0:00:03 > 0:00:05Scotland...
0:00:05 > 0:00:08A paradise for wildlife,
0:00:08 > 0:00:10and a cameraman's dream.
0:00:14 > 0:00:18This country, with its rugged mountains and endless coastline,
0:00:18 > 0:00:22has produced a generation of the best wildlife cameramen
0:00:22 > 0:00:23in the world.
0:00:26 > 0:00:30For decades, five filmmakers, all rooted in Scotland,
0:00:30 > 0:00:34have travelled the globe to bring home incredible images,
0:00:34 > 0:00:38shaping our understanding of the natural world.
0:00:39 > 0:00:43How did these men learn the incredible skills needed
0:00:43 > 0:00:46for catching the natural world in action?
0:00:49 > 0:00:51What prepared them for travelling the globe
0:00:51 > 0:00:55and enduring the toughest of environments?
0:00:56 > 0:00:59In this series, these five cameramen
0:00:59 > 0:01:02will share their extraordinary stories
0:01:02 > 0:01:03and the secrets of their trade.
0:01:03 > 0:01:07Secrets often learned filming wildlife
0:01:07 > 0:01:09in the wildest parts of Scotland.
0:01:11 > 0:01:14But this time, the camera is on them.
0:01:31 > 0:01:32The polar regions
0:01:32 > 0:01:37are amongst the most hostile environments on earth.
0:01:37 > 0:01:40Filming wildlife in these frozen wastes
0:01:40 > 0:01:43is a challenge unlike any other.
0:01:46 > 0:01:48If you think you are good,
0:01:48 > 0:01:51then go to the Antarctic and the Arctic and try it there.
0:01:53 > 0:01:55There's just so much else to think about,
0:01:55 > 0:01:58and mostly it's trying to stay alive.
0:01:58 > 0:02:01Cameramen working in the polar regions
0:02:01 > 0:02:05have to contend with potentially lethal conditions.
0:02:07 > 0:02:10So we've got to now venture out and go about a mile up this valley
0:02:10 > 0:02:14which looks like it's got about 80-mile-an-hour winds
0:02:14 > 0:02:16blowing down it.
0:02:16 > 0:02:17Bit frightening though, really.
0:02:17 > 0:02:19And for film-makers,
0:02:19 > 0:02:21it's not just the weather that can be hazardous -
0:02:21 > 0:02:24it's the wildlife, too.
0:02:24 > 0:02:26She is enormous.
0:02:26 > 0:02:28Jeez!
0:02:28 > 0:02:31There are people that have been that close to a polar bear before
0:02:31 > 0:02:33but they're not around anymore.
0:02:33 > 0:02:37It was - yeah - prolonged fear.
0:02:40 > 0:02:45Capturing animal behaviour in this extreme and sometimes hostile place
0:02:45 > 0:02:48takes a very special kind of wildlife cameraman.
0:02:48 > 0:02:53And for me they don't come much more special than Doug Allan.
0:02:55 > 0:02:56I must be mad!
0:02:58 > 0:03:03I've had the extraordinary luck of working with Doug over many years.
0:03:05 > 0:03:08There's just no-one else who knows these frozen worlds
0:03:08 > 0:03:10and their unique wildlife as he does.
0:03:12 > 0:03:15Every time I think, "This is it. Never again!"
0:03:15 > 0:03:18"Next shoot - Caribbean."
0:03:18 > 0:03:22But there is something special about this that keeps pulling you back.
0:03:23 > 0:03:25Over his long career in the polar regions,
0:03:25 > 0:03:29Doug has captured some of the most memorable wildlife images
0:03:29 > 0:03:31to have ever appeared on television.
0:03:32 > 0:03:35And this is one of his personal highlights -
0:03:35 > 0:03:37and one of my favourites, too -
0:03:37 > 0:03:40a polar bear filmed swimming from underwater.
0:03:42 > 0:03:44We had a small camera on the end of a pole
0:03:44 > 0:03:47and, eventually, after a lot of persistence,
0:03:47 > 0:03:49we managed to find the bear
0:03:49 > 0:03:52which we could go alongside with the boat,
0:03:52 > 0:03:55and then slowly move in on it and just take that
0:03:55 > 0:03:59little mini camera and literally put it right between his legs.
0:04:16 > 0:04:19This polar bear was SO handsome.
