Frozen Planet.S1.E1 ∙ To the Ends of the Earth
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00:30Over one-third of our planet is frozen, and yet the icy worlds of the Arctic and Antarctic
00:43are as alien to most of us as the surface of another planet.
00:47They are places of superlatives, from ice caps that hold nearly 80% of our planet's
00:56fresh water, to frozen forests that encircle the entire globe.
01:05These are places that feed our imaginations, places that seem to be borrowed from fairytales.
01:12They are dominated and shaped by the ice, both by its coming and by its going.
01:25This is our planet's last true wilderness, and one that is changing just as we're beginning
01:32to understand it.
01:36In this series, we'll be travelling to all parts of these lonely lands, both north and
01:41south, to witness its wonders, perhaps for the last time, and to discover some extraordinary
01:48examples of survival against all the odds, as can be found anywhere on the planet.
02:18Poles are permanently capped with ice.
02:21Nowhere is colder, windier, or more hostile to life.
02:31I'm standing at the North Pole, the very top of the Earth.
02:36Up here, it's easy to see why the polar regions are so cold.
02:42The sun never rises high enough in the sky to warm my back, and those rays that do strike
02:50the surface are mostly reflected back from this great whiteness.
02:56But the fundamental problem is that there's no sun here at all for half the year.
03:05The polar winter is unrivaled in its harshness, a night that lasts for months.
03:13Only the toughest stay, as temperatures plunge to minus 70 degrees centigrade, and yet the
03:20greatest challenge to life here is not the cold, but the extreme swings between the seasons.
03:29When the sun finally returns, an extraordinary transformation begins.
03:36This frozen world begins to melt away.
03:44The polar spring brings a brief opportunity for life.
03:51By summer, the sun no longer sets and works its magic for 24 hours a day.
04:01Now it's a race to breed before the sun departs.
04:10By autumn, all but the hardiest abandon the poles and the ice extends its grip.
04:23Land and sea close down for the long polar winter until, once again, the sun returns.
04:39It's spring in the high Arctic, and the sun illuminates a giant frozen ocean, the first
04:45stop on our journey.
04:51The most powerful land predator is on the prowl.
05:01A male polar bear is searching for a mate.
05:08Maling females are few and far between, and the sea ice on which he travels will soon
05:13melt and vanish.
05:18He's running out of time to find a mate in this vast frozen desert.
05:39Ten miles ahead, a single female without cubs.
05:44Exactly what the male is seeking.
05:49He seems to relish her scent, even though she's miles away.
05:55This is an exciting prospect.
06:00She's clearly giving off the right signals.
06:06He locks onto her tracks, eager not to lose her trail.
06:10It's easier to tread in the compacted snow of her footprints.
06:15This pursuit could last for days.
06:24The female eventually comes into view.
06:29The search is finally over.
06:44For the female, only half his weight, this must be a nerve-wracking encounter.
06:49The male could kill her if he chooses.
06:56But he has other intentions.
07:00And she is ready and willing.
07:05She leads him to higher ground.
07:14It seems that courting polar bears prefer privacy, often leaving the sea ice and heading
07:20for the hills to avoid the prying eyes of rival males who might disturb them.
07:29Few have witnessed this moment.
07:33For the male, his only tender encounter in an otherwise solitary life.
07:43But it doesn't last long.
07:45A rival suitor has also caught the female's scent.
07:51Courtship has to be put on hold.
07:53He must fight for his rights.
08:06He sees off this first challenger without injury to either party.
08:11But bloodier battles are to come.
08:42Another battle won, though he has been slightly injured.
08:46He hurries back to his mate, but now she seems to have lost her enthusiasm.
08:54Female polar bears are high-maintenance.
09:12As she goes, he will follow, mating with her when she allows and guarding her at all times.
09:31Over the next two weeks, the male sees off many rivals, but the battles take their toll on him.
09:43He is almost spent, but he has ensured that no other bears have mated with his female.
