3D Natural History Series
Multi-Platform

Discover the hidden dramas in the undergrowth of our planet at plant scale and in plant time

Meet the dynamic, bloodthirsty, and heroic characters of the plant world guided by Natural History Legend, David Attenborough. The hidden lives of plants are revealed for the first time in 8K 3D virtual reality at 60fps, through spectacular macro cinematography and time-lapse sequences shot over weeks.

In continuation of the landmark production, David Attenborough’s Kingdom of Plants, comes this breathtaking three-part immersive series that reveals the perils and drama of the plant world.

Watch Now on Meta Quest TV 

Over three episodes, unearth allies, enemies, and predators of the plant kingdom. Sit inside some of the most beautiful and rare blooms on our planet, or be beguiled by the beautiful but bloodthirsty sundew.

Dive inside a microscope to see some of the smallest seeds in incredible detail. Be consumed by fungi: one of the most gruesome yet essential organisms on our earth. Witness the battle cry of a Pine tree and become entrapped in the infamous Venus Flytrap.

This immersive series lets you discover how the life of plants is far from static…

Behind The Scenes

One of the biggest challenges was putting this stunning, high-quality footage, captured at Kew Gardens for standard 16:9 screens, into virtual reality in a way that was accessible and interesting to everyone: from first time VR users to seasoned gamers.

Atlantic built on this rectilinear footage using a custom ‘set extension’ technique, created by compositor Tim Baier, so they were able to create full 180 scenes that completely envelope the user in the plant world.

One challenge is that the plant world has many visitors who live life at a much faster pace. The timelapse set-up was a single camera capturing both the left eye and right eye on a timer.

The team worked to correct the stereo between eyes to account for frantic insects trying to escape a vicious sundew, or a bug aiding and abetting the fungi on the forest floor. Certain flowers and plants proved far more active than anticipated; Hylocereus could often jump out of frame unexpectedly as they rushed to open during the night.

Credits

Narrator
David Attenborough

Director
Iona McEwan

Producer
Lou Doye

Executive Producer
Anthony Geffen

Executive Producer (Meta Quest)
Eric Cheng

Producer (Meta Quest)
Jonathan Gleit

Supervising Producer
Elliot Graves

Editor
Richard Lester

Sound Design & Spatial Mix
Oliver Kadel (1.618 Digital)

Design Director
Steve McGeorge

Edit Assistant
Joe Packman

VFX Producer
Vikas Gandhi

2D Lead Artist
Tim Baier

3D Lead Artist
Matthew Baker Jones

Modeler
Zahra Al-Naib

Director of Photography
Tim Cragg

Specialist Photography
Tim Shepherd
Rob Hollingworth

Production Director (Atlantic)
Martin Williams

Production Researcher (Atlantic)
Will Benson

Buisness and Legal
Mimi Gilligan

Production Accountant
Vincent Pretorius

Managing Director
Claudia Perkins

Head of Facilities
Conor Moss

Head of IT
Steve Cullen

Edit Assistant
Marc Jones

Macro Photography
Peter Parks
Simon de Glanville

Stereo Technician
Jason Lord-Castle

Sound Recordist
Adam Butterworth

Tom Mayhew
180 VR Camera

Al Caudullo
William Caudullo
Thomas Hübner

With Thanks To
Gina Fullerlove (Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew)
Matt Knott (Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew)
Karl G. (Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew)
Aminata Dia (Meta Quest)
Brittney Black (Meta Quest)
Colum Slevin (Meta Quest)
Elizabeth Malone (Meta Quest)
Katalin Larocque-Tassi (Meta Quest)
Shelly McGee (Meta Quest)
Yelena Rachitsky (Meta Quest)