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Joined: 07 Aug 2008
Posts: 1853
Location: The Wild West
Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2011 12:10 pm Post Subject: Frozen Planet: BBC 'faked' polar bear birth
Caught yet again! Despite many sheeple believing wholeheartedly that the BBC (Briteish Bullscheisen Conspiracy?) is the pinnacle of perfect programming (see what I did there?! :wink: ), here's another example of how they do whatever it takes to get the story out and collect the accolades. Has been posted here because one should consider all BBC reporting on global warming in the same light! As George Carlin used to say - "It's all bull-s-h-i-t folks, and it's bad for ya!"
PS. Note all the mindless tv-eyed drones jumping to the defence of their favourite programmer in the comments! Very obviously barefaced lying to the public is perfectly acceptable to the average zombie in this post-Clinton/Lewinsky age :roll:
Frozen Planet: BBC 'faked' polar bear birth
Scenes from the BBC’s landmark Frozen Planet series, which viewers believed were filmed in the Arctic, were shot in a zoo, it emerged last night.
A pair of two-day-old polar bear cubs, seen in BBC's Frozen Planet
By Anita Singh, Showbusiness Editor
7:10AM GMT 12 Dec 2011
In the latest fakery row to hit the Corporation, footage of a polar bear cub being born was filmed in a man-made den in a German animal park.
But the accompanying voiceover from Sir David Attenborough referred to cubs being born “beneath the snow” and the footage was intercut with scenes of polar bears in the wild.
The truth about the sequence was not disclosed in the programme. Only viewers who visited the Frozen Planet website and stumbled across a video by the producer, Kathryn Jeffs, would have learned that they had been watching bears in captivity.
Today Sir David, 85, refused to comment on the revelation. Asked whether he thought the clip may have misled viewers, he said as he left his house: "I'm in a real rush, I've got to go."
Last night the BBC said the script was “carefully worded” and did not mislead the audience.
But John Whittingdale, chairman of the Commons culture, media and sport committee, told the Daily Mirror: “My view has always been that broadcasters should not seek to give viewers a false impression and it is much better if they are entirely open.
“If this was not filmed in the wild it would have been much better to have made that clear in the commentary. It’s questionable how many people would visit the website and find the video clip which explained the circumstances of the filming.”
The scenes were broadcast on November 23 in episode five of the series, which regularly drew eight million viewers.
A polar bear was filmed walking across the Arctic landscape during a blizzard. The camera then cut to a close-up of a female bear with her newborn cubs.
“On these slopes beneath the snow, new lives are beginning. The cubs are born blind and tiny,” the voiceover said.
“In two more months polar bear families will emerge on the snowy slopes all around the Arctic... but for now they lie protected within their icy cocoons.”
The BBC said the script was not misleading because it was not referring to the specific cubs shown in the footage, but to cubs in general.
A spokesman said: “This particular sequence would be impossible to film in the wild. The way the footage was captured is clearly explained on the programme website.”
The spokesman declined to comment on claims that the sequence used fake snow in the zoo scenes to make them appear more authentic.
It is the second time that a Sir David Attenborough documentary has faked a polar bear birth - a 1997 series used footage shot in a Belgian zoo.
Past BBC scandals include Blue Peter faking the winner of a competition and a trailer for a royal documentary that was edited to make it appear as if the Queen had stormed out of a photoshoot.
Joined: 07 Aug 2008
Posts: 1853
Location: The Wild West
Posted: Wed Dec 14, 2011 9:18 am Post Subject:
BBC admits several scenes in Frozen Planet were NOT shot in the wild as 'faking' row heats up
Bosses stun viewers by admitting they often fake documentary footage
Sequence of caterpillar freezing and thawing was filmed 'in a box'
Scene of a snowflake forming was filmed 'in a controlled environment'
'We're making movies' says presenter Sir David Attenborough
By Keith Gladdis and Simon Tomlinson
Last updated at 12:14 PM on 13th December 2011
BBC bosses today admitted faking a number of scenes in their wildlife showcase piece Frozen Planet, which viewers had assumed were filmed in the wild.
