The crew tended to use cameras available to anyone with the money. Instead, the documentary series reflects a decade of steady improvements that have led to smaller, lighter, better cameras, particularly those that excel in poor lighting. You see a lot of new filmmaking technology in Planet Earth II, but no single innovation made it possible.

This kind of footage simply would not have been possible without cameras that did not exist a few years ago. Once, the big cat turned directly toward him, standing just feet away. On a good night, he might spot the leopard-or, rather, its heat signature-through the foliage once or twice. Once he had a sense of the animal's habits, Buchanan spent night after night hidden in a blind, panning the horizon with his camera, hoping to glimpse his quarry.īuchanan favored a thermal rig designed for shooting in darkness. Buchanan did just that, erecting infrared 'camera traps' throughout the leopard's territory and checking them daily to discern its routine. You make your best guess about what might happen, set up your gear, and wait-sometimes for days.

Filming wildlife isn't like shooting a movie the stars ignore your schedule and rarely appear when or where you want them to. The BBC sent Buchanan to Mumbai to film those cats for Planet Earth II, the epic nature documentary series that wraps up this weekend on BBC America. The elusive cats hunt at night, shrouded by darkness and the din of the city. Plenty of people know that leopards wander the streets of Mumbai, but few people ever see them.

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