‘Planet Earth III’ Cinematographer Lived Underground for 17 Days to Shoot the World’s Largest Cave

Luke Nelson sheds light on the intense process of filming Vietnam’s Hang son Doong Caves for ‘Planet Earth III’ Episode Six- “Extremes”, voiced by Sir David Attenborough. In this installment of Variety’s ‘Artisans’ series, take a behind-the-scenes look at the technology and creativity needed to capture these unique formations.
Variety Artisans presented by HBO.

[@OxalisAdventure]

It was our team's great honor to accompany you on this amazing project in Son Doong Cave. Congratulations to Luke and your team on the Emmy nomination. We look forward to welcoming you back to Phong Nha, the World's Cave Kingdom!

[@hendrosetyow3072]

What an honor indeed. One of my bucket list if to color grade amazing natural documentary series. May there come a time my wish would come through. I will work hard towards this.

[@maconcamp472]

🌌 🧑‍🚀 ✨This Is How The Universe Works✨🌌 🧑‍🚀 Return To Mars!!👽🪐🛸🌌 The trench represents depression!! Like a cut, it will need a band-aid!👩‍⚕️ 🏥 Like a “River Running Through It”, water represents a liquid band-aid for this depression!! 🌊 🌊 🌊🌊🌊 Turning a frown, upside down!!🙃🙂 Raise our consciousness and like a liquid band-aid, all is good in the universe again!! 😇Fairytale and masterpiece type of shit we’re talking about here!! 📚 🧞‍♂️ 🕯️ 🏰 👸 🐻 🐾 It’s like we’re inside Mars and Mars kinda represents our skull!!💀 The depression is a crack!! Also a mind that has now been split opened by a lightning strike!! 🤯⚡️ 🦇 Releasing pleasant gasses for sure!!🦨 💨 🦨 💨 🦨💨🦨 Now picture Mars and that crack!! 👁️ The Ghostbusters ooze, oozing out of that crack!! 🤢🤮👻 TMNT!! Secret of the ooze!! Turtle Power!! 🐢 Creating mutations!!! 🧬 Our consciousness aka water and star stuff, oozing from the crack and tapping us into higher dimensions!! 🌌 It’s getting juicy!! 🍍 🍍 🍍🍍🍍😋 Galaxy collisions creating heaven on Earth!! Our Stairway To Heaven!!🌍 👼🪽☮️😇🥳 Our Never Ending Story!! 🐺 📖 🐌 🪨 🕯️ Purrthquakes!! 😻 🐾 That picture of Mars and the trench would also represent a seed that is about to sprout!!🌱 🌹 🐼 For a human in depression, it would represent them coming out of it, of course!!😇🌍👼☮️⚡️🤯👽🛸🪐 MOMentum and energy then create the fusion we need to thrust ourselves beyond Jupiter and towards the furthest stars!! ✨ 🌌 The same as a tree like Devils Tower becoming the Tower Of The Gods!! The same as a Sequoia reaching for the furthest stars!! Trying to seek more light!!💡 🌳 We can definitely imagine we’re the Earth itself and to level up, we push through that seed which is Mars!!🌍🌱🍄‍🟫👽🛸🌌✨ Belief is a powerful drug!! ⛄️ ❄️ We’re going radioactive!!☢️ 🍊 🫐 🎆 😮 Imagine Dragons!!🐉 The same way the Great Lakes come together to form the heart of the ocean and dragon heart!!🐉 💜 😮We can also imagine us doing the same!!😮 🐘 🐾 🪘 Mridangam!!🥸 The water swooshing, no different than the galaxies!!🌌 😇😇 🌌 Two cites squashing their crosstown beef!!🥩 🐄 🌆 🏙️ It bee like crosstown traffic!! Awakening goddesses and creating a frenzy of electrons!! Electra!! 👸 🐻 🏰 🐊 🌳 🍯 🐝 🐝 The Earth 🌍 is like a ball of yarn, 🧶 🐈‍⬛ when we imagine we’re each a string creating music throughout the universe!!🎸🎶 That makes the Seattle Space Needle our needle for the yarn and the fabric of space!! 🌌 🪡🧑‍🚀🪐🛸 String Theory!!👩‍🏫 Quantum mechanics!! 👻 👩‍🏫 Light is a wave made of particles!! Like beads!! 😮❤ This universe and goddess giving away her beads!! Mardi Gras!!!😂🥰🥳 This means a planetary alignment or purrade 😻, would be like a shooting star 💫 or beam of light!! 🌞 Probably pointing towards Orion!! 🐈‍⬛🧶Waking the universe up!! Orion shows his O face!! O, I’m the universe!! 🛌 🐶 🎾 🐾 🧑‍🚀 🪐 🛸 Purrthquakes!! 😻 🐾 My cosmic perspective!! 🐶 🐾 🎾

[@samuelbreuer]

I wish you all the best!

[@maconcamp472]

