Planet Earth 2 Islands.


This documentary was released in 2016 in November and explores the wild life and nature which surrounds the islands which circle the world. The documentary was produced by the BBC natural history unit.
It takes on the observational mode of documentary. This form of doc usually is the most authentic in dealing the with the real. The documentary films the real which supposedly occurs in front of the camera. techniques include long takes, inferring the filmmaker has not interfered with the 'real' by editing things out and synching sound, adding to the illusion. But it has a key factor which observational modes don't have. Which is a voice of God narration. David Attenborough narrating over the film. This voice over therefore also makes it a expository mode.  An expository mode uses common techniques which are found in fiction films, which is tempo editing and musical score. The doc includes two giant komodo dragons fighting for territory. This scene is edited with fast paced cuts and an intense musical score creating an action film atmosphere to the scene. It is a mix of both modes; observational mode and expository mode, because it includes components from both mode.


There still could be doubt with it being an observational mode. The camera operators had problems trying to find and film a golden eagle. In one of the scenes they find a fox carcass and if fortunately a golden eagle arrives to scavenge for food. The authenticity of this fox carcass is some what of a mystery. It is never revealed how the carcass appeared there. This is why the observational mode can be questionable for this documentary. This documentary is meant to film animals in there natural environment but when they can't find the animals they make the animals find them. This hence forth isn't the 'real' and isn't an observational mode of documentary. This incident I believe happens in a lot of  the Planet Earth 2 series but with the power of editing they do not exhibit these incidents. BBC wants to portray wildlife in an unaltered way. This is why exclude any human intervention with the wildlife. I also believe that BBC have David Attenborough narrating it because audiences have grown a relationship with him thus trusting in what he says is the 'real'.  He narrates in a very innocent manner and says nothing controversial as a result this contributes to the growing relationship between him and his audience and the observational mode of the documentary.


In conclusion this documentary is a mixture of the observational mode and the expository mode of documentary. There are questionable factors in the documentary which make me doubt that it is uninfluenced and true nature.