Walking with Dinosaurs

Over 25 years after they first stomped onto our screens, the much-loved Walking with Dinosaurs is back. Using the latest scientific data and stunning visual effects, each episode explores the life of a different dinosaur, drawing from fossil discoveries across the world.

25 May 2025

BBC Studios

BBC One

Laying the Bedrock

“This latest series has come a long way both in terms of technology and production”, comments Bob Jackson, who also mixed the audio of the 1999 series. “I began working on this new series in May 2024 where we set out how we would deliver the most accurate series we could.

During this process, ENVY and the BBC Studios Production Team were in regular contact with academics who advised us on sounds that would have been true to the time, such as birds and insects that would have been living. As an example, we could use the sounds of crickets but not cicadas. This consultation period was ongoing for the first 6 months that I was involved in the project and we were able to build up a collection of sounds to design the environments.”

Prior to ENVY working on the series, BBC Studios had already begun storyboarding and previsualising sequences in collaboration with VFX vendor Lola Post Production. ENVY and Lola subsequently worked together to facilitate the turnover of plates and delivery of VFX. “During this period, which lasted between 12-18 months, we turned over more than 2000 plates as well as the lens grids and photogrammetry Lola needed for their work.” notes Matt Cole.

Sonny Sheridan adds, “Sequences were shot on location with a crew going out to record clean plates. Lola would ‘de-age’ the location before adding the dinosaurs into the environment.”

State of the art colour management and imaging workflows guaranteed quality and consistency across a range of camera formats that were used to shoot the plates. “These workflows played a vital role in maintaining interoperability between parties and ensured our artists had the latitude they needed to achieve the creative ambition of the project.” said Matt.

Mixing the Mesozoic

For each of the 6 episodes, unique atmospheres and environments were created, comprising of various audio elements including sound effects, atmos layers, foley, voiceovers and music, across 200 different audio tracks. Each soundscape having differing characteristics to represent the time and the location on the planet.

Well renowned for their work within the natural history genre, Wounded Buffalo designed and created the sounds of each of the dinosaurs, from every roar, screech and cry. Providing foley on the series were Mahoney’s, providing extra layers of sound to enrich the bed of sounds. “It is really impressive how they were able to add depth to the sounds to emulate the size and weight of the dinosaurs, you can truly feel it.”, recalls Jackson. To compliment the sound, Adam explains, “We also added in camera shakes to amplify the sound effects and add to the drama. As a dinosaur gets closer to the camera, the shakes increased in magnitude and became more intense.”

Guiding us through the prehistoric past was Tony and Olivier award-winning actor, Bertie Carvel. His narration blended with the amazing score, composed by Ty Unwin truly adds to the drama and the tension that the dinosaurs face.

Jackson goes on to reflect, “To differentiate between modern day and the prehistoric past, the flashback sequences were mixed in Dolby 5.1 surround sound but when we transition back to present day, the audio changes to stereo which the audience will pick up on and subconsciously be brought back to today.”

Grading a Prehistoric Palette

With the grade taking place in parallel to the mix, Colourist Sonny Sheridan explains the technical differences with the series, whilst also taking audiences on a journey into the prehistoric world. VFX shots were supplied with embedded mattes allowing Sheridan more control over the grade.

“Having access to the mattes was so beneficial to the grade and it gave me closer control of all the individual elements”, he explains, “I was able to create an even more realistic grade on the dinosaurs and how the lighting on their bodies would change as they move across the shots and engage with their surroundings.”

Finessing the Timeline, Bone by Bone

Working with the final sequences, Online Editor Adam Grant was one of the final steps of this colossal production. He recalls, “My primary focus was working on the final plates, ensuring any objects that didn’t belong in the time period were removed, stripping it back to prehistoric times. In some instances, I was painting in layers such as sand and dirt to build up the environment.”

To add to the realism of the scenes, shots were made to look handheld which added to the drama and tension of the sequences without being made to feel static and disconnected from the stories.

Grant completed a thorough quality control (QC) check of all 6 episodes paying particular attention to the dinosaurs and VFX elements. “To make the series feel as real as possible, we needed to make sure the dinosaurs were interacting with the plates correctly. For example, making sure the dinosaurs were in contact with the ground when the terrain changed.”

The Post-Herd

In order the deliver to project to the highest standard possible, a great deal of planning and collaboration was required. Sheridan reflects, “This was a very technical project for everyone involved. The implementation of different workflows gave us a solid structure to work from. Jackson adds, “There were plenty of discussions between us and BBC Studios with Mahoney’s and Wounded Buffalo throughout the entire process and together we created a rich and authentic mix.

“The entire project was a real team effort. You can see all that work and collaboration paid off on screen!”

Matt Cole

Matt Cole

Technical Operations Manager

Jannine Martin

Post Production Executive/Director

Edith Rivers

Senior Producer

Emelie Bjork

Senior Producer

Grading / Colour

Adding a splash of colour to your project is the Grading team. Our team can design particular looks to match the visions of how you want your show to look.

We have six Baselight TWO colour grading suites all with the latest Dolby and Sony monitoring allowing our grading team to work at resolutions from HD up to 4K HDR. All suites are connected to a high-speed SAN and supported by a Baselight Assist, allowing imports/exports to happen in the background without interrupting the session.

Sonny Sheridan

Senior Colourist

Paul Fallon

Senior Colourist

Andrew Cloke

Senior Colourist

Teresa Braida

Colourist

Online

Once the Offline is completed, our experienced Online team will bring your project to life with their knowledge and skills.

Our online team operate across ten Avid Symphony suites and two Autodesk Flame systems all connected via high performance shared storage, working at resolutions from HD up to 4K HDR and beyond if required. They offer the latest plugins from both Boris and Sapphire, as well as the highest quality broadcast monitoring available. The team are highly experienced in large-scale multi-episodic productions as well as fast turnaround ‘day of transmission’ style projects.

Dicky Everton

Senior Online Editor

Luke Carter

Senior Online Editor

Adam Grant

Senior Online Editor

Barrie Pease

Senior Online Editor

Yiorgos Loizou

Senior Online Editor

David Preece

Online Editor

Audio

Our Sound department are able to create thrilling soundscapes, record and edit voiceovers and mix the most complex of projects.

Our Broadcast division has nine sound studios, all with VO booths alongside two additional Audio Prep rooms. All our studios are 5.1 capable with three studios being Dolby Atmos 7.1.4. All suites run the latest ProTools 20.12 software with the latest plugins. As well as mix, we also offer ADR, Foley and remote voice over.