09:55It's time for the couple to go their separate ways.
09:59She will give birth to his cubs alone in nine months' time, and he may never see her again.
10:09He returns to the frozen ocean, no doubt relieved to resume his solitary ways.
10:15And just in time, the ice beneath his feet will soon be gone.
10:24Each spring, the Arctic Ocean undergoes an extraordinary transformation.
10:30An area of sea ice the size of Europe melts, exposing the rich waters beneath.
10:39Short-tail shearwaters have travelled 10,000 miles from Australia to be here.
10:52Eighteen million visitors darken the skies, the largest gathering of seabirds on the planet.
11:14Humpback whales have come all the way from the equator to feed in these rich polar waters.
11:28Their giant tails are five metres across.
11:34Simply raising them above the surface gives the whales enough downward momentum to reach the great swarms of krill and herring below.
11:57The shearwaters follow the giant's lead.
12:20For those who can get here in summer, these waters provide a feast of epic proportions.
12:27But the good times will be very short, a problem that faces all life in the polar regions.
12:36Journeying south across the Arctic Ocean, the first land you reach is Greenland, the largest island in the world.
12:45Despite its name, Greenland is mostly white, covered by a giant ice sheet six times the size of the United Kingdom.
12:58In the middle of the island, the ice is nearly two miles thick. It's a bleak, quiet world.
13:11Sapphire blue melt lakes are the first sign that a dynamic process is underway.
13:21Each lake forms in a matter of days, expanding until it's miles across and starts to overflow.
13:30The spillwater then carves its way through the ice.
13:45The water courses through an icy delta like blood along the arteries of a cold-blooded monster, a monster that is stirring.
14:07And without warning, the water suddenly plunges down an open shaft, falling a vertical mile into the heart of the ice sheet.
14:36This meltwater has a surprising effect. It lubricates the junction between the ice and the rock floor beneath.
14:49So the entire ice sheet is now on the move, sliding downhill into the ocean.
14:58This, Jakobshavn Isbrae, is the fastest-flowing glacier on our planet, moving as much as 40 meters a day.
15:10As it advances, it destroys everything in its path, even cutting its way through Greenland's great mountain ranges on its drive downwards towards the sea.
15:25When speeded up, these solid rivers of ice seem to flow just like liquid rivers.
15:37This is the titanic force that cuts down mountains and levels the surface of continents.
16:01The ice is now entering the last stage of its descent.
16:08As it gains speed, huge crevasses open that extend down to its very core.
16:19It's reached the ocean, and millions of tons of ice have lost the support of their rocky bed.
16:29Something must give.
16:52These icefalls are an ominous sign of what is about to happen.
16:58It's a rapture deep within the glacier.
17:28A colossal iceberg is born.
17:55This single block of ice, many hundreds of meters across, would dwarf the biggest of mankind's buildings.
18:09Every year, tens of thousands of icebergs are spawned by Greenland's glaciers, and their number is steadily increasing as the climate continues to warm.
18:31The breakup of the bergs fills the bays of the Arctic with exquisite ice sculptures.
18:38It also releases great volumes of cold, fresh water into the sea.
18:45Greenland's meltwater influences the course of the ocean currents, which in turn has an effect on the weather around the world.
19:02The Arctic is closer to home than many of us realize.
19:07It includes the northernmost parts of the three continents on which most of us live, Europe, Asia, and North America.
19:18The first bare land we reach on our journey south is a bleak treeless wilderness known as tundra.
19:28Each spring, animals travel up from the south to be ready for the rich grazing that will be unveiled by the spring melt.
19:37For the caribou, the timing is critical.
19:40Arrive early and a winter storm could kill you.
19:43Delay too long and you may fail to lay down the fat needed to survive a polar winter.
19:58Further south still and stooped shrouded figures end the flat monotony of the tundra.
20:06This is the tree line, the first place on our journey with sufficient warmth and liquid water to enable a tree to grow.
