Our Oceans Filmmakers Answer Burning Questions About Netflix’s New Nature Docuseries

As global warming increases and the climate crisis becomes increasingly concerning, humans must do their part to understand planet Earth’s ecosystems and help conserve them. Netflix is ​​offering Our oceans to the cause, a five-part documentary series from Freeborne Media (the Emmy-winning filmmakers behind Our great national parks)which is set to begin broadcasting on November 20th. The series takes viewers on a journey across the planet’s five oceans, following the “Global Ocean Current” (more on this later) to emphasize how diverse lives are linked by the same life force, whether they reside in the Atlantic or the Indian Ocean.

President Barack Obama narrates Our oceansand his playful yet steady intonations allow the audience to admire the wonders of the world while at the same time pondering the dangers they face. Filmmaker James Honeyborne, responsible for several nature documentaries, including the acclaimed Blue Planet IIand his fearless team use cutting-edge technology to get up close and personal with the creatures that live beneath the sea, often discovering never-before-seen behaviors that are sure to surprise and amaze.

TelaRant I had the pleasure of attending a special screening organized by Netflix at the Monterey Bay Aquarium, where the Our oceans The film crew introduced the project and shared some of the exciting experiences that took place during production. Executive producer James Honeybourne, series producer Jonathan Smith and series researcher Inka Creswell offered fascinating insights into the aquatic lives they touched while bringing the nature docuseries to life.

How our oceans coined the term “Global Ocean Current”

“Our intention was to tell the story of five incredible oceans, each with its own character and its own story to tell.”

While viewers might expect each of the five episodes to be dedicated to each of the five oceans, Our oceans makes the surprising choice to focus on the interconnectedness of the ocean. When asked how the “Global Ocean Current” came to be the docu-series’ dominant thesis, Honeyborne explained:

As I think is clear from this show, we are going with the flow. When we started, our intention was to tell the story of five incredible oceans, each with its own character and story to tell. But when we started to look closer, we knew that the ocean was divided by currents, but there is actually a path that connects them all and unites them. And there’s a way to flow this whole story through them in one.

Instead of being five episodes, it’s actually a story told in five parts, and in the end we come to the logical conclusion. But the surprising conclusion, of course, is that there are not five oceans; It’s an ocean and everything is connected. And that means that everything we do anywhere can have an impact everywhere. It’s all connected. And this is an incredible story for us that we can tell, share and realize for the first time. Our challenge was that he didn’t even have a name – at least it wasn’t a popular name. It’s thermohaline circulation, so we had to invent the “global ocean current,” which we thought was a lovely way to tell it.

Perhaps the most fascinating result is that the scientists who spoke to Honeyborne and the Our oceans researchers were so impressed with this new terminology that, according to James, “They are now saying they will use it in their university lectures.“

A cradled octopus is just one of the incredible stories in our ocean

“This is where the story took a really crazy turn…”

Our oceans series producer Jonathan Smith explained that although the core team working on the documentary series has remained the same, the total number of participating scientists and researchers has sometimes increased to 700. Given that their grand mission was “film things no one has ever seen before,” this meant documenting behavior that marine biologists may have detected in isolated incidents and attempting to recapture it during filming. Despite the fact that “nature never reads a script”, there were moments of pure beauty where the film crew managed to weave a story out of some incredible behaviors.

Smith recounted his favorite incident involving an octopus”so small that it lives in and around the trash“, which can be seen in Our oceans and it happened in the Indian Ocean:

An octopus is very, very intelligent, so we filmed this octopus finding its way and looking for a place to hunt. At one point he got into a plastic cup, but he knew that even though he was inside the hide, looking out, predators and the things he wanted to capture in particular could see him. Then, [its solution was] who didn’t just find half of a shell, but having found one half, went looking for the perfect match and then found another. And now you can have a plan. Our octopus, armed with its two shells, turned into a clam. He buried himself in the sand in hiding, just sticking his head out.

Once the octopus was hidden in its hiding place, it faced the problem of getting rid of the crab shell after eating. Because of the waste, other fish (larger and more predatory) began to circulate, which could put the octopus in danger and scare off future crabs. Having set the scene, Smith declared: “This is where the story took a really crazy turn.”

Our camera crew didn’t even notice this until they were back in the hotel room at night, looking at the reeds. So when they saw it, they spent another hundred hours filming it over the next few weeks. But here’s the behavior – totally new to science. We have a scientific paper being written about this right now, along with 20 other scientific papers being written about the behaviors we encounter throughout the series.

The octopus is surrounded by large fish, and you saw how an octopus breathes through something called a siphon. He sucks up a rock and then points up. He catches a fish, points it up and shoots a fish. In the end, he turns into a weapon. So don’t just do it once; he keeps doing this to scare off all the fish so he can go hunting.

Our ocean researcher has advice for budding marine biologists

“The best thing you can do after this is come and defend yourselves.”

Inka Creswell is a bachelor’s degree marine biologist, wildlife filmmaker and ocean conservationist who fell in love with the ocean at the age of six. When asked how to motivate a new generation of aspiring ocean researchers, she shared the following:

“I remember carrying rocks and being absolutely fascinated by these little worlds of life. It was the best way to start understanding how ecosystems worked and the fact that it was so accessible [made it] such a fantastic place to explore. When I was five or six years old, I knew I would be a marine biologist. Originally, I think I told my dad I wanted to work with dolphins, and he said, “That’s called being a marine biologist.” I took him at his word, and that set me on this path. It was the most incredible journey.

But I think for me what stood out the most is that having all this knowledge to yourself is great, but the best thing you can do is share that knowledge. I think every one of you who loves learning about all these amazing things, or maybe you’re snorkeling in your local ecosystem or you come to a talk like this and listen to people like us talking, the best thing you can do after this , come and defend yourselves. Each of you has an experience and a story to tell, and you can think about the best way to share your knowledge. This is the best possible way to help save our oceans.

More about our oceans (2024)

Dive into Our Oceans, a thrilling five-episode series narrated by Barack Obama that invites you to join Emmy-winning filmmaker James Honeyborne on an inspiring adventure. This groundbreaking show will take you on a global journey, discovering the fascinating stories of our planet’s five majestic oceans. Each episode delves into the unique characters of the creatures in these ecosystems, from playful and cunning to resilient and mysterious. Ride the world’s great currents as we reveal nature’s most spectacular aquatic personalities and breathtaking wonders.