Flying penguins
Encyclopedia
Flying penguins or Miracles of Evolution is a BBC
film trailer made in 2008 as an April Fools' Day
hoax. The film was advertised as compelling evidence for Charles Darwin
's theory of evolution. It was largely set on King George Island which is 75 miles from Antarctica.
The Daily Telegraph
wrote that the film was "an instant classic. It is accomplished work of this kind that guarantees the BBC its unique status."
The BBC website still claims that it may attempt to film the flying penguins again because the original film did not explain how such small birds, that are not used to flying, could survive long migrations over vast, stormy oceans. Miracles of Evolution was filmed with animated penguins for the occasion of April Fools' Day, and to promote the BBC iPlayer
.
MSN
included "The BBC's flying penguins" as one of their twelve "Hoaxes of the decade."
s that live in Antarctica. Adélie penguins are one of the most southern seabirds in the world. The film claims that long and extremely cold Antarctic winters forced some groups of Adélies to adapt by gaining the ability to fly. In the film the penguins travel thousands of miles to the rainforest
s of South America. The narrative of the film discourages adventurers from trying to see flying penguins on their own. These birds are rare, "elusive and secretive". It is all but impossible to find them in the dense jungles of South America, or even to see their migration
over the southern oceans. After migrating, the penguins are shown landing in the canopy of the rainforest.
The film was narrated by Terry Jones
(of Monty Python
fame). Walking in Antarctica between Adélies, Jones says:
The film shows birds taking off one after another, with the whole sky soon becoming filled with flying penguins. First the film shows the penguins flying over icebergs and through a hole in an iceberg. Antarctica is then left behind and viewers see the green of South America's rainforests.
both published articles about the upcoming film.The Mirror ran the story on its front page, and in The Daily Telegraph the story was one of the most important of the day.The Daily Telegraph proclaimed that the BBC had "remarkable footage of penguins flying as part of its new natural history series, Miracles of Evolution."
Chris Tryhorn, a news editor for The Guardian
, admitted that the story "gave him pause for thought" when two of his rivals, The Daily Mirror and The Daily Telegraph, published synchronized stories on such an important discovery. Chris said that he started to put the pieces together based upon the publication date
, Monty Python's Terry Jones being the host and the film maker being called Prof Alid Loyas. Chris realized after noticing that Prof Alid Loyas was an anagram of "April Fools Day"
The Daily Mirror later published an explanation for its readers who were waiting for the documentary to be broadcast on BBC One.
The trailer can still be found on the BBC website, however it is viewed using the BBC iPlayer, which is only available to Internet users accessing from British IP addresses.
It can also be found on YouTube.
BBC producers used real footage of Adelies filmed in the Antarctic by the BBC. Animated penguins were then created, and to make them fly the animators used a flight pattern used by real birds that somewhat resemble penguins.
Terry Jones was filmed in a studio with fake snow on the floor and on his polar parka. Later this footage was combined with real footage taken in Antarctica and with the footage of animated penguins in flight.
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
film trailer made in 2008 as an April Fools' Day
April Fools' Day
April Fools' Day is celebrated in different countries around the world on April 1 every year. Sometimes referred to as All Fools' Day, April 1 is not a national holiday, but is widely recognized and celebrated as a day when many people play all kinds of jokes and foolishness...
hoax. The film was advertised as compelling evidence for Charles Darwin
Charles Darwin
Charles Robert Darwin FRS was an English naturalist. He established that all species of life have descended over time from common ancestry, and proposed the scientific theory that this branching pattern of evolution resulted from a process that he called natural selection.He published his theory...
's theory of evolution. It was largely set on King George Island which is 75 miles from Antarctica.
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
wrote that the film was "an instant classic. It is accomplished work of this kind that guarantees the BBC its unique status."
The BBC website still claims that it may attempt to film the flying penguins again because the original film did not explain how such small birds, that are not used to flying, could survive long migrations over vast, stormy oceans. Miracles of Evolution was filmed with animated penguins for the occasion of April Fools' Day, and to promote the BBC iPlayer
BBC iPlayer
BBC iPlayer, commonly shortened to iPlayer, is an internet television and radio service, developed by the BBC to extend its former RealPlayer-based and other streamed video clip content to include whole TV shows....