20:18Surviving here is so crushingly difficult that it can take hundreds of years for a seedling to grow into a stunted shrub.
20:35But even small trees can provide cover for a predator.
20:41Wolves. These in northern Canada are the largest and most powerful in the world and they're setting out to hunt.
20:53The pack is 25 strong, a sign that the prey they're seeking is formidable.
21:06These bison are even bigger than their southern cousins and the largest land animals in North America.
21:14For generations, wolves and bison here have been shaped by their battles with each other, making each the most impressive of its kind.
21:25The bison will not stay long among the trees. They're not safe here.
21:36The wolves are closing in, but their chance of ambushing the bison in the woods has passed.
21:42Their prey are now in the open and grouped together for safety.
21:49The wolves will need to work as a team if they're to make a kill.
21:57They circle the herd, trying to unsettle it and split it up.
22:01But the bison are armed and dangerous. They will be safe as long as they stick together.
22:12The wolves up their game, harrying the herd, a ploy to trigger a stampede and split away one of the smaller ones.
22:22The bison form a defensive circle around their young, horns pointing outwards.
22:32The wolves need a bison to break rank.
22:41But the tables are turning, and now the wolves have to retreat.
22:48The pack focus their attention on the rear of the herd, and the bison begin to panic.
23:01A young bison is on the move.
23:05The wolves are ready to attack.
23:09But the bison are not.
23:13The wolves are on the move.
23:17The bison are on the move.
23:21The wolves are on the move.
23:25The wolves are on the move.
23:29A young bison falls behind.
23:37Even this yearling dwarfs the wolves.
23:48Running head down, the herd's only thought is escape.
23:58A stroke of luck for the wolves.
24:14The kill will feed the pack for several days, but then they will have to resume the chase.
24:21At the frozen ends of our planet, the struggle for survival never eases.
24:29The Arctic
24:37South of the treeline, the winters are shorter,
24:40so trees grow faster and taller, and forests begin to appear.
24:47As the warm, humid air from the south meets the cold Arctic air,
24:51the moisture it carries crystallizes, and snowflakes fall from the sky.
24:59Each crystal forms around a particle of dust.
25:09All have a six-fold symmetry, but no two have ever been found with exactly the same shape.
25:17Their variety and complexity is breathtaking.
25:27Each snowflake is water waiting to be released in spring.
25:32For this reason, snow is the lifeblood of these silent forests,
25:37and all that live here depend on it in order to survive.
25:41Some, like the Great Grey Owl, appear in spring for the boom times,
25:47then vanish like phantoms.
25:53Others, like their lemming prey, are here year-round beneath the snow,
25:58in search of food and shelter.
26:01Some vanish like phantoms.
26:07Others, like their lemming prey, are here year-round beneath the snow,
26:12insulated from the cold air above.
26:32The northern forests are a crossroads for seasonal visitors and Arctic specialists.
26:39But they are so much more than this.
26:41Together, they make up the taiga, an unbroken belt of forest
26:45that stretches 7,000 miles around our planet
26:49and contains one-third of all the trees on Earth.
27:02The taiga forest marks the end of our journey through the Arctic,
27:07from the frozen ocean down across the lands that surround it.
27:20The other end of our planet, the Antarctic, is starkly different.
27:26A frozen continent completely surrounded by ocean.
27:32Icebergs here are so large that they're measured in miles, not metres.
27:38They're the only obstacles in the path of giant waves
27:41which circle around the continent unchecked by other lands.
27:56These seas may be cold and storm-wracked, but they're bursting with life.
28:27No bird is more at home in water, and they are masterful surfers.
28:38Penguins are found only in the Southern Hemisphere.
28:43They can't fly, but they don't need to.
28:47They can swim, but they can't swim.
28:50Only in the Southern Hemisphere.
28:53They can't fly, but they don't need to.
28:57There are no polar bears here.
29:07These are gentoo penguins.
29:10Each spring, they come ashore to lay their eggs and rear their young.
