The BBC's nature documentary Blue Planet was hailed as one of the classics of nature documentaries in 2001. Now the company is getting ready to release its second installment. A group of 500 people in Shanghai was chosen as the first people on earth to have a pre-release look at the pilot episode on Friday.

 

Get ready for stunning visuals and enchanting stories about ocean creatures. Tencent, BBC Worldwide and the East China Normal University have jointly organized a pre-release viewing of BBC's new nature documentary Blue Planet 2 in Shanghai on Friday. The seven episode series took four years to film across 39 countries.

 

Chinese internet firm Tencent is one of the investors for the series and has exclusive rights for its internet broadcast in China. The producer said internet video platforms have brought changes to the documentary industry.

 

ORLA DOHERTY, PRODUCER BLUE PLANET 2 It does change what we are doing for Blue Planet 2. We've made reams of small clips that wouldn't have a home anywhere else but there are so many homes they can sit on the internet. The increased number of eyes in the ocean, divers, surfers, people out there, just means that there are so many new stories to tell and so it just felt like absolutely the right moment to scoop up the best of them and make a new series.

 

The event also include a joint discussion between senior BBC producer Michael Gunton and Chinese documentary filmmaker Chen Xiaoqing.

 

YANG CHENGXI SHANGHAI BBC's mega budget productions have been for some time the top benchmark for nature documentaries world-wide. The differences between the two countries has been one of the discussion topics.

 

CHEN XIAOQING, DIRECTOR A BITE OF CHINA DOCUMENTARY SERIES The BBC filmmakers are allowed to order custom-made filming gears. But us Chinese filmmakers can only borrow what the company offers, and we are personally liable for damages.

 

The series is scheduled to be released on November 30th on BBC and Tencent's video platform. YCX CGTN SHANGHAI.