''Life on Fire'' is a six-part television documentary series, created in 2009–12, about

volcano A volcano is a rupture in the Crust (geology), crust of a Planet#Planetary-mass objects, planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and volcanic gas, gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Ear ...

es. It was directed by Bertrand Loyer, Jacques Bedel, and François de Riberolles and was produced b
Saint Thomas Productions
of

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fra ...

between 2009 and 2012. It was narrated by

Jeremy Irons Jeremy John Irons (; born 19 September 1948) is an English actor and activist. After receiving classical training at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, Irons began his acting career on stage in 1969 and has appeared in many West End theatre ...

. The series was first broadcast in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

as ''Le Peuple des Volcans'',Le Peuple des Volcans
Arte, 2011-12-09. and had its American première on

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

on 2 January 2013.

Episodes

;''Ash Runners'' Animals in New Britain have adapted to live with the activity of the local volcano near the city of Rabaul. Directed by Bertrand Loyer and released in France on 18 March 2010. Original title: ''Les Vagabonds des Cendres''. PBS first broadcast date: 30 January 2013. ;''Pioneers of the Deep'' In the Tongan archipelago, the sooty tern and the Alvin shrimp cope when an underwater volcano becomes an island. Directed by Bertrand Loyer and released in France on 23 October 2010. Original title: ''Naissance d'Une Ile''. PBS first broadcast date: 6 February 2013. ;''The Surprise Salmon'' Volcanic activity in Alaska 2,000 years ago disrupted the spawning journey of sockeye salmon, leading them to Surprise Lake in the caldera of

Mount Aniakchak Mount Aniakchak (russian: Аниакчак) is a 3,700-year-old volcanic caldera approximately in diameter, located in the Aleutian Range of Alaska, United States. Although a stratovolcano by composition, the pre-existing mountain collapsed in ...

. Directed by Bertrand Loyer and released in France on 31 May 2012. Original title: "Les Saumons Surprise" aka ''Les Saumons du Lac Surprise''. PBS first broadcast date: 16 January 2013. ;''Phoenix Temple'' Nature and humans struggle to survive and thrive between eruptions of the

Masaya Volcano Masaya ( es, Volcán Masaya) is a caldera located in Masaya, Nicaragua, 20 km south of the capital Managua. It is Nicaragua's first and largest national park, and one of 78 protected areas of Nicaragua. The complex volcano is composed of a ...

in Nicaragua, and to rise again like the phoenix. Directed by François de Riberolles and released in France on 30 May 2012. Original title: ''Le Temple des Phénix''. PBS first broadcast date: 23 January 2013. ;''Volcano Doctors''

Volcanologist A volcanologist, or volcano scientist, is a geologist who focuses on understanding the formation and eruptive activity of volcanoes. Volcanologists frequently visit volcanoes, sometimes active ones, to observe and monitor volcanic eruptions, col ...

s use their research, insights, and tools to try to protect people living near volcanoes around the world. Directed by François de Riberolles and Bertrand Loyer. Released in France on 21 July 2010. Original title: ''Trappeurs de Volcans''. PBS first broadcast date: 9 January 2013. ;''Icelandic Volcanoes, Who is Next?'' Future volcanic eruptions in Iceland will affect Europe and North America. Directed by Jacques Bedel and François de Riberolles. Television première in France on 26 March 2011. Original title: ''Volcans d'Islande, et Demain?'' PBS first broadcast date: 2 January 2013.

International Awards

The series has won more than 20 awards in international film festivals. In particular, wildlife episodes have been acclaimed for their cinematography, sound and storylines. With their 5.1 surround sound and dramatic structures, the stand-alone episodes of "Life on Fire" contrast with those from other wildlife TV series, which are usually delivered in stereo and structured like catalogues - with a succession of sequences guided by a seasonal or geographical theme ("Spring", "Abyss", etc...). Selected awards : Ash Runners: Best Sound in UK, Wildscreen 2010 and Wildtalk Africa 2010, Best Cinematography in Russia, St Petersbourg World of Knowledge 2012, Grand Prize in Belgium, Namur Nature Film Festival Pioneers of the Deep: Best Script and Special Jury Award, in France, Albert Nature Film Festival, France, Grand Prix in France, Menigoute Bird Film Festival, Silver Palm in France, Marseille International Underwater Film Festival The Surprise salmon: Best Marine Animal Behavior, USA, CA, Monterey, Gold Palm in France, Marseille International Underwater Film Festival, Best Script and Best Sound in France, Albert Nature Film FestivalLe Palmarès 2013 - Festival International du Film Animalier - Albert, France
/ref> Phoenix temple: Grand Prix and Best Cinematography, Albert Nature Film Festival, Grand Prix in Italy, Cogne, Gran Paradiso Nature Film Festival.

Cinematography and Archives

Cinematographers have been using innovative techniques seen in other wildlife series, such as Cineflex or Phantom cameras. But they also developed some special artisanal tools, as revealed by some behind the scenes clips on the US or French Home Video editions. The series has not used any archive material. Most of the images have been captured in 4K and 5K formats, using RED One and Epic Digital Cameras, and down-converted to HD. By producing the series in such format, Saint Thomas Productions claims to own the largest HD stock footage library of volcanoes, displayed on a
dedicated website

Sequels

No sequel of this series has been produced. However
Saint Thomas Productions
has produced a 90 minutes special episode, named "A Volcano Odyssey". It premiered on Arte in 2012 under the nam
Memoires de Volcans
and achieved the channel best rating in 2012 for their prime time Sunday strand.Record d’audience pour « Mémoires de volcans » le 18 novembre 2012 « ARTE PRO - Professionnels de l'audiovisuel
/ref>

References

{{Reflist

External links

About the series
PBS
archived
at the

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