John Downer (born 1952) is a British film producer of nature documentaries for television and cinema. He is best known for his contributions to the nature documentary series ''

BBC Wildlife Specials The ''BBC Wildlife Specials'' are a series of nature documentary programmes commissioned by BBC Television. The series premiered in 1995, and 22 specials have been produced to date, with most of the more recent ones consisting of multiple episo ...

''.

Education and career

John Downer was born in 1952 in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

.Jenifer Warren:
John Downer: Natural Highs
'. ''Los Angeles Times'', December 8, 1991. He studied

zoology Zoology ( , ) is the scientific study of animals. Its studies include the anatomy, structure, embryology, Biological classification, classification, Ethology, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinction, extinct, and ...

Swansea University Swansea University () is a public university, public research university located in Swansea, Wales, United Kingdom. It was chartered as University College of Swansea in 1920, as the fourth college of the University of Wales. In 1996, it chang ...

.BBC Earth:
John Downer's Biography
', retrieved in October 2020 He started his professional life in 1981 at the

BBC Natural History Unit The BBC Studios Natural History Unit (NHU) is a department of BBC Studios that produces television, radio and online content with a natural history or wildlife theme. It is best known for its highly regarded nature documentaries, including '' T ...

, later creating his own production company ''John Downer Productions'' headquartered in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

.Interview with EARTHFLIGHT Filmmaker John Downer
PBS Nature, August 12, 2013. Downer pioneered a number of techniques for wildlife filmmaking, in particular by putting cameras on birds, and by filming birds from the air using various airborne filming platforms.

Film and television credits

* 1988: '' Supersense'', six-part series * 1991: '' Lifesense'', six-part series * 1992: ''

Digging in the Dirt "Digging in the Dirt" is a song by British musician Peter Gabriel. It was released as the first single taken from his sixth studio album, '' Us'', on 7 September 1992. The song was a minor hit on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, peaking at number 5 ...

'', music video for

Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, and human rights activist. He came to prominence as the original frontman of the rock band Genesis. He left the band in 1975 and launched a solo career wit ...

, awarded a

Grammy The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious a ...

* 1999: '' Supernatural: The Unseen Powers of Animals'', six-part series * 2000: ''Lions - Spy in the Den'', part of ''

'' * 2002: '' Weird Nature'', six-part series * 2003: ''Elephants - Spy in the Herd'', part of ''BBC Wildlife Specials'' * 2004: ''Bears - Spy in the Woods'', part of ''BBC Wildlife Specials'' * 2004: ''

Pride Pride is a human Emotion, secondary emotion characterized by a sense of satisfaction with one's Identity (philosophy), identity, performance, or accomplishments. It is often considered the opposite of shame or of humility and, depending on conte ...

'', feature-length documentary * 2007: ''Trek - Spy on the Wildebeest'', two-part series, part of ''BBC Wildlife Specials'' * 2008: ''Tiger - Spy in the Jungle'', three-part series, part of ''BBC Wildlife Specials'' * 2009: ''Swarm'', two-part series * 2010: ''Polar Bear - Spy on the Ice'', two-part series, part of ''BBC Wildlife Specials'' * 2010: ''Psyche'', music video for

Massive Attack Massive Attack are an English trip hop collective formed in 1988 in Bristol, England, by Robert Del Naja, Robert "3D" Del Naja, Daddy G, Grant "Daddy G" Marshall, Tricky (musician), Adrian "Tricky" Thaws and Andrew Vowles, Andrew "Mushroom" ...

* 2011: '' Earthflight'', six-part series * 2013: ''Penguins - Spy in the Huddle'', three-part series, part of ''BBC Wildlife Specials'' * 2014: '' Dolphins - Spy in the Pod'', two-part series, part of ''BBC Wildlife Specials'' * 2017: ''

Spy in the Wild ''Spy in the Wild'' is a British nature documentary television series, produced by BBC Natural History Unit, John Downer Productions and PBS. The series, which is directed and produced by John Downer, premiered in 2017 with a second series in ...

'' * 2018: ''Spy in the Snow'' * 2019: ''Serengeti'', six-part series * 2023: ''Spy in the Ocean''

Read also

* Downer, John (1989) ''Supersense – Perception in the Animal World''. Henry Holt, New York

References

External links

*
John Downer Productions
{{DEFAULTSORT:Downer, John Alumni of Swansea University British television producers Nature television producers Grammy Award winners Living people 1952 births