Producer Mark Flowers, through the show Earth’s Greatest Rivers, says that the water bodies are much more than just standing on a bank and looking across a channel to the other side. By Team Viva
Did you know that the Nile has a remarkable biodiversity and cannot be filmed easily because it is full of hippos, elephants and crocodiles at any given time? Or that the Mississippi changes character by the bend or that Amazon as a river is nearly twice as big of the entirety of India? These unknown facts are being showcased for the first time in Earth’s Greatest Rivers, which has not only documented a scarce water resource but looked intricately into what sustains them and what we need to do to not lose them.
Rivers are the arteries of life on earth. I have combined natural history, geography, geology and people to present a holistic view of rivers that reveal them as complete entities. The rivers are much more than just standing on a bank and looking across a channel of water to the other side. The most exciting thing we did was to look at them from a height. They appear like a tree-network, the main channel breaks up into branches forming a network, which shows how big and far reaching a river is. We also wanted to take the audience on the ultimate river cruise that one could dream of.
The Nile was tricky because it is the world’s longest river and flows through various countries. It is quite challenging to film on a river where there are hippos, elephants and crocodiles. Mississippi was tough because there everything, from filming coyotes in minus temperatures, in the rocky mountains with mosquitoes chewing the crew alive, acted as a challenge. Some parts of the Mississippi are very controlled and industrial, so it was hard to find good sequences. But we were proud to get a team onto the giant river barges, which basically joined together to make it almost exploding. We travelled down almost hundreds of miles of the Mississippi in seconds and this will be an interesting watch for the Indian audience. Now looking at Amazon, I thought the surface area of India is about 3.287 million sq km and the river is nearly twice as big of its entirety. The challenge here was to find the right location as its size and scale is mind-blowing.
In the Nile, the most interesting thing was the ruin hunting lodge of Idi Amin. For all kind of trail camera in the ruins of the hunting lounge, it was like an absolute conversion of the Jungle Book. In the upper water of the Niles, there are big beds of papyrus trees. Papyrus is the word ‘paper’ and what the ancient Egyptians used to write on. What we didn’t know about them is that the Papyrus bed breaks up into floating islands. When the sun sequences in the Nile, it is like a ballet of dancing islands of Papyrus trees — a beautiful sight. It is amazing to go to a place which is so transformed. The Amazon has different colours and chemicals, which is another interesting thing that we found. The water is so distinct that it gives an enriching experience altogether. Some major theories about Mississippi are that it reached as far it should and it was a delight to watch because it surfs you from the cold icy North to almost the tropical South. Spring in this river arrives with the arrival of thousands of giant white pelicans, an incredible symbol of spring. A river so seasonal in the temperate world.
We had one scene when the Blue Nile was flooded which gave us a really exciting footage. When it floods, you need to choose your timing of filming carefully and also be cautious about your safety as there is a lot of water. With Amazon, we got lucky because we got some amazing footage from its parts. We got a remarkable footage in the upper reaches of the Amazon when the whole forest gets flooded. I am happy we timed it well as such floods happens over months in Amazon. If there is a slow rise of water, it’s hard to prepare because it is difficult to predict. We used drones to fixed positions on GPS and that’s how we showed the rise of the Amazon over months and it is the first time you’d see a massive transformation of a landscape by a giant river in flood.
I’ve been interested in tropical fish since childhood. I kept one in an aquarium. Because of my interest in it, it got me absorbed in rivers and its life all around the world. I was about 12 when my brother and I had an interest for fishes and it was absolutely amazing when we were in the Amazon to find some pools where the water is as clear as an aquarium. It was such a dream come true. One of the fun things we tried were making little remote-control boats with cameras on and they managed to get up close and personal with some hippos in the Nile. Another funny incident that happened was when we found a dam where water was gushing out and it was making the fish quite confused and the pelicans basically had a massive fight to catch them. It was a treat to the eyes to see the contrasting characteristics of the pelicans at the Mississippi.
The main thing we all need to do is cherish fresh water and value it. It is an amazing commodity. Use it carefully. All we need to do is to really try and minimise pollution - chemical pollution and plastic pollution because fresh water is fine as. The rivers seem to be so giant, such a huge entity but we need to also realise how fragile they are. There are things we need to take care of and respect and I think really value and think of the fresh water you use.
Having major theories, I really think that rivers really are the life blood of our planet. They carry the ultimate commodity, that makes life that we all depend on which is fresh water and we need to ensure they flow. We need to ensure that they have clean water and we need to prep them so that they can continue to be nice to the lands. Rivers are a true part of our haves and they are vital elements of our future, we need them.
(The show premieres on July 29 at 9 pm on Sony BBC Earth.)