All language subtitles for The Americas s01ex1 Special The Making Of The Americas.eng

[soaring orchestral music]

- Welcome to "The Americas,"

an extraordinary journey

across Earth's
great supercontinent,

five years in the making
on 180 expeditions.

This groundbreaking
series reveals

a unique world of wonder.

? ?

Now we uncover how this
TV spectacular was made.

? ?

- That's very good.

Thank you.

- Bring it on.

I'm Tom Hanks.

Let's make magic, shall we?

I'm going to go in
there for just a bit.

Being part of this epic
show is quite an education.

Turquoise Brown motmots.

OK, now you- now you're
just making up words.

It's been a joy
working with the team

to tell these
fascinating stories.

Despite its isolation, each
year, thousands of seabirds

find their way to the
island of San Pedro Martir

in search of romance.

But I find the tales
from behind the camera

equally astonishing-

? ?

- the extraordinary lengths
they go to

to get these images-

- Nobody said
it was going to be easy.

- Look at that.
Look at that.

- Wow!

- in some of the most
extreme places on the planet.

- [puma growls]

- Well, we are at 5,000 meters,
and it is hard.

? ?

- How does one team
of people even start

to make a project like this?

Other movies used to brag
about ten years in the making,

a cast of thousands.

This is about
4 billion years

in the making, the Americas,
and it has a cast of billions.

Even after many years
in the film business,

I had questions.

How do you even
figure this stuff out?

What's the shooting schedule?

How much footage do you take?

What lenses do you
bring along?

How many protein bars
are the crew going to need?

One thing's for sure,

to work in
the wildest places on Earth,

the team always had
to expect the unexpected.

- [bleep].

- First up, in South America,
the Canberra team

trekked high into
the Andes mountains

to film one of the most
spectacular wildlife events

on the planet.

[dramatic music]

? ?

With scorching temperatures
and toxic waters,

life at 14,000 feet is tough.

It takes a crew two weeks
to reach Laguna Colorada

and acclimatize
to the altitude.

- We're at 4,300 meters.

And if I sound out of
breath, it's because I am.

It's pretty incredible
place to be.

? ?

- But despite the harsh
and hostile conditions,

there's a fiesta
on the horizon.

[upbeat music]

The dress code- pink.

Flamingos- colorful,
graceful,

and way too far away.

- What are we trying
here is to get

really close to the flamingos.

We are aiming
for the tight close-ups

of the display of the dance.

[bouncy music]

- If Felipe's going
to film every aspect

of the courtship
dance, they're going

to have to get a lot closer.

? ?

Plan A, building a
hide from grocery

crates to help them blend in.

- Nice.

- They even add decoys
to show the flamingos

this isn't a threat.

But the birds still
keep their distance.

Got a plan B?

- We tried a hide.
It didn't work.

The only way to film the dance
is by walking towards them.

So we are going to try
to get into the lake.

- But wading into
this lagoon is risky.

- It's very slippery and
muddy, and there's big holes,

and you cannot see them.

One minute you think
you're safe walking

around and then the next,
you slip into a hole.

- And there's another problem.

The vivid red
waters of the lake

are a pretty corrosive
cocktail of chemicals

that could burn human skin.

So Irene and the crew need
protective waterproof clothing

and another ingenious plan.

- We built this flamingo raft.

This actually floats
and will allow us

to get closer
to the flamingos

without getting detected.

[suspenseful music]

? ?

- The lagoon is huge.

It's much bigger than
you would expect.

- After hiking for
over a mile, they're

finally within filming range.

- So that's it.

We've got the
flamingos behind us,

and now we're going to use
the raft to hide behind it

and just
very slowly approach them.

[sneaky music]

? ?

- Very nice.

Very close.

- Spending hours filming
in this caustic water

is taking its toll
on Felipe.

- My hands
are burning like fire.

But the images are unique,
so it's worth it.

[light orchestral music]

Beautiful.

- This is the
stuff we live for.

? ?

- With these spectacular
shots in the can,

the crew can at last
head back to dry land.

- That was quite an adventure.

- But Felipe has one
last crucial thing

on his flamingo wish list,

to film the dance
from the air.

? ?

- I can't believe it.

I mean, we were out there
with a drone,

and they were
dancing towards the camera.