0:04:19 > 0:04:22I mean, look at that lovely shape of head,
0:04:22 > 0:04:24and he was so laid-back,
0:04:24 > 0:04:27and I love the way his bum just came up in the air,
0:04:27 > 0:04:29as he slides down underneath.
0:04:29 > 0:04:33And, the magic of this sequence was,
0:04:33 > 0:04:35look at the reflection of the polar bear,
0:04:35 > 0:04:37above the polar bear swimming.
0:04:37 > 0:04:38It was so calm,
0:04:38 > 0:04:40and he was so laid-back,
0:04:40 > 0:04:43that we could go right in close.
0:04:47 > 0:04:51You know, that combination of calm weather
0:04:51 > 0:04:53and that accepting bear,
0:04:53 > 0:04:56you could try, you know, 100 days
0:04:56 > 0:04:59and not get a bear in those conditions again.
0:05:04 > 0:05:08Working in the polar seas is the ultimate underwater challenge.
0:05:08 > 0:05:12Water temperatures here can reach minus two degrees Celsius,
0:05:12 > 0:05:16and there's the ever-present danger of getting trapped beneath the ice.
0:05:18 > 0:05:23But for underwater cameramen like Doug Allan and fellow Scot Doug Anderson,
0:05:23 > 0:05:28this is also a place of extraordinary beauty and strange fascination.
0:05:29 > 0:05:31It's just breathtaking.
0:05:34 > 0:05:36You can see 2,000 feet in one direction
0:05:36 > 0:05:39and 2,000 feet in the other direction. It's like air.
0:05:39 > 0:05:42It's ethereal and beautiful and magical
0:05:42 > 0:05:44and so cold, you wouldn't believe it.
0:05:48 > 0:05:50But although it's hard, you know, it's like a drug -
0:05:50 > 0:05:53the first thing you want to do when you get home
0:05:53 > 0:05:56is organise your way back there.
0:05:57 > 0:06:01Diving underneath the ice is very special, very special.
0:06:03 > 0:06:05It's completely calm,
0:06:05 > 0:06:06there's no swell,
0:06:06 > 0:06:08it's often very, very clear.
0:06:08 > 0:06:11You see the seals just swimming lazily across...
0:06:11 > 0:06:16illuminated against little shafts of sunlight coming down there.
0:06:25 > 0:06:29It's like a second home, really - it's where I feel comfortable.
0:06:29 > 0:06:33Slipping underwater, that's back where I belong, so to speak.
0:06:40 > 0:06:45For Doug Allan, the journey to the earth's most extreme places
0:06:45 > 0:06:47began on the east coast of Scotland.
0:06:47 > 0:06:49It was here that he learned to dive.
0:06:51 > 0:06:54Back from his latest polar expedition,
0:06:54 > 0:06:56Doug is catching up with his old instructor
0:06:56 > 0:06:59and diving buddy, Gordon Downie.
0:06:59 > 0:07:01It's been a while, since I've seen you.
0:07:01 > 0:07:04Remember this photograph, Doug?
0:07:04 > 0:07:06Look, it's me with hair!
0:07:06 > 0:07:08That must've been a long time ago!
0:07:08 > 0:07:10- How old was I? - You were probably 16.
0:07:10 > 0:07:13Well, you were 16, cos you said, "I'm 16".
0:07:13 > 0:07:14You were crazy about Cousteau,
0:07:14 > 0:07:17you used to talk about Cousteau all the time.
0:07:17 > 0:07:19- What, even back then? - Yes, even back then.
0:07:19 > 0:07:22You were always very interested in the sea life.
0:07:22 > 0:07:24You were always trying to educate me as to what was what.
0:07:24 > 0:07:26The diving was pretty tough, back then.
0:07:26 > 0:07:30Yeah, yeah. I think it probably gave you a good grounding
0:07:30 > 0:07:32for your Antarctic diving.
0:07:32 > 0:07:35Well, certainly, the water around Scotland never gets very warm,
0:07:35 > 0:07:37- and we dived all year round. - Yeah.
0:07:37 > 0:07:39I had a pretty rubbish, thin wetsuit.
0:07:39 > 0:07:42It was like wearing tissue paper round about you.
0:07:42 > 0:07:43And then we took on these.