Following yesterday's revelations that a scene inside a polar bear's den was filmed in a zoo, programme makers today admitted a sequence involving a caterpillar freezing and then thawing out was filmed 'in a box'.
A time-lapse film of a snowflake forming was also captured in a controlled environment, the BBC said.
Faked: Some footage of this woolly caterpillar freezing was not filmed in its natural environment, but in a box instead. It was
shown in an episode of Frozen Planet on November 2
Not quite so natural: As the caterpillar gets colder, its breathing stops before finally its gut and blood freeze
Misleading: When the caterpillar thaws again, it scurries off. Some of the footage was doctored for the programme
Presenter Sir David Attenborough came out in defence of the techniques yesterday by saying documentaries sometimes had to be treated like movies so as not to 'ruin the atmosphere' for the viewer.
He was speaking after it emerged that dramatic footage of a polar bear tending her newborn cubs on the flagship show was in fact filmed in a Dutch zoo using fake snow.
Eight million viewers had been led to believe the scene had been captured by BBC cameramen inside an underground cave in the brutal sub-zero temperatures of the Arctic wilderness.
Among the latest pieces of artistic licence to surface was an episode on November 2 in which Sir David narrates over footage of a caterpillar freezing.
He said: 'Beneath the rock, the caterpillar is out of the wind, but the cold penetrates deep into the ground.
'Soon its heart stops beating, it ceases to breathe and its body starts to freeze - first its gut, then its blood.'
On thin ice: Sir David Attenborough with an anaesthetised polar bear in Svalbard during episode seven of the hit show Frozen Planet
Preparing for the new arrivals: The fake nest being built in a Dutch zoo, ahead of the birth of the polar bear cubs
Not as it seems: The 'den' in the wildlife park was constructed out of plaster and wood, built below the zoo's polar bear enclosure.
It was fitted with cameras shortly before the birth
Some of it, however, was filmed in an artificial habitat, according to The Daily Mirror.
The BBC said: 'There's a section with a woolly caterpillar, but the vast majority of it is filmed in the wild.
'And there's another sequence with snowflakes which is set up - it's filmed in a controlled situation, so they can get really close footage.'
Corporation bosses yesterday admitted that this kind of editing trickery was 'standard practice' when making such programmes, but claimed Frozen Planet met expected editorial standards.
It was also claimed that the narration was carefully worded so it did not mislead audiences.
But Mediawatch said it would have 'done no harm' to have explained how they did it at the end of the episode where they give a behind-the-scenes explanation of the programme.
The group's Vivienne Pattison said: 'Viewers are grown up, they would understand why it could not have been done in the wild.'
Yesterday, viewers reacted with outrage after it was revealed that the captivating scenes of a polar bear feeding her cubs were filmed in a Dutch zoo.
In one of the most engaging moments of its Winter episode, the tiny bears are shown mewling at their mother and nuzzling her for milk.
But the footage, narrated by Sir David and interspersed with real shots of the Arctic, was in fact filmed in a den made of plaster and wood in a wildlife enclosure.
The truth behind the fakery is only revealed in a hard-to-find video among 14 other clips accompanying the Winter episode of the series on the BBC website.
Moving scene: The pair of two-day-old polar bear cubs shown on the documentary. At this age they weighed less than a kilo, but
were filmed in a zoo
The polar bear and cub inside the man-made den fashioned out of wood and covered in fake snow
Faked? What the viewers saw on Frozen Planet turned out not to be filmed in the wild, but in a Netherlands zoo
Mixed: The scene was mixed with real footage of polar bears in the wild, which may have misled viewers
John Whittingdale MP, chairman of the Commons culture, media and sports committee, said it was ‘hugely disappointing’ viewers were misled.
BBC editorial guidelines on wildlife programmes say that when it is impractical or unsafe to film something in the wild ‘it can be editorially and ethically justified to use captive animals’.
The guidelines add: ‘But we must never claim that such sequences were shot in the actual location depicted in the film.’
