Our Planet

Winners announced for the RTS West of England Awards 2020

The feature-length film, which tells the remarkable story of a diver who survived being trapped 100 metres under the sea with only minutes of breathable air remaining, scooped four awards.

Last Breath, made by MetFilm Production/Floating Harbour Films, won the Documentary award, with Paul Leonard-Morgan (Composer), Sam Rogers (Editing) and Ben Baird (Sound) also picking up prizes.

Netflix had more success with Our Planet, made by Bristol wildlife specialists Silverback Films, which won the Natural History and Cinematography awards.

Our Planet Q&A | Highlights

Following a screening of the Our Planet episode Frozen Worlds, members of the crew, including series producer, Keith Scholey, producer Sophie Lanfear, camera operator Jamie McPherson and assistant producer​ Olly Scholey, spoke to Lynn Barlow about how the episode was made.

The panel shared their experiences working on the nature series and how it was created.

How Netflix's Our Planet was made

The panel (l-r): Jamie McPherson, Sophie Lanfear, Lynn Barlow, Oliver Scholey, Keith Scholey (Credit: RTS/Paul Hampartsoumian)

The sequence – a huge topic on social media - was described by award-winning natural history cinematographer Jamie McPherson as “the most powerful he’s ever shot.”

McPherson was discussing the series, which launched on the streaming service on April 5, at a joint RTS-Wildscreen screening of the Frozen Worlds episode, which featured the walruses.

“The sequence has become a symbol of climate change,” said Keith Scholey, series producer of the eight-part Our Planet, which is narrated by David Attenborough.

Reframing the documentary: how Amazon and Netflix are changing factual television

All or Nothing: A Season with the Arizona Cardinals (Credit: Amazon Prime)

In February of this year, Netflix won its first Oscar and its first Bafta. Surprisingly, the awards were not for any of its high-profile drama series, but for two documentaries. The Academy Award went to The White Helmets, a film about a group of Syria Civil Defence volunteer rescue workers. The Bafta winner was 13th, Ava DuVernay’s film about race in the US criminal justice system.