0:07:43 > 0:07:46- This was a big breakthrough, wasn't it? Getting dry suits.- Aye.
0:07:46 > 0:07:51Remember we had... Somebody used to steal them for us from the dockyard?
0:07:51 > 0:07:54And then sell them onto us, that's right.
0:07:54 > 0:07:58- You'd have to go to a museum to see it now, wouldn't you?! - THEY LAUGH
0:08:01 > 0:08:06Doug's pastime soon developed into a professional career.
0:08:06 > 0:08:11But his first ever paying job as a diver was a rather unusual one.
0:08:13 > 0:08:18Today, Doug is back in the dark waters of a highland river.
0:08:21 > 0:08:23He's searching for the elusive creature
0:08:23 > 0:08:27that once provided him with a livelihood -
0:08:27 > 0:08:30freshwater mussels.
0:08:30 > 0:08:33These bivalves are now a rare and protected species.
0:08:33 > 0:08:36But 40 years ago, they were far more numerous
0:08:36 > 0:08:41and prized for the treasure they sometimes contained - pearls.
0:08:41 > 0:08:43Ah, now, those are nice pearls.
0:08:43 > 0:08:46Aye. They're the two pride of my collection.
0:08:46 > 0:08:49I kept them back since it became illegal.
0:08:49 > 0:08:51Any of the pearls I'm showing you
0:08:51 > 0:08:54were all fished before it became illegal, you know?
0:08:54 > 0:08:55They're really bonnie.
0:08:55 > 0:08:57Aye, they're a perfect match, you know.
0:09:01 > 0:09:05Bill Abernethy was Scotland's last traditional pearl fisherman.
0:09:07 > 0:09:11He used centuries-old methods to hunt for mussels in river shallows.
0:09:14 > 0:09:16To search deeper and more dangerous waters, however,
0:09:16 > 0:09:20he needed an experienced diver willing to take risks.
0:09:21 > 0:09:23Someone like Doug Allan.
0:09:24 > 0:09:26It was hard. It gave you a big...
0:09:26 > 0:09:28a sort of high level of fitness,
0:09:28 > 0:09:31it was hard work working around these rivers
0:09:31 > 0:09:33and the currents and things...
0:09:33 > 0:09:37Remember that morning we went to the... I said to you that morning,
0:09:37 > 0:09:40I says, "We'll go to Stanley Dam" - that's on the River Tay -
0:09:40 > 0:09:44and I says, "There's a bit there, we could get a pearl or two".
0:09:44 > 0:09:48So we went down and you got in at the bottom of the dam
0:09:48 > 0:09:50and now I said to you, "Doug,
0:09:50 > 0:09:54"there's sluice gates just up there," and I says, "Keep clear of them
0:09:54 > 0:09:58"because if you go right in, you'll get pulled underneath."
0:09:58 > 0:09:59I remember that.
0:09:59 > 0:10:02I remember, actually, I was underneath the sluice gates
0:10:02 > 0:10:05and the water was rushing over my head,
0:10:05 > 0:10:07- and the net got taken kind of over my head...- Aye! Aye.
0:10:07 > 0:10:10..and I was down below trying to pull it out - yanking it like this -
0:10:10 > 0:10:13and I couldn't get rid of it, at all.
0:10:13 > 0:10:15I had no idea you were so worried!
0:10:15 > 0:10:18Aye! And then when you come up, you told me, you says,
0:10:18 > 0:10:20"I'll go down and try again."
0:10:20 > 0:10:22I says "Don't bother going down and trying again!"
0:10:22 > 0:10:25Well, I tell you, the pearl fishing was a great springboard.
0:10:25 > 0:10:28Oh, well, I used to say to myself, "Well, he's never looked back
0:10:28 > 0:10:31"since he give up the pearl fishing!"
0:10:31 > 0:10:34You know, he's definitely made a name for himself.
0:10:35 > 0:10:39Long dives in the cold, fast-flowing rivers of Scotland
0:10:39 > 0:10:42were ideal training for Doug's future career.
0:10:44 > 0:10:50In the mid-70s, Doug joined the British Antarctic Survey as a diver,
0:10:50 > 0:10:53helping scientists with their underwater research
0:10:53 > 0:10:55at the remote Signy Base.
0:10:55 > 0:10:59And it was here that our paths first crossed.
