David Attenborough's Kingdom of Plants 3D will burst onto Sky 3D screens in May 2012

Kingdom of Plants 3D is multi-award winning natural history broadcaster David Attenborough’s fourth collaboration with Sky 3D and Atlantic Productions. This immersive and compelling series provides a fascinating new look at plant life using stunning 3D time-lapse filming techniques.

One of the most wonderful things about filming plants is that you can reveal hidden aspects of their lives. You can capture the moment as one plant strangles another, and as they burst into flower. But whilst time-lapse photography allows you to see things that no human being has ever seen before, the added element of 3D takes the audience even further still.

Sir David Attenborough

Introducing Kingdom of Plants 3D

Each of the three 50 minute episodes covers a different aspect of plant life. Life in the Wet Zone looks at the adaptations of plants to wet and humid environments. Episode two, Solving the Secrets, explores plant movement, scent and communication. Survival, the concluding episode, focuses on the ways in which plants continue to adapt as well as taking a look at Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank, which houses almost two billion seeds of more than 30,000 species of wild plants to ensure their future for generations to come.

Capturing plants in 3D

David Attenborough commented: “One of the most wonderful things about filming plants is that you can reveal hidden aspects of their lives. You can capture the moment as one plant strangles another, and as they burst into flower. But whilst time-lapse photography allows you to see things that no human being has ever seen before, the added element of 3D takes the audience even further still. Stamens extend and burst to reveal their pollen grains in exquisite detail, and we can see close-up the incredible insects that partner up with these plants. The whole experience in 3D is just entrancing, and hypnotically beautiful.”

Professor Angela McFarlane, Director of Public Engagement and Learning at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew adds: “There is more to Kew than just a beautiful garden landscape. Every new perspective on Kew reveals new marvels and wonders, and never more so than through the remarkable technology of 3D. We have been delighted and amazed at the Atlantic footage, and coupled with the unique insights of Sir David Attenborough, the results are simply irresistible. We hope this fantastic series will instill a new enthusiasm in viewers for plants and show them as the compelling, dramatic organisms they are.”

Kingdom of Plants 3D airs in May 2012 on Sky 3D and will be simulcast in 2D on Sky Atlantic HD.

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