I could never even imagined
pictures like this.

? ?

- What a result.

The crew have
overcome every hurdle to film

these flamboyant flamingos,
even in one of the most

hostile locations on Earth.

? ?

But for a story in Southern
Chile, the only way to succeed

is to gain the trust
of a top predator.

[dramatic music]

Here in the spectacular
mountains of Patagonia,

the team are in search
of an elusive wild cat-

a puma.

? ?

- If you want to observe
pumas, it's definitely

the best place on the planet.

? ?

I really like working
with large animals

that I can be on
the ground with

and I can follow them on foot.

And there's not
many places you can

do that with apex predators.

- The story we're
trying to tell

is about a puma mom, Pataka,
really struggling

to feed her two cubs.

[gentle music]

I find her very elegant.

I love her gaze.

I love how she moves
and just her eyes.

[puma growls]

I could stare
at her all day long.

? ?

- As always, getting close is
critical to tell the story.

But pumas are powerful wild
cats and potentially deadly.

- I mean, the reality is,
if these cats

wanted to go after you,
you'd have a real problem.

If you ever find yourself
in an unlikely situation

where a cat may be kind
of treating you like prey,

you don't run.

You act like you're
the more dominant cat.

- John has built a unique
relationship with Pataka.

- Pataka particularly
likes John very much.

John has filmed Pataka
before when she was a cub.

And I think maybe she
can remember his smell.

- It's been really amazing
to follow her from a kitten

to being a mom.

I definitely, from my side,
have a connection with her.

- And that's how John can
get close enough to film

these astonishing
moments, including

Pataka sharing
a meal, something

that's almost never been seen.

- It's one of the rare animals
where you're probably seeing

stuff every day
that no scientist

and in many cases no person has
probably observed ever before.

- Filming animals
like these is always

thrilling and unpredictable.

But sometimes the
stars of the show-

- Don't move.

- From sun-scorched deserts
to impenetrable jungles

and the freezing Arctic-

- Temperature is not too bad,
minus 20 something, I think.

- filming "The Americas"
requires

an extraordinary team.

- This is so amazing.

- Only the most
intrepid need apply.

? ?

This group of
expeditionary filmmakers,

they are dedicated to having
the camera in the right place

to capture on film something
that our human eyes would never

be able to find on their own-

? ?

- everything from insects
that are that big

to animals that weigh 100 tons.

It's astounding that they
capture this on film.

? ?

For their next mission,
"The Americas" crew

are targeting a filming first
in the mysterious cloud forest

of Ecuador,
home to the only species

of bear in South America.

? ?

For researcher Irene,
this is a world

away from flamingos
in Bolivia,

but it's no less exhausting.

- We have to go up and down
the Canyon to get some spots

where we can film the bears.

? ?

- After two years of research,
the team is here to film

young spectacled bears
as they make their first climb

down the mountain, a daunting
descent of over 1,000 feet.

- The reason why we came
at this time of the year

is because we've been
following

this bear called Sylvester.

She's a very
experienced mama bear.

She should be coming
out of her nest

with her really young cubs,
but she's nowhere to be found.

- But after days of
searching from the skies,

maybe they've been looking
in the wrong place.

And the bears
take them by surprise.

? ?

- Don't move.

? ?

They came out of nowhere.

? ?

- In fact, this isn't
Sylvester and her cubs.

But this bear family
are certainly curious.

This could be risky.

- There's a danger
if you put yourself

between a bear and her cubs,

potentially, that's not
a very safe position to be in.

- The mom's gone behind us.

She doesn't seem
to mind us at all.

Heading down, the cubs
are a bit more wary,

so we're trying to be super
quiet, and we clear the path,

so there's a clear route
for the mom to go

back down to the cubs.

? ?

- Now, that's what you
call a close encounter.

? ?

- Wow.

- That was amazing.

- That was so, so cool.

That was really good.

- Lucky, everybody
here was super calm,

and she sort of sensed
that we were OK.

- It was all cool.

- OK, good.

But where is Sylvester
and her cubs?

- We're currently in the tree
house, which is like the best

place to have a view
of the whole valley

so that we can track
where the bears are going.

? ?

- Flying drones through
these jagged peaks

requires great skill.