0:10:59 > 0:11:03'There are only two flowering plants that can manage to survive
0:11:03 > 0:11:06'in this bleak, icy country.
0:11:06 > 0:11:08'One is a kind of thrift...'
0:11:08 > 0:11:10While filming for The Living Planet series,
0:11:10 > 0:11:13I visited Signy Research Station
0:11:13 > 0:11:16and Doug volunteered himself as a guide -
0:11:16 > 0:11:20invaluable help for us, and a turning point for him.
0:11:20 > 0:11:24By the end of that four days, I thought "This is some job.
0:11:24 > 0:11:26"These boys are, they're having a great time, obviously,
0:11:26 > 0:11:29"and look what they're doing, all the things I enjoy -
0:11:29 > 0:11:32"they're diving, they're travelling, working with animals.
0:11:32 > 0:11:35"They're doing something which I think is clearly worthwhile,
0:11:35 > 0:11:38"making these high-end programmes."
0:11:38 > 0:11:42I began to think, "Right, I've done a good lot of stuff with the British Antarctic Survey.
0:11:42 > 0:11:46"Now, I can maybe just head off in a different direction."
0:11:51 > 0:11:53On Doug's next visit to the Antarctic,
0:11:53 > 0:11:56he captured remarkable footage of one of the region's most
0:11:56 > 0:11:59charismatic animals - Emperor penguins.
0:12:01 > 0:12:05I think I've made maybe seven or eight trips to the Emperor penguins
0:12:05 > 0:12:12over their eight-month breeding cycle. That was just so amazing and lovely.
0:12:12 > 0:12:16It's actually the male who does the whole 60-day looking after the eggs,
0:12:16 > 0:12:19and that's through the winter darkness
0:12:19 > 0:12:22when the temperatures can go down to minus 50, 55,
0:12:22 > 0:12:24and they huddle together for warmth.
0:12:26 > 0:12:27But you go back down in August
0:12:27 > 0:12:30and for the first time you hear the little chicks.
0:12:30 > 0:12:33It's still so cold that they're staying on their parents' feet,
0:12:33 > 0:12:35tucked underneath the feathers.
0:12:35 > 0:12:38Then, occasionally, you'd see their little face peeking out,
0:12:38 > 0:12:42and that was the magic moment for me, watching the chicks.
0:12:45 > 0:12:49Emperor penguins are the largest of all the penguin species.
0:12:49 > 0:12:54But you wouldn't think they would present much of a hazard to film-makers.
0:12:54 > 0:12:57However, when Scotland-based cameraman John Aitchison
0:12:57 > 0:13:01attempted to film super slow motion footage of the birds,
0:13:01 > 0:13:03he got rather more than he bargained for.
0:13:06 > 0:13:09I'm getting run over by penguins!
0:13:09 > 0:13:10Whoo!
0:13:10 > 0:13:13I was there right by the hole with the slow-motion camera
0:13:13 > 0:13:14and all the cables and stuff,
0:13:14 > 0:13:17and there'd be an explosion of big slippery penguins.
0:13:23 > 0:13:24They'd go through my legs,
0:13:24 > 0:13:28they'd knock the camera over, sometimes they'd pull on the wires.
0:13:32 > 0:13:35'Being hit by one of those is no joke - they're very heavy!
0:13:35 > 0:13:36'It was just complete chaos.'
0:13:36 > 0:13:38I think I'm in the way!
0:13:38 > 0:13:41'And the camera works so fast, it shoots so many frames a second
0:13:41 > 0:13:45'that you really don't know if it's worked until afterwards.
0:13:45 > 0:13:47'You know there's been penguins in the shot,'
0:13:47 > 0:13:51but you can't tell if they're in focus, they're through the picture so quickly.
0:13:51 > 0:13:53It was only when we started playing back,
0:13:53 > 0:13:56which you can do in the field so you can actually see it there
0:13:56 > 0:13:59and know that you're getting these extraordinary images, really,
0:13:59 > 0:14:03I mean, beyond anything I'd ever hoped was possible.
0:14:03 > 0:14:05It was such a treat, visually,
0:14:05 > 0:14:09and in terms of the whole experience going there and doing that.
0:14:09 > 0:14:12I loved it. It was one of my favourite things ever.
