Cardiff-based indie One Tribe TV natural history series Wonders of the Celtic Deep for BBC Wales airs next month.
Filmed in Ultra High Definition (UHD) and made by some of the film-makers behind natural history series Blue Planet, Wonders of the Celtic Deep explores the coast of Wales
The series has captured species including blue sharks and Fin whales – the second biggest animal on the planet after Blue Whales – along with seabirds that can ‘fly’ underwater, and fish that can breathe on land. The final episode in the series also highlights the work of scientists and volunteers around Wales and investigates the bigger environmental issues raised by the series.
Cameras captured new behaviours that have never been filmed in UK waters: such as the courtship rituals of bottle nosed dolphins in Cardigan Bay as they seek a mate using a unique dialect, whistling on a higher frequency than dolphins elsewhere, as well as astonishing footage of basking sharks congregating.
The dive team also filmed on the wreck of the SS Gwynfaen cargo ship, 1.5km off-shore in Caernarfon Bay and home to creatures including, sex shifting cuckoo wrasse, Dead Man’s Fingers coral, huge sea urchins, an ancient lobster and a giant conger eel.
The series is narrated by Sian Phillips and accompanied by a soundtrack composed by Welsh composer Paul Mealor and performed by the BBC National Orchestra and Chorus of Wales.
Dale Templar, Executive Producer and MD, One Tribe TV adds: “Ten years after making Human Planet, it’s wonderful to be back at BBC Wales, in production on Wonders of the Celtic Deep, which is the first ever UHD production using the new post facilities at BBC Wales, Central Square and listening to Paul Mealor’s astonishing, cinematic music score in 5.1 surround sound.”
Series Producer is Sally Weale, the Series Director is Anne Gallagher, and it is executive produced by Dale Templar and Owen Gay. The series has been part-funded by Welsh Government via Creative Wales, an internal Government agency that promotes the growth of the creative sectors across Wales.
Welsh Government Deputy Minister for Arts and Sport, Dawn Bowden, said: “We are delighted to support a real first for the creative industries in Wales. Wonders of the Celtic Deep is celebration of Welsh creativity – a stunning orchestral soundtrack created by a Welsh composer, voiced by a Welsh legend and filmed across some our country’s most stunning coastal locations.”
Jon Creamer
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