29:15Their hungry chicks demand so much seafood that both parents have to go fishing.
29:26And fishing can be dangerous.
29:44A southern sea lion.
29:51It uses the speed of a breaking wave to catch up with the gentoos.
29:56Sea lions normally eat fish, so he's used to catching streamlined swimmers.
30:02But the gentoos seem more than his match out at sea.
30:05He must change tactics.
30:11The gentoos can't swim.
30:14They can't swim.
30:17They can't swim.
30:20They can't swim.
30:23They can't swim.
30:26Perhaps it will be easier in the shallows.
30:29But no, it seems penguins are uncatchable in water.
31:00How about on land?
31:05The penguins' wings, so powerful for swimming, are of no help when it comes to running.
31:10Now, surely the sea lion has a chance.
31:18But on the beach, both are like fish out of water.
31:29They can't swim.
31:45Rarely do hunter and hunted play their roles with so little skill.
31:49The outcome is anyone's guess.
32:29Over 40 million penguins take to the southern ocean to feed.
32:39They're joined by thousands of whales.
32:42Minkets are the most numerous.
32:46They all come here to harvest the richest ocean on earth.
32:53Carrying on south, we get our first glimpse of the frozen continent.
33:00South Africa
33:13Southern humpbacks, after travelling 4,000 miles from the equator,
33:18are finally arriving in Antarctica.
33:22Antarctica
33:26Humans have long felt the lure of this mysterious world.
33:30Yet it was only a hundred years ago that the first explorers walked inland
33:35and were confronted by the highest, driest and coldest territory on earth.
33:46Every year, the continent is transformed,
33:49as the sea ice that surrounds it begins to disappear.
34:01This melt halves the size of Antarctica.
34:06It's the most spectacular seasonal change occurring anywhere on our planet.
34:13The remnants of the sea ice are occupied by sunbathing seals
34:18that have been here all winter.
34:23But new arrivals are following the retreating ice age,
34:27and they have come here to hunt.
34:36Killer whales, the ocean's top predator.
34:42Killers are like wolves, for they will hunt animals far larger than themselves.
34:47But even smaller prey are a problem if you can't reach them.
34:57The solution is teamwork.
35:02Swimming in perfect formation, they flick their tails in unison
35:06and create a wave that cracks the ice.
35:13They regroup and assess the damage.
35:17A more powerful wave is needed.
35:25The ice flow is breaking up.
35:29Now they are close enough to get a good look at their target.
35:33The seal is a crab-eater, sharp-toothed and feisty.
35:37The seal is a crab-eater, sharp-toothed and feisty.
35:41Not their favourite.
35:47The wolves of the sea move on in search of easier quarry.
35:56A weddle seal, that's better.
35:59These are more docile and easier to tackle.
36:03The pod stays close together and travels silently.
36:09This time they unleash a far more powerful wave, and with astonishing accuracy.
36:22These big waves are not intended to break the ice,
36:25but to knock the prey into the water, and they rarely fail.
36:33The seal is a crab-eater, sharp-toothed and feisty.
36:37The seal is a crab-eater, sharp-toothed and feisty.
36:41The seal is a crab-eater, sharp-toothed and feisty.
36:45The seal is a crab-eater, sharp-toothed and feisty.
36:49The seal is a crab-eater, sharp-toothed and feisty.
36:53The seal is a crab-eater, sharp-toothed and feisty.
36:57The seal is a crab-eater, sharp-toothed and feisty.
37:01The seal is a crab-eater, sharp-toothed and feisty.
37:17The seal is now where the killers want it.
37:22But the hunt is far from over.
37:26They need to grab their prey by the tail, while avoiding its snapping jaws.
37:31Only then will they be able to pull it down and drown it.
37:38Side swipes create violent underwater turbulence, a new tactic.
37:51Blowing bubbles gives cover for others to lunge at the seal's tail.
38:02Somehow, the seal manages to reach a tiny ice floe.