0:14:20 > 0:14:23One of the most obvious challenges
0:14:23 > 0:14:26of filming in the polar regions is the extreme cold.
0:14:27 > 0:14:30Wildlife film-makers working in the Arctic and Antarctic
0:14:30 > 0:14:34have to contend with conditions unlike anywhere else on earth.
0:14:36 > 0:14:39There is a sliding scale of temperatures
0:14:39 > 0:14:41that each bring their challenges.
0:14:41 > 0:14:44Minus 20 is beginning to get a little bit chilly -
0:14:44 > 0:14:47especially if you've got wind thrown in on top.
0:14:47 > 0:14:50Then you could lose your nose to a bit of frost nip,
0:14:50 > 0:14:52or your fingers or things like that.
0:14:52 > 0:14:55Below minus 20, you probably want to look at your lenses,
0:14:55 > 0:14:59they may need to be stripped down and the normal lubricating oils
0:14:59 > 0:15:03replaced with something thinner which won't freeze solid.
0:15:03 > 0:15:05Cables can be a bit of an issue.
0:15:05 > 0:15:09Once you get below minus 30, they can be a bit like spaghetti twigs.
0:15:09 > 0:15:10They'll start to break.
0:15:10 > 0:15:14As far as the clothes are concerned, experience teaches you
0:15:14 > 0:15:15what you will need.
0:15:15 > 0:15:20But eventually, it does come down to gritting your teeth and bearing it.
0:15:20 > 0:15:24Scotland-based cameraman Mark Smith was to discover just how
0:15:24 > 0:15:27uncomfortable conditions can get at the poles
0:15:27 > 0:15:31when he travelled to the Antarctic to film Adelie penguins.
0:15:31 > 0:15:35Within a week of arriving on location winds of over 130mph
0:15:35 > 0:15:38were rocking the tiny hut the crew called home.
0:15:39 > 0:15:43The wind's so strong, it's constantly blowing out
0:15:43 > 0:15:45the pilot light on the paraffin stove
0:15:45 > 0:15:47so the temperature is dropping.
0:15:47 > 0:15:49The wind is rising.
0:15:49 > 0:15:51It's like the bloody roof is coming off.
0:15:54 > 0:15:56But it was only when the storm died down
0:15:56 > 0:16:00and Mark started working in the huge penguin colony
0:16:00 > 0:16:03that mental strain began to tell.
0:16:03 > 0:16:06It became quite wearing.
0:16:06 > 0:16:10After a while, you just get totally brutalised
0:16:10 > 0:16:13by the death and dirt that's around you.
0:16:15 > 0:16:18There's tens of thousands of birds there,
0:16:18 > 0:16:20and there is all this stuff going on all over the place -
0:16:20 > 0:16:25the skuas ripping the heads off chicks, blood and guts everywhere.
0:16:25 > 0:16:30And it wasn't just the penguins that had to beware of the rapacious skuas.
0:16:31 > 0:16:36It's probably not good for your sense of wellbeing to go through it.
0:16:37 > 0:16:42In the end, I couldn't stand being there for more than two hours in the morning
0:16:42 > 0:16:43because of the noise.
0:16:43 > 0:16:45I just could not hear myself think.
0:16:45 > 0:16:47I couldn't think straight, at all.
0:16:49 > 0:16:52Halfway into his four-month stay,
0:16:52 > 0:16:56and after 1,000 hours spent amongst the screaming penguins,
0:16:56 > 0:16:59Mark's grip on reality was beginning to loosen.
0:17:01 > 0:17:03Here we are on the penguin super highway
0:17:03 > 0:17:06where the penguins go down to the sea.
0:17:07 > 0:17:12It seems that they follow the American system -
0:17:12 > 0:17:14driving on the right.
0:17:14 > 0:17:16Going down to the sea on the right,
0:17:16 > 0:17:20going back from the sea on the left as you're facing the sea.
0:17:23 > 0:17:27I'm fairly sure that yesterday they were doing the British system.
0:17:29 > 0:17:31I kind of really went off penguins, in the end.
0:17:31 > 0:17:33They don't really want you to be there.
0:17:33 > 0:17:37As you walk past, they'll actually run out to try and peck your ankles.
0:17:37 > 0:17:39You're in a place where it's quite hostile,
0:17:39 > 0:17:43which sounds ridiculous, because they're just penguins,
0:17:43 > 0:17:46they're only that big... But, yeah, it does get to you in the end.
