Attenbobough's Life That Glows Page #5

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Cameras have always struggled to replicate

what the human eye can do,

but with special low-light cameras,

we can now record glowing light at least as well,

and sometimes better, than we can see it ourselves.

But being able to film the glow is only one part of the solution.

To really understand light on Earth, you need to be able to record

the creature themselves as they make the light.

This camera allows you to film

in low-light levels in a completely new way.

The beam of light comes in through the single lens,

but it is then split into two, and one camera records on one

light frequency, and the other on a different light frequency.

One of the cameras is sensitive to infrared light, invisible to

most animals, but which allows the camera to record in the dark.

The second camera records only the bioluminescence,

which is mostly blue or green.

The two are then combined into one picture.

And that way you can get pictures at a low-light level,

not only of bioluminescent animals,

but even the environment in which they are living.

This technique, pioneered by film-maker Martin Dohrn,

allows us to enter the world of bioluminescent creatures,

and also to contribute to new science.

With this type of camera, there are many things

I see on these images which I wouldn't be able to see normally.

In the past, scientist Marcel Koken has been unable to

study the worm and beetle without using a light.

But when he did, the light would frighten the beetle

and overpower the worm's bioluminescence.

With the help of Martin's camera, Marcel is able to observe

and record the beetle and worm encounter for the first time.

Having decided working with two cameras simultaneously wasn't

already hard enough, the team decide to take them underwater.

The objective was to film

the beautiful mating display of ostracods -

tiny, one millimetre long crustaceans in the dark

swirling currents of their natural habitat. A huge challenge.

- Martin, how was it tonight?

- We had a lot of problems.

Tonight, it went smoother. It's calmer. Much, much calmer.

A lot of what I saw looked utterly amazing.

Martin's beam-splitting system makes it possible to film

the bioluminescence as well as the tiny ostracods, as they leave

lights in their wake.

However, the scientists are not done.

Marine biologist Gretchen Gerrish hopes the camera will enable

her to film groups of males that aren't flashing,

swimming alongside the individual that is.

Something that has only ever been seen in the lab.

These males, known as sneakers, are invisible to a normal camera,

because they leave no night trail.

But our camera, nicknamed Bertha, could change all that.

- So, how was Bertha?

- Bertha is awesome.

She was filming sneakers and you could see them swimming.

She's a bit of a beast.

What do you think, Trevor? Did you get any good footage?

It was just awesome.

This is opening the doors for so much.

The scientists are keen to get their first look at the combined

images from Bertha.

The infrared does show there is a spiralling group of males,

intent on intercepting the female, before she can reach the male

that has done all the hard work of attracting her.

And there are far more competing males

than the scientists had expected.

It's an ostracod soup. There's thousands of them.

What, to our eyes, is a beautiful, orderly display is in fact

an ostracod free-for-all.

Lots of males try to cash in on the efforts of a few.

The amount of information you could fire from this is something

we've been trying to do for the last five years.

Yeah, that's a paper, right there.

What? You mean in that short clip? There's not a paper there.

Close to it.

But having hi-tech kit is only part of the story.

Since much of the bioluminescence is little-known,

just finding it is often the biggest hurdle.

The crew are about to head out on their most ambitious shoot.

Tonight, we're going to try

and film something that we know is found all over the world,

and it happens every night in every ocean, almost anywhere,

and yet, in terms of getting information from people

as to where we might find it,

and when the best time is, there is nothing.

As night falls, they head away from shore and any artificial light.

And soon, they are sailing in the sea laced with dinoflagellates.

These blue flashes can be seen

in almost any ocean at night, with the lights out.

But this alone is not what the crew came for.

They are hoping to meet some special visitors.

Working on a rocking boat in complete darkness with

a prototype camera is one of the trickiest challenges Martin

has faced in his career.

After a week searching the dark sea, here they are.

Dolphins.

To be out at night, with clear skies and beautiful stars,

and everywhere there are flashes of light,

and when dolphins turn up, the show just gets more extraordinary still.

It really is one of the most amazing things I've ever seen in my life.

Scenes like this are happening across the oceans,

yet this is one of the few times they've ever been caught on camera.

New technologies and new ideas are creating

a revolution in our way of seeing the world.

And of understanding life that glows.

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