Mr Whittingdale said: ‘Broadcasters should not seek to give viewers a false impression. If this was not filmed in the wild it would have been much better to have made that clear in the commentary.
‘It is questionable how many people would visit the website and find the video clip which explained the circumstances of the filming.’
The den scenes are featured in episode five of the £16million series.
At no point are viewers told they were filmed last Christmas in a den underneath a zoo’s polar bear enclosure. The den was fitted with cameras shortly before the birth of the cubs.
Only viewers who visited the Frozen Planet website and found a video by the producer Kathryn Jeffs would have found the truth.
The documentary drew in eight million viewers transfixed by moving scenes of a polar cub being born
She said it would be impractical to film the carnivores in the wild, adding: ‘The problem for us is that they give birth in these dens of ice and there’s absolutely no way we can get our cameras down there.’
Sir David, 85, also defended the methods used by Frozen Planet. He said: ‘If you had tried to put a camera in the wild in a polar bear den, she would either have killed the cub or the cameraman.’
He added: ‘It’s not falsehood, and we don’t keep it secret either.’
The BBC said the way the scene had been captured was ‘clearly explained’ on the website.
It said it had received only five complaints following the revelations.
A spokesman added: ‘This particular sequence would be impossible to film in the wild.’
The series website has been extremely popular with our viewers, who regularly look at it for background information and extra clips from Frozen Planet.
'That segment was on the relevant programme page and the series website is given at the end of each episode.'
Code:
THE BEEB'S FAKES FOUND OUT
Panorama: The BBC apologised in June after it was found ‘likely’ that Panorama had faked scenes of boys said to be working in an Indian sweatshop.
Blue Peter: BBC fined £50,000 in June 2007 after a young studio guest posed as a caller when the telephone system failed during a 2006 phone-in.
Children in Need: A fictitious winner’s details were broadcast during Children in Need on BBC1 Scotland in November 2005 after no calls came through from the public.
A Year With The Queen: BBC apologised to the Queen in 2007 after a trailer wrongly implied that she had stormed out of a sitting with photographer Annie Leibovitz.
The Liz Kershaw Show: BBC6 Music found to have repeatedly faked competitions where no prizes existed and that callers had been members of the production team or their friends.
Code:
IS SIR DAVID MAKING IT UP AS HE GOES ALONG?
This is not the first time Sir David Attenborough has been accused of misleading viewers in his wildlife documentaries.
In 1997, in the most memorable scene of Polar Bear, Arctic Warrior, a mother bear was filmed giving birth to and snuggling with her newborn cub. Viewers were led to believe the scene took place in the Arctic. In fact, it was filmed in a zoo in Frankfurt, Germany.
In 2001, Sir David was accused of using deceptive techniques in Blue Planet when it included a lobster spawning scene that was filmed in a British aquarium. Viewers were led to believe the scene was taking place off the coast of Nova Scotia.
And in 2008, Sir David was accused of staging a confrontation between himself and a cobra in a South African desert for the series, Life in Cold Blood.
Joined: 07 Aug 2008
Posts: 1853
Location: The Wild West
Posted: Fri Dec 16, 2011 9:38 pm Post Subject:
So next time you're listening to or watching a BBC report on global warming, just remember these words...
BBC: We Fake It All The Time Tuesday, 13 December 2011 09:04 Simon Boyle, Daily Mirror
SIR David Attenborough yesterday defended Frozen Planet’s fake polar bear footage - by comparing BBC nature documentaries to movies. His blunt remarks came as more footage from the series was exposed as a sham.
In a surprising justification for duping millions of viewers, the TV star argued that owning up to splicing archive film with real Arctic scenes during the programme would have spoiled the mood.
His blunt remarks came as more footage from the series was exposed as a sham.
Speaking after our exclusive story yesterday revealed shots of a polar bear and her newborn cubs were staged in a zoo using fake snow, Sir David, 85, said: “The question is, during the middle of this scene when you are trying to paint what it is like in the middle of winter at the pole, to say ‘Oh, by the way, this was filmed in a zoo’.