0:17:51 > 0:17:57Filming wildlife, especially in the challenging conditions of the poles,
0:17:57 > 0:18:00can take a psychological toll.
0:18:00 > 0:18:02Nesting penguins might stay in one spot
0:18:02 > 0:18:05but many other species are unpredictable,
0:18:05 > 0:18:09and camera crews can go for days or weeks without catching sight of their quarry.
0:18:10 > 0:18:14To cope with these pressures takes a very tough mental attitude.
0:18:17 > 0:18:19I think that there's only two things you need to do,
0:18:19 > 0:18:21or two things you need to remember
0:18:21 > 0:18:25to keep level-headed as a wildlife camera person.
0:18:25 > 0:18:27The first thing to remember is
0:18:27 > 0:18:29you can only be in one place at one time.
0:18:29 > 0:18:32So you make the decision on where to go every day,
0:18:32 > 0:18:35what to try for, based on the best of your experience.
0:18:35 > 0:18:37But you ARE going to be wrong.
0:18:37 > 0:18:38'You will come back to camp some days
0:18:38 > 0:18:42'and there's polar bear footprints all round about your cabin,
0:18:42 > 0:18:45'where you've been looking all day and not seen any.'
0:18:46 > 0:18:48Brrr! 11 hours.
0:18:48 > 0:18:53I feel as though these things have been glued on my eyeballs.
0:18:53 > 0:18:54One bear.
0:18:54 > 0:18:58But it was much too wary of us to let us anywhere close.
0:19:00 > 0:19:01A long day, for not very much.
0:19:04 > 0:19:06But, you've also got to remember that if you're not there,
0:19:06 > 0:19:09you'll never get it, so it's no use,
0:19:09 > 0:19:12if you want to film a polar bear, sitting inside your cabin looking at the weather
0:19:12 > 0:19:15and thinking, "Ah, it's a bit iffy, I won't bother today."
0:19:15 > 0:19:17You've got to get out there looking.
0:19:19 > 0:19:23Sometimes, as even Doug would admit, sitting inside your cabin is
0:19:23 > 0:19:27exactly the place to be when a polar bear comes calling.
0:19:27 > 0:19:29I thought I heard something.
0:19:31 > 0:19:33For wildlife cameramen like Doug,
0:19:33 > 0:19:37polar bears are the ultimate Arctic animal.
0:19:37 > 0:19:43Long experience has taught him to treat the world's largest land carnivore with great respect.
0:19:43 > 0:19:44This is just a bit of a problem
0:19:44 > 0:19:48when we get bears as close as to the cabin.
0:19:48 > 0:19:53Polar bears are great because they're big, sexy, charismatic animals
0:19:53 > 0:19:56that will eat you if they get the chance.
0:19:56 > 0:20:01You are in their domain, their kingdom.
0:20:01 > 0:20:06I can think of few people who have more experience filming polar bears than Doug.
0:20:06 > 0:20:09His knowledge of these superb predators
0:20:09 > 0:20:11can mean the difference between life and death.
0:20:14 > 0:20:15For the Planet Earth series,
0:20:15 > 0:20:18Doug had travelled to the Norwegian Arctic
0:20:18 > 0:20:22looking for female polar bears emerging from their dens.
0:20:22 > 0:20:25He and his field assistant were the first human beings
0:20:25 > 0:20:28to visit this fragile wilderness in 25 years.
0:20:28 > 0:20:31Because motorised vehicles are prohibited,
0:20:31 > 0:20:36they had to travel through bear country alone and on foot.
0:20:36 > 0:20:40When the polar explorers used to haul their gear like this,
0:20:40 > 0:20:45they used to have names for their sledges - things like
0:20:45 > 0:20:47Intrepid and Braveheart.
0:20:48 > 0:20:54- I'm going to call mine "You- BLEEP, BLEEP- awkward, heavy object."
0:21:00 > 0:21:02Despite putting on a brave face,
0:21:02 > 0:21:05Doug knew this was a very risky way of tracking bears.
0:21:07 > 0:21:11But it was testament to the Norwegian authorities' confidence in his skills.
0:21:13 > 0:21:15If you don't have a snow machine,
0:21:15 > 0:21:19and you have a bear that comes at you with, more than just interest,
0:21:19 > 0:21:21you better know what you're doing.