.
MSN
MSN
MSN is a collection of Internet sites and services provided by Microsoft. The Microsoft Network debuted as an online service and Internet service provider on August 24, 1995, to coincide with the release of the Windows 95 operating system.The range of services offered by MSN has changed since its...
included "The BBC's flying penguins" as one of their twelve "Hoaxes of the decade."
The film
The film features Adélie PenguinAdelie Penguin
The Adélie Penguin, Pygoscelis adeliae, is a species of penguin common along the entire Antarctic coast. They are among the most southerly distributed of all seabirds, as are the Emperor Penguin, the South Polar Skua, the Wilson's Storm Petrel, the Snow Petrel, and the Antarctic Petrel...
s that live in Antarctica. Adélie penguins are one of the most southern seabirds in the world. The film claims that long and extremely cold Antarctic winters forced some groups of Adélies to adapt by gaining the ability to fly. In the film the penguins travel thousands of miles to the rainforest
Rainforest
Rainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions based on a minimum normal annual rainfall of 1750-2000 mm...
s of South America. The narrative of the film discourages adventurers from trying to see flying penguins on their own. These birds are rare, "elusive and secretive". It is all but impossible to find them in the dense jungles of South America, or even to see their migration
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
over the southern oceans. After migrating, the penguins are shown landing in the canopy of the rainforest.
The film was narrated by Terry Jones
Terry Jones
Terence Graham Parry Jones is a Welsh comedian, screenwriter, actor, film director, children's author, popular historian, political commentator, and TV documentary host. He is best known as a member of the Monty Python comedy team....
(of Monty Python
Monty Python
Monty Python was a British surreal comedy group who created their influential Monty Python's Flying Circus, a British television comedy sketch show that first aired on the BBC on 5 October 1969. Forty-five episodes were made over four series...
fame). Walking in Antarctica between Adélies, Jones says:
The film shows birds taking off one after another, with the whole sky soon becoming filled with flying penguins. First the film shows the penguins flying over icebergs and through a hole in an iceberg. Antarctica is then left behind and viewers see the green of South America's rainforests.
Film promotions
On April 1 2008 rival newspapers The Daily Telegraph and The Daily MirrorThe Daily Mirror
The Daily Mirror is a British national daily tabloid newspaper which was founded in 1903. Twice in its history, from 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was changed to read simply The Mirror, which is how the paper is often referred to in popular parlance. It had an...
both published articles about the upcoming film.The Mirror ran the story on its front page, and in The Daily Telegraph the story was one of the most important of the day.The Daily Telegraph proclaimed that the BBC had "remarkable footage of penguins flying as part of its new natural history series, Miracles of Evolution."
Chris Tryhorn, a news editor for The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, admitted that the story "gave him pause for thought" when two of his rivals, The Daily Mirror and The Daily Telegraph, published synchronized stories on such an important discovery. Chris said that he started to put the pieces together based upon the publication date
April Fools' Day
April Fools' Day is celebrated in different countries around the world on April 1 every year. Sometimes referred to as All Fools' Day, April 1 is not a national holiday, but is widely recognized and celebrated as a day when many people play all kinds of jokes and foolishness...
, Monty Python's Terry Jones being the host and the film maker being called Prof Alid Loyas. Chris realized after noticing that Prof Alid Loyas was an anagram of "April Fools Day"
The Daily Mirror later published an explanation for its readers who were waiting for the documentary to be broadcast on BBC One.
The trailer can still be found on the BBC website, however it is viewed using the BBC iPlayer, which is only available to Internet users accessing from British IP addresses.
It can also be found on YouTube.
Making of Flying penguins
Flying penguins was made using diverse techniques and footage.BBC producers used real footage of Adelies filmed in the Antarctic by the BBC. Animated penguins were then created, and to make them fly the animators used a flight pattern used by real birds that somewhat resemble penguins.
Terry Jones was filmed in a studio with fake snow on the floor and on his polar parka. Later this footage was combined with real footage taken in Antarctica and with the footage of animated penguins in flight.