Editing Walking with Dinosaurs (section)

=== Pilot episode and funding ===
[[File:Walking with Dinosaurs pilot episode screenshot.png|thumb|left|Screenshot from the 1997 ''Walking with Dinosaurs'' pilot episode, showing ''[[Cetiosaurus]]'' with erect necks, which did not appear in the finished series.]]
The BBC liked the concept of ''Walking with Dinosaurs'' but were nervous whether a series of its scale was actually achievable. After also pitching the idea to [[BBC Worldwide]], Haines was granted £100,000 to produce a short [[Pilot Episode|pilot episode]]. In the spring of 1997, Haines, accompanied by a single cameraman, travelled to a national park near [[Paphos]] in Cyprus to shoot footage for the pilot. Milne then gathered a small team to produce models and animations.<ref name=":13" /> The resulting [[High-concept|proof-of-concept]] pilot, finished by the summer of 1997, was six minutes long.<ref name=":0" /> The only consultant so far brought in for the project was the palaeontologist David Martill, who offered his services on the pilot for free if he could then stay on as a consultant should the pilot succeed and a series be made.<ref name=":8" />

The pilot episode was marine-themed,<ref name=":8" /> revolving around a beached giant [[pliosaur]],<ref name=":13" /> and based on the fossils of the [[Jurassic]] [[Oxford Clay]] in England (a setting later used for the episode ''Cruel Sea''), a setting suggested by Martill. After concerns that the marine episode might not have enough "superstar" animals, Martill suggested the inclusion of the [[Theropoda|theropod]] dinosaur ''[[Eustreptospondylus]]''. One of the major differences between the pilot and the later series was that it included partial [[x-ray]]s of the inner workings of the animals so that they could be better explained. In the later series this was abandoned in favour of a more standard "natural history" aesthetic.<ref name=":8" /> In addition to the pilot, Framestore also produced stills and a shorter trailer with a group of [[plesiosaur]]s hunting fish to sell the idea of ''Walking with Dinosaurs''.<ref name=":13" />

There was already considerable interest in the series by the time the pilot was shown owing to the trailer and stills produced by Framestore. Jana Bennett also championed the idea of the series to both [[Michael Jackson (television executive)|Michael Jackson]], controller of [[BBC One]], and [[Mike Quattrone]] of the [[Discovery Channel]].<ref name=":13" /> The pilot was then enough to persuade the BBC, BBC Worldwide, and the Discovery Channel to fund the production of ''Walking with Dinosaurs''.<ref name=":0" /> Approximately third of the ''Walking with Dinosaurs'' budget came from BBC One, a third from the Discovery Channel, and a third from BBC Worldwide. There were also major investments from [[TV Asahi]] in Japan and [[ProSieben]] in Germany.<ref name=":13" />

''Walking with Dinosaurs'' was considered a high-risk production due to being highly expensive and using "[[Hollywood, California|Hollywood]] technology" to educate rather than just entertain.<ref name=":6">{{Cite book |last1=Haines |first1=Tim |title=[[The Complete Guide to Prehistoric Life]] |last2=Chambers |first2=Paul |publisher=Firefly Books |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-55407-181-4 |location=Richmond Hill, Ontario |chapter=Introduction |orig-date=2005}}</ref> In total, ''Walking with Dinosaurs'' cost £6.1 million ($9.9 million) to make. It cost over £37,654 ($61,112) per minute to produce, making it the most expensive documentary series per minute ever made.<ref name=":3" /> It was during production billed as one of the most ambitious series ever produced.<ref name=":7">{{Cite web |title=BBC News {{!}} Entertainment {{!}} BBC launches prehistoric saga |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/453310.stm |access-date=2022-04-30 |website=news.bbc.co.uk}}</ref> Together with Haines, the series was also created by the acclaimed programme maker [[Susan Spindler]], who had previously worked on the BBC series ''[[The Human Body (TV series)|The Human Body]]''.<ref name=":2" /> The team grew to encompass producer [[Jasper James]] (who produced and directed the third and fourth episodes and also directed the sixth; Haines handled the rest), production manager Alison Woolnough and executive producer John Lynch.<ref name=":13" />