Blue Planet III Keeps Murkier Shots to Prove Its Footage Is Real in the Age of AI

The makers of Blue Planet III, the new BBC nature series narrated by David Attenborough, say they have intentionally kept cloudier and less polished footage in the final cut. The aim, they explained, is to reassure audiences that what they see is authentic at a time when AI fakery is on the rise.

The series arrives almost ten years after Blue Planet II drew attention to plastic pollution and 25 years after the first Blue Planet was broadcast. This time, the BBC Studios natural history unit promises more animal behaviour and cutting-edge technology, including what is described as the world's first underwater CCTV camera, nicknamed the "stonefish" cam.

Screens and cameras have become far sharper since the original series. But the spread of AI, combined with the remarkable sequences and unusual creatures filmed for the new programme, pushed the team toward what they called a more "organic" look. Executive producer Elizabeth White said AI "makes us want to be even more authentic", adding that the animals filmed in the deep ocean "are probably more remarkable than AI could imagine and it's completely real".

White said that in the past, sequences with a lot of plankton or other material in the water might have been left out. The team might also have framed out a boat or a buoy, or rejected a shot because water conditions were poor. Now such details are kept in. She said the team is "really leaning into that authenticity" and expects to lean further into murkier, less polished imagery as AI grows.

At a press screening, the BBC's head of specialist factual commissioning, Jack Bootle, made a first-of-its-kind assurance to journalists: "No gen AI was used in this series. Not a single frame. It's all real photography." He also said that in a "golden age of natural history-making", viewers can feel they have seen it all before, but this series is "bursting with novel behaviour".

Among the new sightings are dolphins using sea sponges to block holes in coral and trap fish. The behaviour was recorded with underwater CCTV developed by the programme's producer and director, Yoland Bosiger. Other scenes show a grouper communicating with another species of fish, 200,000 crabs lining up in formation to feed, and sea urchins using shells as sun hats. A penguin sequence echoes the "iguana v snakes" moment from Planet Earth II.

Filming took four years across five oceans. Series producer Lara Bickerton said BBC Studios "continually innovated", building a "mini-dome" camera to follow an octopus and a "deep-sea selfie stick". Camera operators also wore leg-mounted scooters to capture immersive, TikTok-style diving footage, and lasers were used to film deep-sea animals.

The series also looks at threats to the ocean as well as its resilience. One episode shows how warmer seas caused by the climate crisis are killing the sea anemones where clownfish live, and how the fish try to repair their homes. The plastics theme from Blue Planet II continues with a story on pollutants and forever chemicals, White said.

Bosiger said Attenborough, who is 100, was "very much involved" and made changes to scripts. White said he has not lost his curiosity and is still excited when shown new footage. Asked whether the BBC's £500m cost-cutting drive could affect the unit's reputation, she said she could not comment, but noted the series saved money by using more local crews on location than earlier ones.

Blue Planet III begins on Sunday 1 November on BBC1 and iPlayer.