How Sir David Attenborough puts a script together for Planet Earth 2 and records the voiceover
An hour-long episode will actually only take him about two hours to record
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.At 90, Sir David Attenborough might be appearing on location in nature documentaries less than he used to, but he is still very much involved in the editing process, writing the scripts for his narration which give the episodes their intimate and wondrous feel.
BBC One posted a behind-the-scenes video of him working on Planet Earth II this week, documenting his role in proceedings.
Sir David starts by reviewing the edited footage (quite charmingly on VHS), moving back and forth through until he is happy that his words sit right with the action.
Once the script and its timing is in place, it actually only takes him about two hours to record the narration for an hour-long episode, he explains, allowing for the odd re-take when there’s a mispronunciation.
We see Sir David enjoying a good rapport with the sound recordists, joking with them as they put together episodes that will be watched by millions.
“[Attenborough’s] voice makes it feel like he’s only talking to you and he has something very important to tell you,” super-composer Hans Zimmer, who does the music for Planet Earth, comments.
“His voice is more important to this world now than ever before.”
This was particularly the case in the final episode of Planet Earth II, ‘Cities’, in which he did a piece to camera calling for the world to think more carefully about wildlife when it comes to urban development.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments