Filmed over the course of a year at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, which houses some 90% of all known plant species in one form or another, KINGDOM OF PLANTS 3D is multi-award winning natural history broadcaster David Attenborough’s fourth collaboration with Sky 3D and Atlantic Productions.  The immersive and compelling series reveals a fascinating new look at plant life through the use of stunning 3D time-lapse filming techniques.

Each of the three 50 minute episodes will cover a different area of plant life.  Life in the Wet Zone looks at the adaptation of plants to wet and humid environments, with episode two, Solving the Secrets, exploring the behind-the-scenes lives of plant movement, scent and communication.  Survival, the concluding episode, focuses on the continual adaptation of plants as well as a look at Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank, which houses almost two billion seeds of more than 30,000 species of wild plants to ensure their future for generations to come.

John Cassy, Director, Sky 3D, comments: “The combination of ground-breaking technology, high quality production, fascinating subject matter and captivating narrative from the master story teller himself ensures that KINGDOM OF PLANTS 3D is at once an immersive, compelling and truly breath-taking viewing experience which we’re thrilled to offer exclusively to Sky customers.”

Anthony Geffen, Executive Producer and CEO of Atlantic Productions adds: “Having already worked together on two 3D films, David and I were keen to really push the technological boundaries in macro.  So when the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew suggested working together to create a film, it seemed a perfect fit.  With David’s passion for plants, and one of the largest botanical collections in the world in which to film, we were able to push the 3D technology to capture the lives of plants like never before.”

David Attenborough commented: “One of the most wonderful things about filming plants is that you can reveal hidden aspects of their lives.  You can capture the moment as one plant strangles another, and as they burst into flower.  But whilst time-lapse photography allows you to see things that no human being has ever seen before, the added element of 3D takes the audience even further still.  Stamens extend and burst to reveal their pollen grains in exquisite detail, and we can see close-up the incredible insects that partner up with these plants.  The whole experience in 3D is just entrancing, and hypnotically beautiful.”

Professor Angela McFarlane, Director of Public Engagement and Learning at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew adds: “There is more to Kew than just a beautiful garden landscape. Every new perspective on Kew reveals new marvels and wonders, and never more so than through the remarkable technology of 3D. We have been delighted and amazed at the Atlantic footage, and coupled with the unique insights of Sir David Attenborough, the results are simply irresistible. We hope this fantastic series will instill a new enthusiasm in viewers for plants and show them as the compelling, dramatic organisms they are.”

Commissioned by Celia Taylor, Sky’s Head of Factual and Features, KINGDOM OF PLANTS 3D is part of Sky’s commitment to increase its investment in original British content by 50% over the next three years.  By 2014, Sky expects to invest £600million a year in British programmes across its portfolio of channels.

Since launching Sky 3D in October 2010 Sky has broken new ground across a range of genres, including natural history, live music, the arts, spots and movies.  Highlights have included David Attenborough’s The Bachelor King 3D, a number of summer music festivals, opera and ballet, Kylie Minogue live from the O2, Got to Dance, the 3D TV world premieres of Avatar, Alice in Wonderland and the Toy Story Trilogy as well as more than 150 live sports broadcast spanning a range of domestic and international sports.

Kingdom of Plants 3D airs in May 2012 on Sky 3D and will be simulcast in 2D on Sky Atlantic HD.

Following on from the BAFTA-winning Flying Monsters 3D and the soon to premiere Bachelor King 3D (Sky 3D, New Year’s Eve, 8pm), David Attenborough is to embark on his fourth 3D project with Atlantic and Sky, a three-part natural history series which tells the story of the remote Galapagos islands.  

Galapagos 3D, which is scheduled to air on Sky 3D in late 2012, will be written and presented by Attenborough and is the first film to be produced by Colossus Productions – the production company formed by Sky and Atlantic Productions this summer.  The joint venture was created to develop original 3D programming for UK and International audiences, including the rapidly growing number of Sky 3D homes.  The commission is part of Sky’s commitment to increase its investment in UK originated content by 50% to £600million a year by 2014, to cement its position as one of the biggest investors in the UK’s creative economy.

Galapagos 3D follows several successful collaborations between Sky and Atlantic Productions, including the BAFTA-winning Flying Monsters 3D, The Bachelor King 3D (which airs on Sky 3D on New Year’s Eve) and Kingdom of Plants 3D, a series based at Kew Gardens (due to air on Sky 3D next year).

David Attenborough commented: “Galapagos is one of the most wonderful places in the world. There are extraordinary creatures living there that live nowhere else – a whole slew of marvellous animals. But one of the things that make them even more extraordinary is that because the islands were not discovered by human beings until relatively recently, and they had remained isolated for so long, the animals still haven’t become frightened of human beings. You can walk among them carrying your own snap shot cameras or even carrying a 3D rig and they won’t go away. They continue behaving in just the way that they would do naturally. Galapagos is full of drama, full of charismatic creatures which you can film; it is a natural for 3D.”

John Cassy, Director, Sky 3D, adds:  “The Galapagos is one of Earth’s greatest treasures but it is unreachable for the vast majority of us. 3D will bring the islands to life for our customers in a way that has never been possible before. Sir David and Atlantic Productions are the natural partners to take on this ambitious project on – and ensure our natural history programming continues to break new ground.”

Producer, CEO of Atlantic Productions and Co-Founder of Colossus Productions, Anthony Geffen adds: “We are very excited to be making our first 3D project at Colossus Productions – it is our most ambitious yet and will involve micro and macro filming on location and state-of-the art 3D visual effects which will peel away the Earth’s surface and shed light on the hidden forces that have built and shaped the islands.”

The series was commissioned by Sky’s Head of Factual and Features, Celia Taylor.

New and exclusive to Sky, the film was shot in stunning 3D on the sub-Antarctic island of South Georgia over a period of five months and follows the extraordinary lives of King Penguins, to imagine what one penguin’s life could be.  The Bachelor King 3D is written and presented by multi-award winning natural history broadcaster David Attenborough.

The Bachelor King 3D is the second natural history film commissioned by Sky to air on Sky 3D, which made history in 2010 when it became Europe’s first dedicated 3D TV channel. The BAFTA award-winning Flying Monsters 3D was the first collaboration between Sky, Attenborough and Atlantic Productions, and The Bachelor King 3D will be followed in 2012 by Kingdom of Plants 3D, a look at the life of plants, set in Kew Gardens.

The film has been produced by award winning producer Anthony Geffen, CEO of Atlantic Productions. Geffen explained “While making Flying Monsters 3D David and I became really excited about the power of 3D.  We started talking about other projects that might work brilliantly in 3D – and David thought of filming in South Georgia.  This spectacular but little known sub-Antarctic island is home to an amazing collection of wildlife including millions of penguins. 3D allows you to literally step inside the King Penguin’s world.”

David Attenborough added: “I knew it would be mind-blowing, there are a number of extremely dramatic animals in South Georgia that would look particularly astounding in 3D. The difficulties are huge but the rewards are huge too.  With 3D you can convey the reality of what’s in front of the camera in a much more powerful way than ever before. To be at the cutting edge, when you know that you are doing something that no one has done before, is exciting and a great privilege.  I feel hugely privileged to have started my life on 405 black and white and now to be working in 3D.”

John Cassy, Director, Sky 3D, added: “Fascinating natural history programming such as this has the ability to bring households and families together in order to truly share the experience.  Add to this the fact that audiences are enjoying the films in stunning 3D and you have even more reason why we continue to grow our pioneering offering for our customers.  We are as proud as Sir David to be able to deliver such advances in this genre of entertainment and look forward to our future with both David and Atlantic Productions.”

The film will be released theatrically in giant screen theatres and cinemas around the world in 2012.

Stunning 3D cinematography takes us into an extraordinary sub-Antarctic island, home to majestic albatrosses, brawling elephant seals – and six million penguins. Though our hero’s harsh world may be alien to our day-to-day lives, his struggle will be familiar to us all.

