You should see the view from here!
Andrew Marr takes to the skies exploring Britain From Above –
starting Sunday 10 August 2008
Introduction
Britain looks very different from the skies.
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From a bird's eye view of the nation, its workings, cities, landscapes and peoples are revealed and rediscovered in new and extraordinary ways.
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Like a constantly moving machine, with its cogs and wheels permanently in motion, or like a living animal with blood coursing through its veins and arteries, the way the country works is revealed from above in a uniquely compelling way.
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In a landmark series of documentaries – filmed in HD – spanning 91Èȱ¬ One, 91Èȱ¬ Two, 91Èȱ¬ Four and bbc.co.uk, Britain From Above will change the way viewers see the nation for ever.
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Jana Bennett, Director 91Èȱ¬ Vision, introduces the series saying: "Britain From Above is a great example of bold and ambitious multi-platform programming from the 91Èȱ¬.
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"This is literally going to be a narrative from the air, opening up entirely fresh and new horizons, giving this subject a whole new perspective."
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On 91Èȱ¬ One, Andrew Marr will tell the story of Britain as we very rarely see her – from above.
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He will take viewers on a journey up and down the British Isles and back in time tens of thousands of years to reveal the habits, rhythms and little secrets that are only uncovered by looking down from above.
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The 91Èȱ¬ One series will use satellite tracking to reveal the great migrations across the landscape, the never-ending ballet of ships, planes, lorries and trains that keep everyone fed and watered and working.
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The opening episode shows how we live on the edge of utter chaos and introduces the people who spend their working lives ensuring we mostly manage to keep our balance.
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And it takes a bird's eye view of the networks of energy, water, phones and money – the lifeblood of the nation – that are normally hidden from view.
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By flying, hovering, floating and sometimes plummeting through the nation's skies, viewers will discover how some of the greenest and most natural-looking parts of Britain have been shaped and moulded by human hands over the centuries.
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They will also become aware of how crowded, complicated and busy the nation is.
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Commissioned from independent production company Lion TV, Britain From Above uses groundbreaking CGI and innovative approaches to aerial photography to present images and perspectives never seen before on television.
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Across the series there are contributions from a wide range of historians, archaeologists, scientists, geologists, amateur sleuths, sportsmen, city planners, transport experts and others who reveal the facts, figures and fascinators that most would miss just looking out of the window as their holiday flight traverses the country.
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They include the farmers who use GPS to guide their combine harvesters to maximise their crop yield; the aerial helicopter team employed to scan electricity pylons, preventing burnout and ensuring the lights stay on across the nation; and the city planners plotting city growth into the next century.
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Three accompanying films on 91Èȱ¬ Two reveal how a nation of B-roads, branch lines, the green belt, bomb-damaged cities, rusting factories and former pit heads has become a country of motorways, high-speed rail links, high-rise cityscapes sprawling suburbs and galloping urbanization.
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Each episode charts an enormous transformation on a local scale, watching the progression from bomb craters to high-rise, from green belt to urban sprawl and from slag heap to reclaimed green and pleasant land.
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This series reveals from above the dramatic transformation of Britain's landscape in a single generation.
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The series draws on a remarkable and little-seen aerial archive photographed by the RAF immediately after the Second World War.
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It also uses first-hand testimony and CGI – combined with location and aerial filming – to paint a fascinating portrait of three different locations in close-up detail.
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Channel-hopping to 91Èȱ¬ Four, Britain From Above takes on a global perspective, painting a satellite portrait of our planet.
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This single documentary explores the power of the extraordinary space satellite technology flying above the nation's head, revealing how global agencies and individuals are using satellites in all kinds of ways – farming their land from space, locating ancient water supplies hidden deep beneath the most arid desert regions, and tracking ocean currents and the global mechanisms of climate change.
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91Èȱ¬ Executive Producer Emma Willis said: "This is an epic series which reveals, from a striking new perspective, how Britain works.
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"Whilst Andrew Marr is exploring the nation on 91Èȱ¬ One, the 91Èȱ¬ Two and 91Èȱ¬ Four programming offers viewers a great opportunity to further explore Britain's place in the global, satellite world and how the country has changed over the decades."
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In a major piece of cross-platform commissioning, bbc.co.uk will host an extensive website supporting the series, incorporating specially commissioned documentary shorts and exclusive behind-the-scenes films.
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The website will remain live for the following decade, enabling users to continue to enjoy and relive the series for years to come.
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Nick Catliff, Executive Producer for Lion TV, said: "This is a story of human geography at its most visual, vibrant and vivacious, with sumptuous aerial photography and the effervescent magic of Andrew Marr."
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The television and short film content is series produced by Lucy van Beek.
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The 91Èȱ¬ One series director is Cassian Harrison (Episodes 1 and 3) with Mark Radice (Episode 2).
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Directors for 91Èȱ¬ Two are Nic Young (Episodes 1 and 2) and Chris Mitchell (Episode 3).
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The Executive Producer for online content is Kirsty Hunter, Lion TV's Head of Interactive.
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Britain From Above is produced by Lion TV for the 91Èȱ¬.
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The Executive Producers are Emma Willis (91Èȱ¬) and Nick Catliff (Lion TV).
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