38:12The killers could easily grab it, but now this seems to have become a game.
38:19The seal's life hangs on a roll of the ice.
38:32Yet again, the pod joins forces to dislodge the seal.
38:54The seal sees a chance to escape.
39:02Exhausted, it no longer has the energy to pull itself to safety.
39:08And the killers are moving in.
39:19Game over.
39:32Although such team hunts are rarely seen,
39:35scientists believe they may be the most complex ever documented in the natural world.
39:41They were first witnessed by Captain Scott and his men
39:44when they came to explore Antarctica 100 years ago.
39:51Journeying further south,
39:53the fragmenting ice is replaced by a permanent sheet
39:57that doesn't melt even at the height of summer.
40:02It's a barrier that many creatures find impossible.
40:08It repels even powerful minke whales.
40:11They have to turn back if they can no longer reach the air they need to breathe.
40:23Under the ice, life has to be extremely specialised to survive.
40:31Few of us will ever experience this strangely still world.
40:36And as yet, no one knows much about it.
40:45The crystalline surface of the ice stalactites provides a home for ice fish
40:50whose bodies are full of antifreeze.
40:54The sealing of ice shields those living below it
40:57from the violent polar weather that rages above.
41:01Little here has changed for millions of years.
41:08The cold allows animals to grow very slowly and become giants.
41:24A relative of the woodlouse is the size of a dinner plate.
41:31And this so-called sea spider has legs that span half a metre.
41:40Now, explorers are revealing other worlds that lie hidden beneath the ice
41:45on land and sea.
41:47Now, explorers are revealing other worlds that lie hidden beneath the ice on land.
41:56These smoking towers are the gateway to a network of caves.
42:04Each contains an extraordinary assembly of ice crystals,
42:08unlike any other on Earth.
42:18Like snowflakes, every crystal is unique.
42:24Some are taller than a man.
42:29Others are thought to harbour life,
42:31seeded by strange bacteria that thrive in these extreme conditions.
42:38The breeze that gently sways these crystals is responsible for making them.
42:43It's steam from the molten heart of Mount Erebus,
42:47the most southerly volcano on our planet.
43:02It's now thought that the ice caves fringing this crater
43:06may even be a home for hitherto unknown life forms.
43:14From this oasis of warmth at the edge of the continent,
43:18our journey continues inland towards the South Pole.
43:23The first great hurdle is the formidable trans-Antarctic mountain range.
43:30We're following the route taken by Scott and Amundsen
43:34as they struggle to become the first humans to reach the South Pole.
43:43They were travelling on foot,
43:45and their first sight of these mountains must have been daunting indeed.
43:50In front of them stretched one of the world's longest ranges,
43:53spanning 2,000 miles from one side of the continent to the other.
44:02The winds up here are the fastest on Earth.
44:04They reach speeds of 200 miles an hour.
44:08An ice-capped mountain bears the scars of the Gales,
44:12bizarre sculptures carved from solid ice.
44:26It's not only the ice that yields.
44:30This sculptured spire is the remnant of a mountain,
44:34eroded from all sides by the ferocious elements.
44:41Beyond, a wholly unexpected landscape, the dry valleys.
44:53Only 1% of Antarctica is free of ice,
44:56and most of that bare rock is here.
45:00The dry valleys are more like the surface of Mars
45:03than is any other place on Earth.
45:14The floor is covered with extraordinary natural sculptures,
45:18created by scientists from all over the world.
45:22The floor is covered with extraordinary natural sculptures,
45:26created by the same winds
45:28that help to keep these valleys free of snow.
45:34Over time, entire boulders are weathered from the inside out
45:38until just a shell remains.
45:46At the head of these valleys, ice is making its way down.
45:51Making a breakthrough.
45:55Millions of tons are tumbling in slow motion into the valley.
46:11These ice blocks are the size of skyscrapers.
46:22And this is the Beardmore Glacier,
46:25which Scott and his men somehow traversed on foot.