And eventually Seb's
expertise pays off.

? ?

- Once we spotted
Sylvester and her cubs,

we couldn't believe it.

- The cubs need to
climb down to find food.

But for them, the descent
is extremely dangerous.

- It was a very,
very scary moment.

They were going down a very
steep cliff

where in the past
other cubs died, sadly,

so the team was very scared.

[tense music]

- Seb must hold his nerve.

He's only got one
shot at filming this.

? ?

- We all held our
breath, and we

were just on the
edge of our seat

wondering what was
going to happen.

Ah, that was amazing.

? ?

- The bears have made it,

and their reward,

an enchanted forest
of fruit trees.

- This place is just amazing.

? ?

- So we've just got our
female bear here now

with two cubs in absolutely
the most perfect position

right in front of us.

? ?

- Ah, so magical.

? ?

I feel very privileged
to have witnessed

these bears up close.

- I wish I'd been there too.

? ?

But even in
the most beautiful places,

the full force of nature
is never far away.

- Filming across
a super continent

means months of living far
from the comforts of home.

- Washing your
clothes in a stream,

do they come out any cleaner?

I'm not entirely sure.

- Each location brings
fresh challenges.

- It's pretty extraordinary to
be camping out on the ocean.

? ?

- I got about eight
cactus spines in my hand.

- It takes stamina
and determination.

? ?

- Are you all right, dude?

- And sometimes
to live in the wild,

you have to go
a little bit wild.

- I wonder,
what is the cherry-picking

process of figuring out who is
going to go where to film what?

I would love to work
on "The Americas,"

but I am not going
to the Amazon

to get bit by toxic insects.

And yes, I know that
there are some people

that were dying
for the opportunity

to do all those things.

And just as well,
because we needed

a team to spend over a month
deep in the Amazon rainforest.

? ?

Here, "The Americas"
crew are aiming

to film for the first time
a giant harpy eagle raising

her newly hatched chick.

With a 7-foot
wingspan and talons

the size of a
grizzly bear's claws,

the harpy is the most
powerful eagle on the planet.

- They have somewhat
of a reputation,

those massive talons.

I hope they're
going to be relaxed.

- Justine is an expert
in filming wildlife

from the world's
tallest trees.

She's been doing it
for over 20 years.

I'm bang on eyeline
with the mother.

- But for wildlife
camerawoman Helen Hobin,

filming at these extreme
heights will be a first.

- I've never been in a tree
like this before, so a bit

new to me.

Going up.

? ?

- Welcome to the canopy.

? ?

- This is going to be my home
while I stake out and watch

this female harpy
eagle's every move,

hopefully start
to see the chick.

- To follow
the chick's progress,

Helen and Justine
will be filming

on these narrow platforms
for 12 hours a day

for the next three weeks.

- It's stifling hot.

So many mosquitoes up here,
driving me mad.

? ?

- But at least there's
room service, kind of.

? ?

And it will all be
worth it if they

can get the perfect
shots of the harpy mom

and her tiny chick.

- What a beauty.

She is stunning.

? ?

Oh, there's a chick.

? ?

First time I saw his fluffy
little head poking out.

Absolutely magical.

- The chick is less
than a week old

and too vulnerable for mom
to leave alone in the nest.

He's also hungry.

- Poor little guy.

He's calling
and calling for some food.

He needs some fresh meat.

I just hope that the dad
comes in with food soon.

- But while they wait for dad,

there are more immediate
dangers on the horizon.

[ominous music]

? ?

- God, blimey.

And you can see the rain
steaming across the forest

on my left.

Whoo-hoo.

- Looks like a storm
is coming in.

Wow, that was quick.

Oh, my.

- The weather turned
pretty feisty.

And you can see the rain
really pouring down now.

- This is a perilous
time for the chick.

He could drown
if the nest is flooded.

- She's hunkered down.

You could barely see her.

She was covering the chick
completely in the rain.

- And it's seriously risky
for Justine and Helen, too.

- Just have to hope the
platform stays attached

to the tree
and the tree keeps standing.

- What's it looking like
up there for you right now?

[thunder booming]

Whoo.

Ahh.

- [bleep].

- With the threat
of a lightning strike,

it's becoming
far too dangerous.

