Videos

Sorry to bust your bubble, but as you’ll see in the video below some nature documentaries get the Hollywood treatment and aren’t exactly what they seem. Simon Cade, Host and Producer of DSLRguide TV made the discovery while watching an episode of the BBC’s “Planet Earth.”

Cade explains, “I couldn’t help but notice that most of the sound effects seemed to be fake—like they were added later.” As he points out regarding a scene shot from a helicopter in which you can hear the light footsteps of animals on the ground, “Cameras can zoom in on distant subjects but microphones can’t.” Sort of obvious when you think about it.

While Cade is willing to cut producers some slack because sound is so critical for “a rich and immersive experience,” audio trickery is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg. We don’t want to be a buzzkill, so watch the video to see what he means.

You can find more videos on the DSLRguide YouTube channel, and for something we can guarantee is 100% real, read our recent article with a nature photographer who reveals his secrets for getting great shots.