Big Pacific Behind The Scenes Filming Pufferfish Building A Nest

July 21, 2017 3:42 AM

Take 15 minutes to watch "Chapter 1" of this Big Pacific episode "Behind The Scenes", wherein a film crew innovates ways to film a pufferfish building a nest to attract a female. I'm sorry there is no transcript, and I can't check for region blocking.

Also apologies that I cannot link directly to the episode but it is at the top of the PBS page for the show.

posted by hippybear (12 comments total)

Bah - blocked to UK viewers...
posted by freya_lamb at 4:33 AM on July 21, 2017

Saw this on PBS the other night, and it is extremely cool all the way around -- interesting if you're interested in how they make nature documentaries OR if you're interested in animal behavior. I have been watching "Big Pacific" for the last few weeks, and it is really good. This segment was part of a complete episode about the adventures and misadventures of the production crew, and I would probably watch an entire documentary series just about how they make nature documentaries.
posted by briank at 5:47 AM on July 21, 2017 [2 favorites]

This made me extremely happy and was a great way to start my morning. Such an intrepid craftsman, that little pufferfish.
posted by vverse23 at 8:53 AM on July 21, 2017 [1 favorite]

I would probably watch an entire documentary series just about how they make nature documentaries.

Like, 11 episodes about the filming and then a final episode that is the product of what you just watched them film.

I'd totally watch that.
posted by hippybear at 11:17 AM on July 21, 2017 [3 favorites]

Big Pacific was a great series. I loved that pufferfish.
posted by homunculus at 12:19 PM on July 21, 2017 [1 favorite]

Direct link to episode
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 2:32 PM on July 21, 2017 [2 favorites]

Oh, JW, even despite your flagrant flaunting of your canine leanings, I so appreciate you!
posted by hippybear at 2:44 PM on July 21, 2017 [1 favorite]

Getting an any animal mating on camera is challenging! At the 'easy' end of the spectrum are the big cats, and that is not because they take their time. It's because of repeated, multiple tries. Fish are so quick! All that work for something you'd miss seeing if you blinked! Both on the part of the puffer fish and the camera crew.
posted by Katjusa Roquette at 4:29 PM on July 21, 2017

I think really only Buddhists with their sand mandalas and maybe the Native Americans with their sand painting traditions do anything equivalent to what this little puffer fish does.
posted by hippybear at 4:46 PM on July 21, 2017

Loved the puffers! Clicked off when birdies were gonna get eaten by snakes.
posted by kinnakeet at 5:01 PM on July 21, 2017

Great program!
posted by growabrain at 11:48 PM on July 21, 2017

This is very cool - especially nice to hear about the lighting aspect, so important for shots like this and something I rarely think about with nature docs.
posted by LobsterMitten at 9:21 PM on August 1, 2017