And while the mother
harpy desperately

tries to protect
her chick, the crew

- Once the weather
has settled,

the crew can get back up

to their filming platforms.

It's all pretty nerve-racking.

Is there any sign of life?

Is the chick OK?

- I see the mom.

Can't quite see the chick.

[gasps]
Yes.

- Thankfully, he's made it.

And there's more
good news on the way.

[gentle orchestral music]

- There's the male.

The male has just come in.

Yes.

- He's bearing a gift.

? ?

- He's brought in some food.

[bird screeches]

? ?

- At last the chick can feed.

? ?

- I've just been watching
her really tenderly cut

at these little
tiny pieces of meat

and just place them
into her chick's mouth.

It is incredible.

? ?

- I have to say, I am
delighted with what we've got.

- It's amazing, amazing.

- For Helen, filming
these extraordinary birds

high in the treetops is
something she'll never forget.

- There's been a whole
range of challenges,

but it's just been incredible.

Getting to film wildlife
is such a privilege.

It's just been really moving.

I'm going to be very sad to go.

[stirring orchestral music]

- "The Americas" crew
spent thousands

of hours getting as close
as possible to their

animal stars-

? ?

- Oh, yeah.

? ?

- They've gone out now for a
night's foraging in New York.

- filming unique
moments in their lives.

- It's so cute
when they do this.

- Although sometimes they did
find themselves outnumbered.

- I'm currently taking refuge
on top of the city truck.

The other team can't get out
their vehicle because they're

so well surrounded.

? ?

- And in the
Caribbean, they even

made friends with some
very spiky characters.

[upbeat music]

Cuba- famous for
its stunning beaches,

vintage cars, and crabs?

[record needle scratches]

[stirring orchestral music]

"The Americas" crew came
here in the spring

to film one of the
greatest wildlife

spectacles on Earth, the
migration of Cuban land crabs.

Every year,
as many as 10 million

undertake this perilous journey

from the forest to the sea.

- They could come out
at any moment between now

and in the next ten days.

So it's really hard to predict,
but it gets triggered

by the
first arrival of the rains.

They need the rains to
come out of their burrows

and start their migration.

[tense music]

? ?

- Something's brewing.

Come on, rain.

- At last,
the rains arrive

and so do the crabs

in huge numbers.

- So there are crabs
in every single corner,

including the bathrooms.

? ?

- Wherever you turn, there are
hundreds and hundreds of crabs.

? ?

It's quite hard not
to step on them,

so you have to
be super careful.

? ?

Hello.

Oh, my God, baby crab.

It's so sweet.

- As the crew get
to know the crabs,

they begin to see them
in a whole new light.

- You look around, they're like
little characters everywhere.

There are some feisty
ones and timid ones,

and you can't help but kind of
fall in love with them

a bit, really.

They're- they're
amazing, amazing animals.

? ?

- But these crabs face
a deadly challenge

as they approach their
final destination,

crossing the coastal highway.

[horn honks]

[dramatic music]

? ?

- They didn't even slow down.

They just kept going.

- These crabs have walked like
six miles to get to the sea,

and the sea is
30 meters that way.

And they're just killed
in their thousands.

It breaks your heart, really.

? ?

- Fortunately,
most of the crabs do make it.

Some even seem
determined to hitch

a ride in the crew's vehicle.

? ?

- They're literally inside.

I don't even know
how they got in.

Whoop.

Come on. Ow.

Even the small ones. Ow.

Ow.

[laughs]
Ow. Ow. Ow.

- With the car decrabbed

and the roads finally clear-

[uplifting music]

- the crew can move on
to capture the last stage

of the crab's epic journey-

? ?

- when they
release thousands of eggs

into the Caribbean waters.

Over five weeks,
Irene and the team

have grown more fond
of the Cuban land crabs

than they would
ever have imagined.

- It's just been such an
emotional roller coaster.

We knew it was going
to be quite a challenge

to show their charisma,
because not many people think

of them as cute as we do.

We think they're
really special.

? ?

- Getting to know the
animals of the Americas

can be a rewarding experience.

But what truly amazed me
were the filming firsts

that the team uncovered.

- "The Americas"
crew worked closely with

the world's leading scientists
and photographers to reveal

cutting-edge discoveries.