Three years ago, The Bachelor King left home. He partied at sea – he adventured, he matured. And now he is returning to the place where he was born and raised: Penguin City. This is one of the most densely-packed, sought-after pieces of real estate in the entire southern hemisphere and somehow he must establish his own place in it. He must find a mate. He wants to be a dad.

But how? What follows is a journey through the most challenging time of the Bachelor King’s life. There is joy and terror, a ton of hard work – and some laughs. Our hero has to grow up fast.

He meets the penguin of his dreams, and together they set out to raise a family. Before long, they produce an egg. The two of them take turns to nurture it – one incubating, while the other zooms off to sea to find food. And then, one happy day, their chick hatches. And the hard work really begins.

Our hero and his mate must do all they can to get their chick through this first perilous year. Together, they must feed it – teach it, protect it from the harsh weather and blood-thirsty predators. When Penguin City comes under attack, The Bachelor King bravely defends his chick. But his greatest test comes when tragedy strikes. Suddenly, the family’s survival depends on him and him alone.

His story is often comic, sometimes tragic, and ultimately triumphant: a rite of passage set on one of the earth’s last great wildernesses.

220 million years ago dinosaurs were beginning their domination of Earth. But another group of reptiles was about to make an extraordinary leap: pterosaurs were taking control of the skies. The story of how and why these mysterious creatures took to the air is more fantastical than any fiction.

In Flying Monsters 3D Sir David Attenborough, the world’s leading naturalist, sets out to uncover the truth about the enigmatic pterosaurs, whose wingspans of up to 40 feet were equal to that of a modern day jet plane. Attenborough works with scientists to understand the incredible story of the evolution of the pterosaurs, a story that unfolds in such stunning locations as New Mexico, the Jurassic Coast of Lyme Regis in Britain, an ancient pterosaur landing site in Southern France and a fossil pit in Germany where near perfect pterosaur specimens have been found.

The central question and one of the greatest mysteries in palaeontology is: how and why did pterosaurs fly? How did lizards the size of giraffes defy gravity and soar through prehistoric skies? Driven by the information he finds as he attempts to answer these questions, Attenborough starts to unravel one of science’s more enduring mysteries, discovering that the marvel of pterosaur flight has evolutionary echoes that resonate even today.

Flying Monsters 3D is a groundbreaking film that uses cutting-edge 3D technology and CGI to bring the story of giant flying monsters and their prehistoric world to life. Audiences of all ages will be in awe as they enter the world and experience, as never before, real flying monsters – in 3D.

The film premiered on Sky 3D on Christmas Day 2010, and was released in cinemas, including giant screen theatres, around the world from May 2011. Find out more about the film and where it is currently showing here.

‘Flying Monsters’ is also now available to buy, in the UK, on DVD, Blu-Ray and 3D Blu-Ray.

First Life was produced by Atlantic Productions, with state of the art visual effects by ZOO, in association with international partners including the BBC, Discovery Channel and the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. The programme was accompanied by a book published by Harper Collins, and the series has been released on DVD by 2Entertain.

First Life’s Emmy success means that Sir David Attenborough has won both a BAFTA and Emmy award this year – a remarkable achievement for a broadcaster who has been at the forefront of documentary film-making for nearly sixty years. First Life marked David’s return to US television screens. In recent years, his voice has been replaced by American actors when his programmes have been shown in the US. With First Life, Discovery Channel chose to retain David’s narration.

Celebrating the awards, David Attenborough commented: “It is a real honour to receive the three Emmy awards for First Life. The series achieved what I had always wanted to do – go back to the very beginning, to tell the story of the first animals that lived on our planet. When I was a boy growing up, I was fascinated by finding fossils in the rocks – and with First Life we were finally able to bring these extraordinary creatures back to life. The team at Atlantic Productions, and at the visual effects studio ZOO, did a breath-taking job with stunning photography and state of the art digital effects to recreate some of these earliest animals. I’m thrilled that the series has been recognised by the News & Documentary Emmy® Awards, and that it continues to get such a positive reception as it’s seen around the world.”

