Dr. George McGavin explores decay in stunning new film
Recorded using the latest technology in time-lapse photography and microscopy, After Life is a new feature-length BBC4 programme presented by Earthwatch Ambassador Dr. George McGavin.
Airing for the first time on BBC4 at 9pm on Tuesday 6 December, George will take viewers on a revealing journey into the somewhat gruesome, but all the same fascinating science of decay, exploring wider aspects of decomposition and people's attitudes to it.
Have you ever wondered what would happen if everything in your home or garden was left to rot? Well, we could be about to find out. A BBC Scotland team created a typical kitchen and a section of garden before putting it on display in a glass box at Edinburgh Zoo for eight weeks. Using special time-lapse cameras and microscopes, they captured exactly how decay works, and how it breaks down our everyday things, allowing new life to emerge from old.
Dr. McGavin, who is often to be found venturing where others daren’t in search of creepy crawlies and jungle critters says, “We are often repulsed by decay. After Life shows it can be strangely beautiful and absolutely vital in nature. Without decay, life doesn’t continue."