[uplifting music]

Like one of my favorites,
the unique images

of the world's largest
animal, the blue whale,

breaching and swimming
together in groups.

There is something magical
about watching mammals frolic

in the sea, to swim as
fast as they do, to do it

so beautifully,
even when they're

the size of a Greyhound bus.

And in the giant Redwood
forests

of Northern California,
near where I grew up,

there's
this extraordinary little

animal I knew nothing about.

You guys, honestly,
when you see this-

there's this salamander that
jumps off of 200-foot trees,

somehow they get shots.

The team had to haul
filming equipment

all the way up to the
tops of these giant trees

to shoot this.

[whimsical music]

? ?

- In slow-motion
falls this salamander

with its arms and legs
spread and his tail going on.

Then you're going honestly
say, who got this shot?

I now know it's called
the wandering salamander,

the miniature daredevil
that uses this technique

to skydive around the forest.

But no one had ever
captured it on camera.

- Watch as it jumps,
immediately throws

those arms out
and above the body

for the parachute posture.

They're not just sticking
their arms out and praying

for a soft landing.

They're actively
maneuvering and steering

themselves through the air,

so this is a first.

? ?

- One of the most exciting
discoveries we made

was off the coast
of a small island

in the Eastern Caribbean,

where we put together
a specialist team

to unlock the secrets
of one of the ocean's

most enigmatic animals.

- Sperm whales are
creatures from myths

and legends,
the largest toothed predator

anywhere on Earth.

- For decades,
scientists have believed

that sperm whales search for
prey deep on the ocean floor.

But this has never
been filmed before.

- We can't go down to the
depths that sperm whales hunt

at, so the only
way to do that is

to put the camera on
the animal and let it

do the filming itself.

To capture that
is our ultimate goal.

? ?

- This custom-made
camera has specially

designed suction cups

to attach it harmlessly
to the whale.

- The technology inside the
camera is incredibly complex.

When the tag comes to the
surface, the arrow will pop up,

and it will ping
a signal to a satellite

and allow us to download
the location of the tag.

- This camera tag system
is one of the most

advanced ever built.

[dramatic music]

? ?

- It's important
to remind yourself

how incredible these
large predators are

and how unique it is that
we get to study them.

? ?

- If Giles and this
team of top scientists

can successfully
film a sperm whale

hunting on the ocean floor,

it will be a world first.

? ?

Deploying the camera will
require skill and timing

both from Peter,
the scientist, and Dave,

the boat driver.

- The last thing we need
is Dave, the driver,

is going to give this
his little bit of luck.

- There you go, Dave.

- I will name this tag Fido.

I bless you, Fido.

Bless you.

- You can see the
flumes every ten seconds

or so straight in front of us.

- There are two together.

- Ha, ha, ha, we have whales.

? ?

- The team has
just a few minutes

to get the camera
on the whale before it

dives again for maybe an hour.

- Ready, Peter?

- Always.

- Now let's go for
the one to the left.

I think that's the
one that's closest.

? ?

- Just slow, slow.

Perfect.

? ?

Yes!
- Whoo-hoo!

- [laughs]

- Brilliant.
- Well done, mate.

- Brilliant tag.

- It's all up to Dave.
He's driving.

- Well done, Dave.

Cracking driving, mate.

- We actually just got
our first tag on a whale.

Whoo-hoo.

- With its onboard
camera, is this whale

about to become the world's
largest ever content creator?

? ?

The camera tag is designed
to release after five hours.

But with the battery
running lower by the minute,

will they find it in time?

- It's a race against
time as Simona searches

for the sperm
whale's camera tag

before it stops transmitting.

[device beeping]

- I'm hearing something that
sounds of a lot like the pings

from our tag.

[light music]

? ?

Oh, my god.

Look what we found.

Oh, this is awesome.

So excited to see what's on it.

[birds chirping]

- Back at base,
it's the moment of truth.

What will the camera reveal?

- Everything in this project
lines up to one moment.

Let's see what's on this tag.

Here we go, guys.
- Whoo-hoo.

- We're on board a whale.

[dramatic music]

- Beautiful.

Wow.

- The whale dives to an
astonishing 2,500 feet.

The team can hear her making
clicking sounds to locate

her prey in complete darkness.