The Emmy success of First Life follows the recent BAFTA award for Flying Monsters 3D with David Attenborough, a groundbreaking stereoscopic 3D film with Sky 3D and National Geographic Entertainment which opens in cinemas and giant screen theatres across the US on 7th October. Atlantic has also recently celebrated an IBC Special Award for the team’s work on Flying Monsters 3D, while the theatrical release feature documentary The Wildest Dream recently won the award for Best Film Produced Non-Exclusively for the Giant Screen at the 2011 Giant Screen Cinema Association Awards.

IBC, which takes place in Amsterdam every September, is the leading global tradeshow for professionals engaged in the creation, management and delivery of broadcasting media and entertainment. The Special Award – whose previous recipients include James Cameron, the BBC Natural History Unit and BSkyB – is given to a person, organisation or project that has made a particularly remarkable contribution to the industry and society beyond.

Anthony Geffen, CEO, Atlantic Productions said: ‘We are delighted and honoured to be receiving the IBC Special Award in recognition of the making of Flying Monsters 3D with David Attenborough. It has been incredibly exciting to be involved with making a film with David Attenborough that has combined innovative stereoscopic 3D production techniques with the best traditional storytelling. Flying Monsters 3D was an extremely ambitious film, and the production team and our partners allowed us to push the boundaries of documentary film-making into a new era. When we started this production, we didn’t know how we were actually going to finish it. I’m proud not only that we did so, but that we have embarked on a journey to go forward into ever more exciting projects in 3D.’

Flying Monsters 3D with David Attenborough is a film which looks at how pterosaurs took control of the sky when dinosaurs walked the Earth. Its use of stereoscopic 3D sets computer-generated pterosaurs in the environments they would have known, and allows presenter David Attenborough to interact with the pterosaurs. The film was produced for Sky 3D and also shot for cinema and giant screen release. The television version was first shown on the recently launched Sky 3D TV channel in the UK on Christmas Day 2010, and the movie version was released in cinemas across the UK and around the world in May 2011. The film is released in giant screen theatres across the US by National Geographic Entertainment on 7th October 2011.

This IBC award follows Flying Monsters’ recent success winning the first BAFTA award for a 3D film. Flying Monsters 3D with David Attenborough was also highly commended in the Content Creation Innovation Award category which acknowledged Onsight and SGO Mistika’s post production work on the film. Sir David Attenborough also received the IBC2011 International Honour for Excellence for innovation throughout his career, evolving film-making techniques in natural history programmes such as Zoo Quest, Life on Earth, The Blue Planet, First Life and Flying Monsters 3D.

The multi-million pound joint production venture signals the launch of a new key global player in the creation of 3D content that will entertain audiences worldwide, and will champion the UK production sector’s expertise and leading ability in this area. It builds on Atlantic’s long-standing relationship with Sky that has already led to the BAFTA award-winning film Flying Monsters 3D. Presented by Sir David Attenborough, the feature documentary premiered on Sky 3D and is currently on theatrical release, showing in cinemas and giant screen theatres in the UK and around the world. Atlantic is already working with Sky on new commissions, including The Bachelor King 3D, a theatrical-release feature documentary that looks at the lives of penguins in South Georgia, and a 3D series on plants currently being filmed at Kew Gardens, also presented by David Attenborough.

Anthony Geffen, CEO and Creative Director at Atlantic Productions, will also serve as Creative Director of Colossus Productions. Atlantic Productions remains fully independent, and will continue to focus on producing innovative, high quality 2D programmes for leading broadcasters in the UK and around the world. Previous and current 3D productions will remain under the Atlantic Productions name. Future 3D film and television projects (broadcast on Sky 3D and then distributed internationally to broadcast/theatrical platforms), and any digital activity around them, will now go through Colossus Productions.

Read the Sky press release about the announcement here.

Read news coverage of the announcement in Broadcast and C21.