Behind the Scenes of the 'Planet Earth II' Video of Snakes Chasing an Iguana

The sequel to the BBC-produced nature documentary series, "Planet Earth II," released a few clips into the wild recently to promote its U.S. release in January. You may have noticed one of these scenes making the rounds on social media in the last few days, which was a masterfully edited clip that features snakes chasing an iguana. If you were curious how they filmed some of this material, there are a few behind-the-scenes clips out that show how it was done.

The editing really adds to the tension, with great use of closeup cutaways, while the narrator (David Attenborough) suggests what the animals are thinking. In case you liked the music, that was done by none other than Hans Zimmer.

In addition to the video above, there is a 360-degree video that includes some behind-the-scenes content from that same shoot as well. It gives a better sense of the surrounding area, and having a human in there for scale shows how small of an area the whole chase scene took place in.

If you haven't watched the original scene, here it is, followed by the trailer for Planet Earth II.

[via nofilmschool]

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Mike Wilkinson is an award-winning video director with his company Wilkinson Visual, currently based out of Lexington, Kentucky. Mike has been working in production for over 10 years as a shooter, editor, and producer. His passion lies in outdoor adventures, documentary filmmaking, photography, and locally-sourced food and beer.

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Sigh, having to wait until the end of January to see Planet Earth II here in the U.S. while BBC is already airing it in the UK is killing me.
Interesting BTS though, I'd love to see more of these