Local wildlife filmmaker Dominic Weston, from Shepton Mallet, is behind a landmark natural history TV series about to première on Sky Nature and NOW TV: MOON: NATURE'S SECRET FORCE.

It's the first wildlife series to reveal how the Moon influences animal behaviour across our planet, night and day.

"The Moon is so familiar to us and yet so unknowable. There is a lot of magic and mythology surrounding animals' relationship to the moon, but through filming this series we discovered that the reality is even more surprising and spellbinding." says the local series producer, who produced the series for Bristol-based Natural History Production Company, Humble Bee Films.

The two-year production was filmed across six continents, using 24 different types of camera, including a cutting-edge low-light camera the size of a Rubik's Cube.

"A full moon can look so bright in the dark night sky, but for filming it is a real challenge, as there is just not enough light to capture detail. But technology is advancing so fast, and our filming coincided with the release of a highly powerful but tiny new camera that helped us lift the lid on what really happens at an African waterhole between elephants and lions after sunset.

The series also investigates the Moon's impact in the day, on the tides and the Earth's magnetic field, affecting animals as small as microscopic plankton and as vast as migrating Humpback Whales.

The spectacular series is narrated by Oscar- and BAFTA-winning actor Tilda Swinton.

"The experience of providing the voice for this awe-inspiring footage is something I will never forget. In a London recording studio in a gusty October week, the mesmerising realities of the Moon's power held us all in thrall. I will be grateful always to the brilliant makers of this important series for expanding my understanding of what really makes the world go round, and, perhaps even more importantly, holds it in its place."

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MOON: NATURE'S SECRET FORCE premières on Sky Nature on Sunday 30th November and will also be available on NOW TV, which offers a flexible month-by-month subscription plan.