Thursday, January 13, 2011

Attenborough and Pterosaurs

Can't wait for this to come to the US. I hope at the end Attenborough flies into the sunset on the back of an azhdarchid.



From the movie's official website:

In Flying Monsters 3D, Sir David Attenborough the world’s leading naturalist, sets out to uncover the truth about the enigmatic pterosaurs, whose wingspans of up to 40 feet were equal to that of a modern day jet plane.

The central question and one of the greatest mysteries in palaeontology is: how and why did pterosaurs fly? How did creatures the size of giraffes defy gravity and soar
through prehistoric skies?

Driven by the information he finds as he attempts to answer these questions, Attenborough starts to unravel one of science’s more enduring mysteries, discovering that the marvel of pterosaur flight has evolutionary echoes that resonate even today.

Did any of my UK readers happen to catch the special television version on Christmas or New Year's Day?

7 comments:

  1. Okay, seriously? That looks amazing. PLEASE come to our shores, at least one DVD! I'd watch it in 2D without complaint!

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  2. Dave, if this was on in the UK on Christmas Day then I didn't hear about it. No advertisements on the television, nothing in the papers or TV magazines - zilch. I don't think it was on but I stand to be corrected of course.
    And if it was on - damn!

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  3. I love Attenbourough, but the animator in me thinks the Pterosaur movement looks poorly done.

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  4. Chaps,

    This was shown on Christmas Day in the UK, but only on Sky 3D, a premiere subscription channel that you also need a 3D TV to enjoy. It was advertsised quite widely on other Sky channels, on the underground in London and in several newspapers, though I've not seen much anywhere about it since Christmas. I don't know anyone who's seen it, actually: no-one I know has the right kit to watch it.

    I've seen a fair bit of the pterosaur footage already because, along with David Unwin and Mike Habib, I was a key advisor on the project. There are some things I'm not too happy with, a situation partly reflecting the controversial nature of pterosaurs as much as some corners being cut to meet deadlines and budgets. Still, all told, it doesn't look too bad (certainly better than any other CG pterosaurs I've seen) and I'm looking forward to seeing the whole thing. Heck, I may even be in it: the model azhdarchids I helped build were filmed for the show, and I was interviewed by SDA on camera. Happily, I don't have to wait too long to wait: [unashamed bragging]I'm off to an exclusive preview of it tomorrow night at BAFTA in London, with non-other than SDA himself also in attendance[/unashamed bragging]. Expect a write up of it on Pterosaur.Net once my ego has deflated enough that and I can fit through the necessary doors to access my laptop.

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  5. Folks,

    The promised review of Flying Monsters 3D has been posted: point your browser here to see it.

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  6. Read it last night, Mark. Really good, I'll be including it in the Mesozoic Miscellany for this week. For sure.

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