BBC’s Blue Planet III is keeping in shots that would normally end up on the cutting room floor to prove it’s real.
BBC’s Blue Planet III is keeping in shots that would normally end up on the cutting room floor to prove it’s real.
Oct 24, 2026, 9:29 PM UTCTerrence O'Brienis the Verge’s weekend editor. He’s covered the tech industry for over 18 years and knows a thing or two about synths.BBC’s Blue Planet III is looking to prove its authenticity by leaving in the less-than-perfect shots. Previous incarnations of the nature series were defined by their gorgeous, crystal-clear footage that seemed almost too good to be real. But one dead giveaway of AI is when things look too polished and seamless. To counter that, Blue Planet III goes warts and all.
Executive Producer Elizabeth White told The Guardian in the past, “the amount of plankton and things” floating in the water would have caused them to cut a shot. Or “we might have framed out a boat or a buoy or gone: ‘Oh, actually … the water conditions are not really good enough for this.’” Instead, this time they’re leaving it all in to show a more authentic, organic version of the oceans.
The series features incredible displays of dolphins trapping fish by plugging holes with sea sponges, inter-species fish communication, and 200,000 crabs lining up in formation to feed. White says that real ocean creatures “are probably more remarkable than AI could imagine.”