46:33It's over 100 miles long and one of the largest glaciers on Earth.
46:43But nothing could have prepared those early explorers
46:47for what they were about to encounter.
46:52The Antarctic Ice Cap
46:56The Antarctic Ice Cap, the largest expanse of ice on the planet.
47:02It's three miles thick in places
47:05and imprisons 70% of the world's fresh water.
47:12From here to the South Pole, 700 miles away,
47:16there is nothing but ice.
47:22The Antarctic Ice Cap
47:31I'm at the South Pole at the end of my journey.
47:35Although it's midsummer,
47:38the temperature here is a bone-chilling 35 degrees below freezing.
47:43It's exactly 100 years, almost to the day,
47:47that the first human beings stood right here.
47:51Amundsen followed by Scott.
47:54In those days, reaching the poles was regarded
47:58as the ultimate in human endeavour and endurance
48:02and a source of great national pride.
48:06Today, the polar regions have a rather different significance
48:11because now we've come to understand
48:14that what happens here and in the North
48:17affects every one of us,
48:20no matter where we live on this planet.
48:44Mount Erebus
48:52The greatest challenge for the team making Frozen Planet
48:55was the extreme remoteness of their locations.
48:58Many of the shoots lasted months at a time
49:01and needed a number of crews to join forces.
49:07One location that would require such siege tactics was Mount Erebus,
49:11Antarctica's most active volcano.
49:15This magical mountain does not give up her secrets easily.
49:25To capture the full story of Mount Erebus from top to bottom
49:29required four different film crews.
49:34The cave team is dropped off at 12,000 feet, close to the crater.
49:42In howling winds and thin oxygen,
49:45their challenge is to find a way into the volcano itself.
49:50They are venturing into the unknown.
49:53Somewhere below are spectacular ice caves,
49:56melted out by volcanic steam.
49:59Getting the team safely underground is a relief for director Chadden Hunter.
50:04Excellent. It's a lot warmer down here.
50:06It's freezing up there. Minus 29.
50:09With him is cameraman Gavin Thurston.
50:12You sort of forget being in here.
50:14You are actually inside a volcano.
50:17You know, above us, and below us, there's bubbling lava.
50:20And you've got all these gases seeping up through here,
50:23which is how these caves are made.
50:25So there's also increased carbon dioxide in here.
50:28As the cave team head deeper,
50:30dangerous volcanic gases made breathing difficult.
50:33The clock is ticking.
50:35They will not have long to find the caves of crystals.
50:41Above ground, the aerial team is pushing for the summit of Erebus.
50:47Series producer Vanessa Berlowitz directs from the front seat,
50:51while aerial cameraman Michael Kellam
50:53controls the camera attached to the nose.
50:56We're going to be around 14,000 feet.
50:58We're going to be on the performance limit of this aircraft.
51:00Any bad weather comes in up there,
51:03you're pretty much screwed, really.
51:05You've got to get up the mountain fast.
51:07Above 10,000 feet, the pilot must breathe oxygen
51:10through a plastic tube in his nostrils.
51:12Yeah, that's fine.
51:14Approaching the crater, conditions do not look good.
51:17Today, Erebus is belching out steam and gases,
51:20making flying extremely risky.
51:23Up here, the air is so thin,
51:25the helicopter can't hover and must keep moving.
51:29This is aerial filming at its most extreme.
51:34They struggle to get a clear view.
51:39We're just coming up to 14,000 feet.
51:42You can actually look right into the lava lake.
51:47That's looking really good, Mike. Just hold that there.
51:50The cameraman captures a rare shot of the molten lava,
51:53but it's soon obscured again.
51:59The volcano is temperamental.
52:01The team have seized a rare opportunity
52:03to see into its molten heart.
52:05But now they must descend to safety.
52:10As the weather closes in above,
52:12the cave team are making progress below.
52:22It's Christmas Day, and the crew are dressed for the occasion.
