Sir David Attenborough and Yorkshire TV company Candour picked for huge 5G project

Much of what Sir David Attenborough has presented to television viewers over his decades of showcasing the world’s natural wonders is so impressive that it almost seems beyond possibility.
Sir David Attenborough in The Green Planet. Photographer: Sam Barker for BBC.Sir David Attenborough in The Green Planet. Photographer: Sam Barker for BBC.
Sir David Attenborough in The Green Planet. Photographer: Sam Barker for BBC.

But the veteran broadcaster, 94, will now be part of actual augmented reality - a new app - as for the first time he harnesses the potential of 5G to traverse the wild.

He is spearheading a Government-funded trial to explore the potential of the fifth generation technology.

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The app, to be released alongside upcoming BBC series The Green Planet, will allow users to stream high resolution ‘holographic’ video of Sir David as “meticulously detailed graphics” of exotic plants and animals adorn their surroundings, says the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

The Live & Wild team at Candour in Leeds, including: director Anna Hall, head of production Julie Heselgrave, production executive Ali Hobbs and project director Patricia Doherty. Picture: Candour.The Live & Wild team at Candour in Leeds, including: director Anna Hall, head of production Julie Heselgrave, production executive Ali Hobbs and project director Patricia Doherty. Picture: Candour.
The Live & Wild team at Candour in Leeds, including: director Anna Hall, head of production Julie Heselgrave, production executive Ali Hobbs and project director Patricia Doherty. Picture: Candour.

Developed by creative and technology firms, the app aims to highlight the possibilities of 5G to new audiences, with hopes that it gets people engaged with nature and wildlife.

It is one of nine projects to receive funding as part of a £28.3m joint investment between Government and businesses to test how the country can “seize the full benefits of the technology and help British industries capitalise on the power of modern technology,” says the department.

Award-winning Leeds-based Candour Productions is involved, taking on the £2,136,420 scheme Live & Wild: Filming with 5G.

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This will present a series of filming scenarios to test 5G’s capacity to support the needs of the documentary film industry in the UK.

Filming will take place in a variety of extreme locations and weather conditions across the UK , including caving in the Yorkshire Dales, sea cliff climbing in North Wales and ultra-running across Britain. The project will monitor 5G’s resilience, adaptability, reliability and image quality as it livestreams high end video content.

It will also monitor transfer time and performance of raw batch footage sent directly from remote film locations back to the post-production hub.

Patricia Doherty, project director at Candour, said: “We are really looking forward to discovering the ways in which 5G can help us deliver fast-turnaround and live video content without compromising on high production values. This could be a game changer for the UK film industry.”

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The production company, which is based in Farsley, west Leeds, has won industry awards for documentaries such as the hard-hitting restorative justice film The Family Secret and its exploration of lockdown A Day In the Life of Coronavirus Britain.

Minister for Digital Infrastructure Matt Warman said: “5G is about so much more than faster mobile internet speeds so we’re investing millions to help some of Britain’s brightest innovators explore the huge potential of the technology to improve and enrich our lives.

“The projects we’ve selected will demonstrate how the blistering speeds of 5G can put some rocket fuel in our economy and help businesses bounce back from the pandemic.”