NBC’s landmark 8-part docuseries spans almost 500 million years, with never-before-seen creatures and a look at how they not only survived but thrived during the planet’s most catastrophic environmental events.
NBC’s eight-part docuseries Surviving Earth, from the producers of Walking with Dinosaurs, premiered June 11, and the producers have shared an exclusive clip from Episode 2, "When the Climate Broke," with AWN and VFXWorld.
Spanning almost 500 million years and featuring never-before-seen creatures, Surviving Earth showcases how life not only survived but thrived through Earth’s most catastrophic environmental crises. Using cutting-edge CGI, the series transports viewers back to a world of remarkable survival stories, from giant sea scorpions 450 million years ago to mammoths and sabertooths 450,000 years ago, across landscapes shaped by meteoric strikes, volcanic eruptions, plunging sea levels and scorching heat storms.
More than 75% of the visuals use CGI, including 74 creatures recreated with scientific precision and informed by fossil data and biomechanical modeling, including Harvard’s locomotion studies for Dimetrodon. The series also uses climate simulation data to create environments such as Carboniferous wildfires and Cretaceous hurricanes.
The production used Unreal Engine to create photoreal extinct forests and corals. For location footage, the producers used the latest drone technologies, with most location filming captured using new 8K Red Raptor camera systems and Prime lenses.
Milk VFX was the lead VFX studio on the show, working closely with executive producer Tim Haines, production VFX supervisor Jean-Claude Deguara, VFX executive producer Kate Valley and VFX producer Carrie Callender. Milk collaborated with partner studios Lola Post, FIN VFX and Floating Rock to deliver the series’ visual effects.
The show is co-produced by Universal Television Alternative Studio, a division of Universal Studio Group, and UK production company Loud Minds.
Source: NBC TV
Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.