@@samuelbreuer 🌌 🧑‍🚀 ✨This Is How The Universe Works✨🌌 🧑‍🚀 Return To Mars!!👽🪐🛸🌌 The trench represents depression!! Like a cut, it will need a band-aid!👩‍⚕️ 🏥 Like a “River Running Through It”, water represents a liquid band-aid for this depression!! 🌊 🌊 🌊🌊🌊 Turning a frown, upside down!!🙃🙂 Raise our consciousness and like a liquid band-aid, all is good in the universe again!! 😇Fairytale and masterpiece type of shit we’re talking about here!! 📚 🧞‍♂️ 🕯️ 🏰 👸 🐻 🐾 It’s like we’re inside Mars and Mars kinda represents our skull!!💀 The depression is a crack!! Also a mind that has now been split opened by a lightning strike!! 🤯⚡️ 🦇 Releasing pleasant gasses for sure!!🦨 💨 🦨 💨 🦨💨🦨 Now picture Mars and that crack!! 👁️ The Ghostbusters ooze, oozing out of that crack!! 🤢🤮👻 TMNT!! Secret of the ooze!! Turtle Power!! 🐢 Creating mutations!!! 🧬 Our consciousness aka water and star stuff, oozing from the crack and tapping us into higher dimensions!! 🌌 It’s getting juicy!! 🍍 🍍 🍍🍍🍍😋 Galaxy collisions creating heaven on Earth!! Our Stairway To Heaven!!🌍 👼🪽☮️😇🥳 Our Never Ending Story!! 🐺 📖 🐌 🪨 🕯️ Purrthquakes!! 😻 🐾 That picture of Mars and the trench would also represent a seed that is about to sprout!!🌱 🌹 🐼 For a human in depression, it would represent them coming out of it, of course!!😇🌍👼☮️⚡️🤯👽🛸🪐 MOMentum and energy then create the fusion we need to thrust ourselves beyond Jupiter and towards the furthest stars!! ✨ 🌌 The same as a tree like Devils Tower becoming the Tower Of The Gods!! The same as a Sequoia reaching for the furthest stars!! Trying to seek more light!!💡 🌳 We can definitely imagine we’re the Earth itself and to level up, we push through that seed which is Mars!!🌍🌱🍄‍🟫👽🛸🌌✨ Belief is a powerful drug!! ⛄️ ❄️ We’re going radioactive!!☢️ 🍊 🫐 🎆 😮 Imagine Dragons!!🐉 The same way the Great Lakes come together to form the heart of the ocean and dragon heart!!🐉 💜 😮We can also imagine us doing the same!!😮 🐘 🐾 🪘 Mridangam!!🥸 The water swooshing, no different than the galaxies!!🌌 😇😇 🌌 Two cites squashing their crosstown beef!!🥩 🐄 🌆 🏙️ It bee like crosstown traffic!! Awakening goddesses and creating a frenzy of electrons!! Electra!! 👸 🐻 🏰 🐊 🌳 🍯 🐝 🐝 The Earth 🌍 is like a ball of yarn, 🧶 🐈‍⬛ when we imagine we’re each a string creating music throughout the universe!!🎸🎶 That makes the Seattle Space Needle our needle for the yarn and the fabric of space!! 🌌 🪡🧑‍🚀🪐🛸 String Theory!!👩‍🏫 Quantum mechanics!! 👻 👩‍🏫 Light is a wave made of particles!! Like beads!! 😮❤ This universe and goddess giving away her beads!! Mardi Gras!!!😂🥰🥳 This means a planetary alignment or purrade 😻, would be like a shooting star 💫 or beam of light!! 🌞 Probably pointing towards Orion!! 🐈‍⬛🧶Waking the universe up!! Orion shows his O face!! O, I’m the universe!! 🛌 🐶 🎾 🐾 🧑‍🚀 🪐 🛸 Purrthquakes!! 😻 🐾 My cosmic perspective!! 🐶 🐾 🎾

[@JUMSJUMSJUMSJUMS]

Prepare your fields and keep true intent and it shall come!

[@DroolRockworm]

No one needs or wants that

[@BelindaFarage]

Fantastic - love to see these kinds of paired down interviews. No dramatic distraction. The story and natural scenes needed no help. As an editor, when we get new hires, the first pieces they edit will have music throughout. When I tell them not to do that - to place music where it helps/supports the story - or - like in this case - when the story is standing rock solid - to not have ANY music - there is this absolute look of sheer terror in their eyes. 😆😆😆 This BTS is wonderfully fresh and alive - kudos!

[@jacobuskriel]

I can hear that South African accent a mile away. Glad you grew an amazing career in the UK Luke!

[@kyroseven]

Amazing how much goes into getting the footage for these kind of shows, interesting video.

[@deonvnzl]

Luke is such a good dude. incredible feat!

[@alexanderlintott4286]

Part of these ground breaking series for me is the making of videos, they're just inspirational and fascinating. You forget the fact that so much effort went in to just showing you how it was done.

[@lalalaBrandon]

Thanks for creating this feature! Love the process walk through

[@seaque.]

Planet Earth series makes me feel alive.

[@cinematools9621]

The amount of work that goes into capturing these shots is mindblowing. I'm glad that it was released on UHD Blu-Ray.

[@hosh1time]

What a beautiful and talented man!

[@elsjedijkstra1440]

Amazing work!!!!! Congrats Luke!

[@whateverjustposting]

are you telling me this dude got on planet earth iii through a fucking staffmeup ad???

[@user-ue7sm5ox1q]

Gives one hope that it's not a 100% connections based industry lol Probably like 99%, but there's that 1%!

[@Froozerk567]

Putting this out into the universe. I will film a nature documentary.

[@8KHDRVideoBySittipong]

Wow. Very nice for sharing to know that.

[@adamsenior5504]

Nature lights itself

[@ErikWerlin]

I have now added a nother location to my list of places to see and film/photograph.

[@bradleysmith3791]

So amazing and insightful! ⚡

[@keeganforeman6170]

Love it!! Luke, you king!

[@kellymoses8566]

Angenieux Optimo Ultra 12x Full Frame Lens costs $100,000 ARRI Alura 15.5-45mm costs $30,000

[@justthepip]

Super inspiring

[@kerrigillings8447]

Wow ❤

[@patrykblanc]

wow!

[@The1910studios]

This is my dream job

[@adamhaggard622]

Hands on dong, Vietnam

[@junemoonchild69]

He reminds me of a young Werner Herzog. 😊

[@peeweecrawford3349]

Wait….. what?😮

[@tyronebuys]

South African?🇿🇦