“It ruins the atmosphere, and destroys the pleasure of the viewers and destroys the atmosphere you are trying to create.
“It’s not a falsehood and we don’t keep it secret either. But to say actually in the middle of that sequence, I mean how far do you take this?
“Do you say this is a penguin, but actually it was a different penguin colony than this one and this one is a different one? Come on, we were making movies.”
It yesterday emerged BBC producers also misled viewers about footage of a frozen caterpillar in hit seven-part series Frozen Planet.
In an episode on November 2, Sir David said: “Beneath the rock the caterpillar is out of the wind, but the cold penetrates deep into the ground.
“Soon it’s heart stops beating, it ceases to breathe, and it’s body starts to freeze – first it’s gut, then it’s blood.”
The footage included a wide shot of the caterpillar’s natural habitat above ground, and a close-up of the creature beginning to freeze underneath snow and ice.
But some of it was actually filmed in an artificial habitat – in fact, a box.
Another scene involving snowflakes forming at close range was also set up and produced in a controlled environment using time-lapse photography.
The BBC admitted: “There’s a sequence with snowflakes which is set up – it’s filmed in a controlled situation, so they can get really close footage. And there’s another section with a woolly caterpillar, but the vast majority of it is filmed in the wild.”
In a further blow to wildlife fans, corporation bosses yesterday confessed that staging footage was standard practice in natural history programmes. They insisted such editing tricks were necessary to create the documentaries, and added the programme met the expected editorial standards.
A spokesman said: “While the great majority of footage for Frozen Planet is filmed entirely in the wild, on occasion certain sequences need to be filmed in controlled conditions – otherwise we wouldn’t be able to bring these stories to our audiences.
“This type of filming is standard practice across the industry when creating natural history programmes.”
The spokesperson added the narration was carefully worded so as not to mislead audiences – and the details of the zoo footage was explained on the BBC’s website.
But last night Mediawatch hit out at the corporation’s excuse. Vivienne Pattison said: “I’m sorry, but it’s a bit pathetic to argue that the details were available on the website. How many people would have looked at it?
“It would have done them no harm to explain how they did the filming at the end of the episode where they give viewers a look behind the scenes. Viewers are grown up, they would understand why it could not have been done in the wild.”
Sir David said filming a bears’ nest in the wilderness would have been too dangerous. He told ITV’s This Morning: “If you had tried to put a camera in the wild in a polar bear den, mother’s den, she would have either killed the cub or the cameraman, one or the other. I mean, it is out of the question.”
Last night the BBC refused to disclose the precise location and name of the Dutch zoo where the filming took place.
A spokeswoman would only say: “It’s not set up to be deluged with calls from the media.”
Frozen Planet, watched by an average 8.7 million viewers, has been sold to more than 30 countries.
Jim Shelley - verdict
NO ONE wants to criticise Sir David Attenborough, given the amazing television he has made and the work he's done to preserve wildlife and educate us about the way we are destroying the planet.
But in the case of Polar Beargate, he would be better to recognise that what he and the BBC did was duplicitous and simply apologise.
The dodgy footage was the most touching scene in Episode Five of Frozen Planet - watched by some eight million trusting viewers.
The pictures would have been NO LESS remarkable if Sir David had simply mentioned that they were effectively library footage, shot in what we now know was a German animal park.
After all, as he pointed out on This Morning: "If you put a camera in the wild in a polar bear den, she would either have killed the cub or she would have killed the cameraman." He could have easily explained this at the time. It is disingenuous to claim that this would have spoiled the atmosphere and to argue that the BBC "did not keep it secret".
Attenborough's voiceover for the footage sighed in wonder: "On these slopes beneath the snow, new lives are beginning.
"The cubs are born blind and tiny. In two more months polar bear families will emerge on the snowy slopes all around the Arctic... but for now they lie protected within their icy cocoons."
This is clearly misleading. And viewers will be disappointed to find out that Sir David is yet another TV presenter they cannot totally trust.
