Walking with Dinosaurs pilot

HD Trilogy of Life Walking with Dinosaurs Pilot (2005)

An excerpt from Trilogy of Life, showing two minutes of the pilot film.

The Walking with Dinosaurs pilot is a six minute film created by Tim Haines in 1996. The film depicts prehistoric fauna from late Jurassic England, akin to Cruel Sea.

Synopsis

The pilot film depicts life during the late Jurassic period in England, when it was divided into a set of small islands due to an increase in sea level. A small flock of pterosaurs fly over the British coastline before descending to feeding.

Meanwhile, on land, a female Eustreptospondylus is prowling through the dense vegetation before coming upon a large herd of Cetiosaurus, browsing on the tree tops.

In the waters, a Liopleurodon is hovering near the surface of the water. However, later the animal is washed ashore and stranded on a beach.

Creatures featured

• Pterosaur
• Eustreptospondylus
• Cetiosaurus
• Liopleurodon

Production

According to Trilogy of Life, a featurette on the Walking with Monsters DVD, Haines asked Mike Milne from Framestore CFC to help him create two hours of "Jurassic Park quality, computer-animated dinosaurs for a television programme with a television budget". He initially declined but soon agreed to help. Haines created the pilot episode and showed to the BBC, who upon viewing, decided to initiate a fundraising campaign for the series that would be Walking with Dinosaurs.

The effects in the pilot were achieved using computer animation as well as animatronics and prosthetics, as exemplified by the behind-the-scenes footage of the beached Liopleurodon. Other methods were also used, such as the "ball-and-stick" technique commonly used by the Walking with... production crew. The pilot was filmed in Cyprus.