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John Downer

John Downer

Directing

Biography

A passionate zoologist, John has been making nature documentaries for the BBC for over 30 years. He made his name by abandoning the traditional style of nature documentaries and pioneering a highly inventive subjective approach using new technology and dramatic story-telling techniques His innovative approach to filmmaking has brought him numerous international awards for series such as Supersense, Weird Nature, Earthflight and Penguins – Spy in the Huddle. Never afraid to experiment, his first music video, for Peter Gabriel, even won a Grammy

Known For

Nature
7.9

Consistently stunning documentaries transport viewers to far-flung locations ranging from the torrid African plains to the chilly splendours of icy Antarctica. The show's primary focus is on animals and ecosystems around the world. A comic book based on the show, meant to be used an as educational tool for kids, was briefly distributed to museums and schools at no cost in the mid-2000s.

Nature

1982
Serengeti
6.8

Capturing the high drama of the Serengeti’s distinctive wildlife up close.

Serengeti

2019
Pride
6.2

The story of Suki, a lioness cub, who rebels against her mother and her Pride to mate with an unsuitable lion from the other side of the river.

Pride

2004
Penguins: Spy in the Huddle
8.9

Penguins - Spy in the Huddle spends nearly a year in the close company of penguins, deploying 50 spycams to capture as never before the true character of these birds.

Penguins: Spy in the Huddle

2013
Spy in the Ocean, A Nature Miniseries
7.8

Go deep beneath the waves – on a spy mission to the depths of the ocean. Amazing hidden cameras give incredible perspectives on the ingenious creatures that call it home.

Spy in the Ocean, A Nature Miniseries

2023
Spy in the Wild
7.0

Documentary series in which animatronic spy creatures infiltrate the animal world to explore their complex emotions.

Spy in the Wild

2017
Dolphins: Spy in the Pod
8.5

The award-winning team behind Penguins - Spy in the Huddle use hidden cameras to go into the heart of the dolphins' world, offering the chance to encounter dolphins up-close.

Dolphins: Spy in the Pod

2014
Serengeti - La grande cavalcade des animaux
8.5

No description available.

Serengeti - La grande cavalcade des animaux

2023
Polar Bear: Spy on the Ice
7.5

Shot mainly using spy cameras, this film gets closer than ever before to the world's greatest land predator. As the film captures its intimate portrait of polar bears' lives, it reveals how their intelligence and curiosity help them cope in a world of shrinking ice.

Polar Bear: Spy on the Ice

2011
Serengeti
7.1

No description available.

Serengeti

2022
Weird Nature
7.7

Weird Nature is a 2002 documentary television series produced by John Downer Productions for the BBC and Discovery Channel. The series features strange behavior in nature—specifically, the animal world. The series now airs on the Science Channel. The series took three years to make and a new filming technique was used to show animal movements in 3D. Each episode, however, tended to end with a piece about how humans are probably the oddest species of all. For example, in the end of the episode about locomotion, the narrator states how unusual it is for a mammal to be bipedal. In the episode about defences, the narrator explains that humans have no real natural defences, save for their big brains.

Weird Nature

2002
Bears: Spy in the Woods
8.3

Attenborough's team travels the globe for up-close looks at polar bears, grizzlies, pandas and other fascinating bear species.

Bears: Spy in the Woods

2004
Snow Chick - A Penguin's Tale
7.3

A chronicle of the birth and development of one penguin chick, born late and smaller than any of its fellow toddlers.

Snow Chick - A Penguin's Tale

2015
The Galactic Garden
8.0

A pair of space travellers arrive on Earth to study the planet's lifeforms, landing in an English garden. However, on Earth they are about three quarters of an inch tall and therefore find themselves encountering its natural and giant indigenous life, such as worms, spiders, goldfish and a tortoise. A drama documentary on natural history with a science fiction twist.

The Galactic Garden

1985
Earthflight
6.7

Nature documentary that takes a breathtaking flight on the wings of birds across six continents and experiences some of the world's greatest natural spectacles from a bird's-eye view.

Earthflight

2013
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N/A

The series will deploy the most advanced Spy Creatures ever created to infiltrate groups of apes and monkeys. Sophisticated AI will enhance the Spies ability to communicate, allowing them to use the same calls and facial expressions as the primates they encounter.

Spy in the Troop

Wings 3D
10.0

This feature-length RealD™ 3D experience was filmed with revolutionary aerial devices and techniques to fly right alongside birds. This breathtaking journey will take viewers across the world’s most iconic landscapes to the heart of the greatest animal spectacles on Earth: snow geese dash through Monument Valley and New York City, vultures ascend miles above the earth then dive down to huge wildebeest herds below, scarlet macaws race at breakneck speed through the rainforest. Using unique, state-of-the-art 3D cameras in barely accessible and highly dangerous places, the audience has never before been so close to the drama and beauty of nature until now.

Wings 3D

2014
Trek - Spy on the Wildebeest
7.0

Each year over 1.2 million wildebeest travel across the vast Serengeti plains and Kenya's Masai Mara on a 1,800 kilometer circular journey, relentlessly followed by every big African predator. Revolutionary spy cams - airborne, swimming or disguised as rocks, skulls or dung - reveal the Great Wildebeest Migration from entirely new perspectives. This 2-part series focuses on the growing-up of a calf as he takes his first steps, faces his first deadly perils and tries to cross crocodile-infested rivers. It combines natural humor with exciting drama and gripping music.

Trek - Spy on the Wildebeest

2007
Spy in the Snow
6.5

The franchise returns with a brand new wintertime entry about animals that live in the coldest places in the world.

Spy in the Snow

2018
Winged Planet
9.0

More than three years in the making, Earthflight uses state-of-the-art technology and sophisticated camera techniques to bring the world to us as seen by birds. Prepare to embark on an amazing voyage, as they migrate; crossing continents; interacting with wildlife phenomena and other natural wonders from their uniquely privileged position.

Winged Planet

2012