[whale clicking]

- Those are
echolocation clicks.

- She's actually hunting now.

both: Yeah.

- These clicks can be
louder than a rifle shot,

making sperm whales the
loudest animals on the planet.

And the clicks get
faster as the whale

hones in on its target.

- It sounds like she's
getting closer to something.

- Whoa!

- Pretty sure that was a squid.

- Yeah.

- What- what was that?
- Whoa-ho-ho-ho!

- She's feeding at the bottom.

- That's insane.

- Finally, the team get
a glimpse, a whale's-eye view

of these awesome
animals hunting

deep on the ocean floor.

- We are officially
hunting with a sperm whale.

? ?

Never in my wildest
dreams could I

have hoped to be
able to see an animal

like a sperm whale hunting
deep beneath the surface.

To be able to show that to the
world utterly blows my mind.

? ?

- Everywhere
"The Americas" crew went,

they pushed the limits in
search of the perfect shot-

- Look at that beast out there.

? ?

- And it was intense.

I'm not going to lie.

It was touch and go.

- getting a fresh
perspective on

the supercontinent's
unique animals

and its epic landscapes.

? ?

[wolf howls]

- But catching a glimpse
of the rarest cat in the U.S.

seemed like
mission impossible.

? ?

[horse chuffs]

El Sauz Ranch
in deep South Texas,

home to the elusive ocelot-

? ?

- and where
wildlife filmmaker Austin

Alvarado is on its trail.

- These ocelots are such
a mystery because they

are so hard to see.

You're not going to find these
cats roaming out in the open

too often.

They like getting
into the thick brush.

The nastier and thicker the
brush, the more excited I get.

- The future of these
cats is uncertain.

Austin is trying to film
a female ocelot here

hoping to see
if she has kittens.

- That's great.

You think your head's
about ocelot level?

- Right there.

- Perfect.

- I didn't even
know what an ocelot

was when I was a young kid, right?

I grew up in the inner city.

And when I first showed
up to this brush country,

I had a learning curve.

But getting an ocelot on
a camera trap was unreal.

That's when I started really,
I mean, becoming obsessed.

- Fewer than 100 ocelots
are left in the U.S. today,

so finding out
if there are kittens

here is really important.

After a few days, Austin
and his camera assistant,

Christian,
are back to check the cameras.

- We've been running
these cameras out here

for months and months now,

and this excitement
never gets old.

- OK, let's see what we got.

Oh, what was that?

Oh, nice.

We got this cat just
walks through the middle

of the frame.

- It's great news that
the female ocelot is here,

but there's no sign
of any kittens.

- It's just her by herself?

- Yeah, so far, it's just her.

We haven't seen kittens yet.

I'm going to see if we got
anything on that main camera.

Man, nothing.

No kittens.

So that's
extremely concerning.

[light music]

- There are only a few
cameras left to check.

? ?

- Oh, snap.

Oh, sick.

Oh, we got the kittens.

Oh, man Christian,
we got the kittens.

[uplifting music]

Just walking through
the middle.

Dude, that's so
freaking awesome.

Let's go.

? ?

- By showing there
are kittens here,

these remote cameras
have revealed

new hope for the future
of these beautiful cats.

- These cats, these
individuals that we're bringing

to the big screen,
they're going to matter.

They're going to matter
for the bigger picture.

It's the beginning
of what we need

to do to help these cats out.

[uplifting music]

? ?

- Five years in the making of
this groundbreaking series-

? ?

- Incredible,
incredible spectacle.

- the crew have immersed
themselves in the true wonder

of this supercontinent-

- It looks
absolutely enchanted.

- and I feel lucky
to be part

of this extraordinary show.

As soon as the opportunity
came up to say,

would you like to be the
voice of "The Americas,"

I said, I think I've lived
for that opportunity.

? ?

[thunder booming]

? ?

You will find things here in
the Americas

that do not exist
anywhere else and never have.

And that's one of the things
that I think is the great joys

of watching this.

It is a steady parade of,
holy cow,

how did they get that?

? ?

I've never seen that before.

? ?

Really?

? ?

It is a cavalcade of wonder

and a celebration
of just what it takes

to showcase this remarkable
place that we call home.

I wouldn't mind just doing
the whole thing again.

[laughter]

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