52:27Just watch my back on these icicles.
52:29I don't want to snap that top one off.
52:31No problem.
52:33Right. How strong are these pillars of ice, Matt?
52:39How thick around?
52:40It's about that round, about five...
52:42Really strong.
52:43So if I squeeze past, it's not going to snap it.
52:46Gavin is reassured by advice from the scientist.
52:50Oh!
52:51Oh!
52:52Gavin!
52:54No, I'm sorry.
52:57It's terrible.
52:58Oh, look. No, it fits perfectly, look. Look at that.
53:05Fortunately, these crystals are made of frozen water
53:08and can grow back in weeks.
53:11Got these beautiful clear glass-like pillars.
53:14And right next to it, this really delicate...
53:16Look how thin that filament is there.
53:22As the cave team explore deeper,
53:24each chamber reveals ice crystals
53:26more strange and spectacular than the last.
53:34No-one on the team imagined a single Antarctic mountain
53:37could house so many wonders.
53:40Down at the foot of Mount Erebus,
53:42a third crew, the dive team,
53:44plan to explore the volcano's lower slopes,
53:47which extend beneath the frozen sea.
53:50On board is underwater cameraman Hugh Miller.
53:53The problem is, we don't actually know what's under the ice here.
53:56So who knows? It's a bit of an adventure.
54:00Old friends, Hugh and Matt,
54:02are on their way to find out what's under the ice.
54:05Who knows? It's a bit of an adventure.
54:09Old-fashioned tools still work best.
54:11First, a hand chisel to create an opening,
54:14then a saw to widen the hole.
54:18Ice diving in the coldest waters on the planet
54:21should be taken extremely seriously.
54:24This dive's going to be a lot of things.
54:26Warmth is not on that list.
54:29Insulated suits will keep them alive under the ice
54:32for only 60 minutes.
54:35Once the helicopter departs, there's no margin for error.
54:43The dive team begin to explore the lower slopes of Erebus,
54:46discovering a hidden world rarely seen by humans.
54:52Patrolling the icy shores of the volcano
54:55are killer whales, the most southerly in the world.
54:59Trekking them from above is the orca team.
55:05They need a helicopter to get ahead of the whales
55:08and to land them on the fragile sea ice.
55:13Cameraman Jamie McPherson must pick his spot carefully.
55:16His aim is to get the cameras as close to the killer whales as possible
55:21without disturbing them.
55:26He uses a film camera to capture the action in slow motion.
55:36And the orcas come right by him.
55:41Even in the extreme cold,
55:43a film camera proves to be rugged and reliable,
55:46provided there's enough film in the camera.
55:52No!
55:56I got him coming out, I just didn't get him going back in.
56:06BELOW THE SEA ICE
56:08Below the sea ice, the dive team is setting up an underwater studio.
56:13Using a range of waterproof lights and time-lapse cameras,
56:16they hope to capture the growth of bizarre underwater ice formations.
56:29Over the coming weeks, the dive team would go below the ice
56:32over 100 times to film the extraordinary secret world
56:35on the lower flanks of Mount Erebus.
56:40On top of the ice, the orca team has repositioned.
56:44Their new goal is to get underwater shots of the whales.
56:48They don't dare to get in the water with orcas.
56:51Attaching a camera to a pole is a safer option,
56:54provided the whales aren't put off by it.
56:58BELOW THE SEA ICE
57:01No-one is prepared for what happens next.
57:05Tell Scotty what you just saw.
57:11The entire pod arrives.
57:28BELOW THE SEA ICE
57:33Eyeball to eyeball, this is about as close to killer whales
57:37as it's possible to get.
57:39By using multiple crews and cameras,
57:41the Frozen Planet team have been able to capture
57:44the full Erebus story,
57:46from the fire at its crater down to the whales
57:49that patrol its frozen shores.
57:51It's quite a privilege to feel whale breath on your face.
58:21BELOW THE SEA ICE