BBC cameramen inside an underground cave in the brutal sub-zero temperatures of the Arctic wilderness.
Having been led to believe that they were witnessing polar bear cubs in their natural environment, it was later revealed that the scenes had been filmed in a Dutch zoo using fake snow.
BBC editorial guidelines on wildlife programmes say that when it is impractical or unsafe to film something in the wild ‘it can be editorially and ethically justified to use captive animals’.
The guidelines add: ‘But we must never claim that such sequences were shot in the actual location depicted in the film.’
Writing on the BBC’s Points of View message board, viewers expressed their disappointment.
One said: ‘The BBC should be done under the trades description act, this is not live!
‘The presenter may be live but that’s about it, what’s the point? Shameful way to waste the licence fee, couldn’t they see this was going to be a big white elephant from the first few days.
‘They could have put up a disclaimer at the end of this show saying, “No animals were hurt in the making of this programme” Because we never saw any, unless you count the fly Julia swatted.’
Another added: ‘As far as I recall the only “live” wildlife in the programme was a couple of buffalo caught in a thermal imaging camera.
‘So, let me get this right. The only “live” aspect to this show is Hammond presenting the links from a dark and rainy Kenya?
‘Frankly he could be five miles down the road from me for all I know! It is really disappointing.’
A third viewer said: ‘Ooo the excitement,a buffalo.....in the rain and Hammond droning on.’
Today, the BBC admitted it was not possible to broadcast live footage of wild animals without subjecting viewers to long and boring periods of inactivity.
A spokesman said: ‘Filming can be a long drawn out process with hours of inactivity. If it was all live, there would be hours of nothing happening.
‘The live aspect of the show is the presenters, who report on what happened to the animals that day in the style of a news programme.
‘Some of the pre-recorded footage was shot on the day of the broadcast.
‘We consider the series to be a multi-media experience so the Twitter feed and website are key to the live action.’
Last year the BBC was hit with a ‘fakery’ row after it emerged supposedly ‘wild’ footage of a female polar bear and her cubs was in fact shot in a zoo, using fake snow.