Behind the scenes of David Attenborough’s documentaries

Have you ever watched a David Attenborough doco and wondered how they made it? Your burning behind-the-scenes questions have been answered.

Ever wondered what it takes to produce one of David Attenborough’s astounding documentaries?

Australian filmmaker Dr Chadden Hunter has the answers.

The University of Queensland graduate has been working with the iconic broadcaster for nearly two decades at BBC’s Natural History Unit in the UK and has filmed and produced several key titles including Planet Earth II and Frozen Planet, which will both air on the dedicated BBC Earth channel the first week of its launch on Foxtel this Thursday.

Dr Hunter answered all our burning questions from how long filming takes to the process of shooting and how they get so close to the animals.

He told news.com.au what was showcased in a mere 60-minute episode could take nearly four years to capture, adding while the footage is picture-perfect, behind the scenes is anything but.

Watch the wonders of the earth on your screen with BBC Earth on Foxtel from the 10th October

Scenes from David Attenborough's documentary series Planet Earth II that will air on BBC Earth. Picture: Supplied

“Many viewers are surprised to hear that the greatest dangers in wildlife filmmaking don’t come from wild animals. Extreme physical conditions that push our bodies and vehicles to the limit carry far more risk,” Dr Hunter says.

“We plan our safety meticulously but sometimes freak occurrences catch us off guard. One of the most magical places I’ve ever filmed was inside ice caves on the side of Mt Erebus, an active volcano in Antarctica.

“On Christmas Day, we abseiled down through a hole in the ice to enter caverns filled with different shaped chandeliers of coloured ice crystals formed by different volcanic gases. It felt like a scene from Narnia or Harry Potter. But after six hours of filming we were crippled by headaches and nausea, barely able to move.

Dr Chadden Hunter filming for the BBC.

“We crawled back to the entrance only to find a blizzard outside had sealed the entrance shut with snow. We could barely summon the strength to clamber up and hack our way out with icepicks before collapsing outside.

“I’ve never in my life been happier to feel a blizzard on my face. Scientists later sent in robotic air-testing machines and said it was a miracle the toxic gases hadn’t killed us. No Christmas hangover has come close since.”

You’d think it would be hard to pinpoint one memorable experience after being up close and personal with some of the world’s most fascinating creatures.

But that’s an easy one for Dr Hunter, who while filming Planet Earth II shared an “awe-inspiring” moment with a very curious wolf.

Now that is quite the view.

“I was out alone on foot, scouting the tundra when I spotted a snow-white Arctic wolf through my binoculars,” he said.

“She seemed to pick up my scent and came trotting towards me from over 5km away.

“I sat down with my back to a rock and watched her get closer and closer. As a wildlife biologist I knew a wolf was no threat to me but my heart still pounded with excitement as she got closer and closer.

“As I sat dead still the wolf crept up to check me out, her massive white head towering above me like a werewolf, before she bent down and sniffed my boots.

“She could tell I wasn’t food but I could tell she’d never encountered a human before. “Eventually, she trotted off across the tundra and I started breathing again. That one-on-one intimacy made it probably my most awe-inspiring encounter with wildlife.”

Dr Hunter just hanging with a mate.

On working with the legend that is Attenborough at the ripe old age of 93, Dr Hunter says he is savouring every moment working with the naturalist.

“One of the most amazing things about David Attenborough is his insatiable curiosity. Here’s a guy who’s been working in wildlife filmmaking for over 60 years so would be forgiven for acting like he’d seen it all,” he says.

British naturalist, documentary maker and broadcaster David Attenborough. Picture: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP

“And yet when we bring him a new story about some weird parental behaviour in a rarely seen poison dart frog his eyes light up like a toddler at the zoo.

“To work alongside a 93-year-old who is still so curious and eager to learn new things is a real inspiration.”

Foxtel announced in September it would launch its new channel, BBC Earth, for the first time in Australia. It will air BBC’s documentaries about the natural wonders of the world.