What does it feel like to watch a trailer for something you helped build?
Strange, mostly. You recognise moments you sat with in the cutting room. Then you see them graded, mixed and narrated by Sir David, and suddenly they belong to everyone.
Blue Planet III
The original Blue Planet aired in 2001. I was a staff post production editor at Meridian, coming to the end of four years there, with my eye on going freelance.
Blue Planet II came out in 2017. I was cutting DIY SOS at the BBC, and every time I walked past this lift, I got a thrill.
Now it's Blue Planet III, twenty-five years after the first one, and Sir David is narrating again. I've cut to his voice before, and hearing it on something I worked on still feels a bit unreal.
There's no Sir David on this one. To hear him, tune in on iPlayer.
Six episodes, five habitats: Tropical Seas, Open Ocean, Seasonal Seas, Polar Waters and The Deep. Then a sixth, Future Seas, that turns to what comes next for the ocean, and how we protect it.
The two I worked on
I was brought in to help cut episodes five and six, The Deep and Future Seas.
Joining Blue Planet III was a great honour. A series like this takes a team of extraordinarily talented people, and I had a wonderful time working alongside them. On The Deep and Future Seas, that meant working with James Brickell and Rosie Gloyns again, which is always a pleasure.
Sound recordist Ellie Williams worked on the series too, out in the field, recording the sound the edit team gets to build with.
That's all I'll say until it's aired. After 1 November, there's a longer story about what I learned in that cutting room.
So, what does it feel like?
For me, a bit unreal. But I joined a team who've given more than four years to this series. I can only imagine what it feels like for them to finally let the world watch.
It's yours from 1 November on BBC One and iPlayer in the UK, and on BBC America and AMC+ in the US in 2027.
Watch The Deep with the lights off.
Keep going
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The BBC is closing channels and resting shows that shaped a generation of TV makers. I'm one of them. So what do you keep when the system that trained you starts to shrink?
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