0:21:21 > 0:21:23Because if you don't know what you're doing,
0:21:23 > 0:21:25it'll end up either eating you
0:21:25 > 0:21:27or you'll have to kill it.
0:21:27 > 0:21:32And, for me, the biggest tragedy would be to have to shoot a bear,
0:21:32 > 0:21:34and injure a bear, simply to protect myself.
0:21:36 > 0:21:39To be given that level of trust by the Norwegians
0:21:39 > 0:21:43and then to come up trumps with the sequence that we got -
0:21:43 > 0:21:45that sticks in my mind as being special.
0:21:59 > 0:22:02This is fantastic. She's out on the slopes.
0:22:02 > 0:22:05Four weeks, we've been waiting to get this one opportunity!
0:22:05 > 0:22:08But now that it's happening, it's just fantastic.
0:22:11 > 0:22:13The challenge of filming polar bear behaviour
0:22:13 > 0:22:17is something which many wildlife cameramen relish.
0:22:19 > 0:22:21Scottish film-maker Gordon Buchanan
0:22:21 > 0:22:26and his team devised a novel perspex hide - nicknamed the Ice Cube -
0:22:26 > 0:22:29to allow him to get dramatic close-up footage.
0:22:30 > 0:22:35You have to admire the bravery when capturing these remarkable shots.
0:22:35 > 0:22:37She's coming closer and closer.
0:22:37 > 0:22:39Oh, my God!
0:22:39 > 0:22:41She is enormous.
0:22:41 > 0:22:42Jeez!
0:22:43 > 0:22:45This animal wanted to eat me.
0:22:47 > 0:22:52And she spent 40 minutes just looking for any weakness in the Ice Cube.
0:22:52 > 0:22:53RATTLING
0:22:53 > 0:22:55The door's not good.
0:22:55 > 0:22:57OK, just checking the lock.
0:22:59 > 0:23:02'And I just thought, this is a ridiculous thing to do.'
0:23:02 > 0:23:06But, you know, it did give us these incredible shots.
0:23:07 > 0:23:09She's feeling it, pressing...
0:23:09 > 0:23:12She's feeling that Perspex is flexing.
0:23:12 > 0:23:14She's trying to see if she can crawl through it.
0:23:14 > 0:23:17She's trying to see if she can bite through it.
0:23:18 > 0:23:20It's getting a little bit hairy in here.
0:23:20 > 0:23:23It was then I realised really what a polar bear is.
0:23:23 > 0:23:27It is one of the biggest, most intimidating animals on the planet.
0:23:29 > 0:23:31Look - it's just towering above me.
0:23:31 > 0:23:35If I was to be standing side-by-side with this animal,
0:23:35 > 0:23:37it would be about seven feet tall.
0:23:38 > 0:23:41Fortunately, Gordon's gamble paid off.
0:23:41 > 0:23:44The bear lost interest and wandered off.
0:23:44 > 0:23:47But it's a reminder that filming wildlife at the poles
0:23:47 > 0:23:50takes exceptional courage and dedication.
0:23:54 > 0:23:56The challenges fade into nothing, however,
0:23:56 > 0:24:00when compared with the prize of filming rare animal events.
0:24:00 > 0:24:02One of the most elusive
0:24:02 > 0:24:04and extraordinary hunting techniques
0:24:04 > 0:24:06in the natural world was thought to be used
0:24:06 > 0:24:09by a certain pod of killer whales to catch seals.
0:24:11 > 0:24:12Doug Allan spent his entire career
0:24:12 > 0:24:16trying to capture this rumoured behaviour on film.
0:24:17 > 0:24:20That was a 32-year holy grail.
0:24:20 > 0:24:24Back in 1977, when I was in the Antarctic,
0:24:24 > 0:24:27there was vague rumours came out
0:24:27 > 0:24:30about killers whales taking seals off the ice floes,
0:24:30 > 0:24:33but it was all second, third hand.
0:24:33 > 0:24:36After several fruitless expeditions,
0:24:36 > 0:24:38Doug returned south for one last attempt,
0:24:38 > 0:24:42accompanied by fellow Scottish cameraman, Doug Anderson.
0:24:42 > 0:24:47This time, the team met with almost instant success.
