‘Life in Colour’.
Together with Netflix and the BBC, the Nine Network has co-commissioned three-part series Life In Colour, presented by Sir David Attenborough, an official Australian-UK co-production that will explore colour in nature.
Per the official synopsis: “Colour makes our world a beautiful place to live in, but there is so much more to it than beauty. As Sir David, the world’s most famous wildlife filmmaker, will illustrate, colour is the amazing way animals both communicate and collaborate – it’s even their language of life and death.”
According to Deadline, the series will be shot on new cameras built specifically for the show.
The series will be produced by Sydney’s SeaLight Films (a subsidiary of Sealight Pictures) and Humble Bee Films, from Bristol, UK. Production on the series has commenced, and Australian filming locations include Adelaide River; Sydney and Thredbo, and around Lizard Island and the Channel Country. Screen Australia and Screen NSW have invested in the show.
The key creative team includes Colette Beaudry (Shark Exile; Can We Save the Reef?), Sharmila Choudhury (Attenborough’s Natural Curiosities), Stephen Dunleavy (Tasmania: Weird and Wonderful), Adam Geiger (Can We Save The Reef?), Nick Green (Seven Worlds, One Planet) and Sally Thomas (Attenborough and the Sea Dragon). Sealight’s Beaudry and Humble Bee’s Dunleavy are the executive producers.
BBC TWO controller Patrick Holland said: “Any series authored by Sir David is very special and this promises to be exceptional. I am looking forward to seeing the combination of innovative photography and rich analysis to explore the role colour plays in animals’ lives.”
Screen Australia head of documentary Bernadine Lim said: “This is a prestigious opportunity for local production company SeaLight Pictures to work on a large-scale co-production with global reach. The series will leave an enduring legacy for our national identity through innovation and scientific insights as it presents a new way of seeing and understanding Australia’s unique fauna.”
Beaudry tells IF: “When Sir David Attenborough made his first series on colour for the BBC, it was… in black and white. He was an early advocate for Britain to adapt colour TV. He has wanted to make this series for decades, but only now have science and technology combined, specifically for this series, to allow our eyes to appreciate how animals see their world.
Life in Colour presented by David Attenborough is expected to air on Nine early in 2021 as part of a co-ordinated worldwide premiere.The series will be available globally for Netflix members outside the UK, Ireland and Australia. Flame Distribution will manage international sales.