Television by Ida Frank: What On Earth?

What On Earth?

Ida Frank

0 Comments

Quick facts:

- Documentary

- Duration per episode approx. 45 min

- 6 episodes per season

- Premiered 2015

- - -

Executive Producers
- - -

Martin Durkin

Jon Stephens
Neil Laird

- Scientists explore some of Earth´s Phenomenon´s -

With a narrator, Steven Kearney, each episode takes the audience on a journey through some of Earth weirdest and/or spectacular phenomenon´s. As Part of the research, I watched two episodes from the series, "Lost City of God" and "Secrets of the Sahara."

- Each episode brings up 3-5 different and individual incidences/phenomenon´s

- Using the subject driven combined with the actuality driven method to tell the story.

- As well as using animation or archive footage to reconstruct/-rreate history

- Building up under or questioning the theories, by having different professors and scientists that previously have done research on the case or are taking a look at it now to find answers.

- Each incidence/phenomenon is rounded off smoothly, before the next one is being presented.

PRO´s

- Interesting and up to date content.
- Visually cool and nice to look at in terms of the graphics.
- Cinematography - on scene footage is very beautiful.
- Good combination between sync and other footage
- You are quickly but detailed put into the case/story about to be explored.

- You get to be a part of the journey as an audience.
- Awakens the audience´s thoughts
- The narrators voice is engaging and makes you listen carefully.
- Leaves you with a lot of questions as well as quite thoughtful.
- Which is a great tool to create suspense, and leaves the viewer to want to see more, know more.

CON´s
- Most of the cases/stories does not have a proper conclusion.
- Which is understandable considering that some of the phenomenon's doesn´t have a solution or answer to why they have happened or taken place.
- But at least for me, I would have liked to know the result/truth or get a closure on the stories where it could have been found some.

Overall it is an interesting program, raising questions about phenomenon´s, leaving it up to the viewer to take part and interest in keep watching to get to know the stories and perhaps get some answeres or to be left thoughtful and mindful about the world and it's mysterious events.

What I like about this series is generally the overall style, how they have put it together using the satellites as a starting point. Viewing and covering all of the phenomenon´s on a map from above, before entering the different cases on ground level. All of the cases starts out from an image shot by a satellite. I also like the wide shots of nature and areas around the places where phenomenon´s has taken place, it gives some astonishing cinematography. Another thing that is very cool is how they have chosen to present the sync, they go away from the regular image, and has parted the screen up in multiple screens - usually three, one for the sync image, and two others with footage in them. I find this to be interesting as well as a very neat, different and cool way of doing it.

When it comes to how this series has influenced my own work, I must say that it has definitely inspired me to think differently. That a documentary program doesn´t necessary have to be standard A4 sync image, it can be more exciting and cool! I am also inspired by the way it sucks the audience into the stories, and on a journey. That is definitely something I want to try and achieve with our documentary.