0:24:47 > 0:24:49There's a killer whale at 11 o'clock.
0:24:49 > 0:24:53About 200 metres, heading towards those two seals on the floe.
0:24:53 > 0:24:55This could be really good.
0:24:55 > 0:25:00We found a pod, we followed them, the ice conditions were perfect
0:25:00 > 0:25:02and they began to do this wave-washing.
0:25:08 > 0:25:10And, boy, they did it a lot!
0:25:12 > 0:25:16For three-and-a-half weeks, we ran with the pack.
0:25:16 > 0:25:20It felt like they were on a mission the whole time.
0:25:20 > 0:25:24That behaviour had been seen six times in 100 years and we saw it.
0:25:24 > 0:25:26We saw 16 kills.
0:25:27 > 0:25:31A remote stabilised camera was operated by Doug Allan
0:25:31 > 0:25:32from the wheelhouse.
0:25:32 > 0:25:36Meanwhile, Doug Anderson followed the hunt from on deck.
0:25:36 > 0:25:38We saw the first kill.
0:25:40 > 0:25:43Then we saw another one, and another one.
0:25:43 > 0:25:44It's all pretty intense.
0:25:46 > 0:25:47Oh. Another wave.
0:25:47 > 0:25:50Then we got in the Zodiac and you know, the animals kept on killing.
0:25:50 > 0:25:52We were worried that they would be put off.
0:25:52 > 0:25:54But we got right next to the ice floe
0:25:54 > 0:25:58and got the pole camera in the water and got the seals being washed in.
0:26:06 > 0:26:09Far from being put off by Doug's presence, a group of juveniles
0:26:09 > 0:26:12actually seemed to show a worrying interest in him -
0:26:12 > 0:26:15lining up for a run on the inflatable.
0:26:17 > 0:26:18Oh!
0:26:20 > 0:26:23The crew got an uncomfortably close-up view of the whales'
0:26:23 > 0:26:25remarkable hunting technique.
0:26:33 > 0:26:37Fortunately, it seemed to have been only a kind of practice run
0:26:37 > 0:26:41and the film crew were able to continue recording some
0:26:41 > 0:26:45of the most astonishing behaviour any of them had ever witnessed.
0:26:50 > 0:26:53There are moments of that trip that are just burnt on my memory.
0:26:53 > 0:26:55I know that when I'm 80 years old
0:26:55 > 0:26:59and sitting reminiscing about my life, I'll relive that.
0:27:01 > 0:27:06Over the past few decades, a generation of wildlife cameramen
0:27:06 > 0:27:10have shared some unforgettable experiences with us.
0:27:10 > 0:27:13They have opened up worlds unreachable for most -
0:27:13 > 0:27:17and captured moments unimaginable to many.
0:27:18 > 0:27:21But to do so, they have had to endure tough conditions
0:27:21 > 0:27:24that few of us would happily tolerate.
0:27:24 > 0:27:25Cup of tea. Stage one.
0:27:25 > 0:27:29This is the life of the wildlife film-maker.
0:27:29 > 0:27:32Wildlife filming is glamorous in the eyes of some,
0:27:32 > 0:27:38but it involves a whole lot more than simply being in some nice location.
0:27:38 > 0:27:39Brrr!
0:27:39 > 0:27:42It takes a degree of tenacity
0:27:42 > 0:27:45and putting up with a lot of tough things.
0:27:48 > 0:27:51Working underneath the sea ice, it's a grind.
0:27:51 > 0:27:55But if something you've waited for or something unexpected happens,
0:27:55 > 0:27:58then, for sure, the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.
0:28:00 > 0:28:03The focus that we have, the ability to spend our time doing nothing
0:28:03 > 0:28:06but watching for that thing happening
0:28:06 > 0:28:09means that sometimes we film things that nobody has ever seen before.
0:28:09 > 0:28:11Those moments of magic,
0:28:11 > 0:28:14that's what makes it all worthwhile.
0:28:19 > 0:28:23Next time, our cameramen are on dry land
0:28:23 > 0:28:26filming a snow leopard hunt for the first time,
0:28:26 > 0:28:29using infra-red cameras,
0:28:29 > 0:28:31and getting up close and personal.
0:28:33 > 0:28:35Too close.
0:28:51 > 0:28:54Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd