Development
On any production, you can find climate story allies across every department. Once you have the buy-in from your top creatives, start the conversation and encourage everyone to contribute ideas. Communicate your storytelling and character approach to all stakeholders early in development (e.g., writers, director, other producers).
The work of research often cross-pollinates between the offices of producers, the directorial team, writers, and the art department. Work with climate consultants and scientists to ensure accuracy and authenticity. Consider hiring a dedicated freelance researcher and partner with environmental organizations for research and impact collaboration.
As the development team comes together, support them in creating detailed character biographies, including climate history: What have the character(s) experienced, lost, learned? Identify your protagonist’s transformation moment—the scene where internal change becomes external action—and define the consequence(s) of that external action in the creative story.
Discuss with your creative team what emotions you want to evoke (e.g., anxiety, hope, empowerment, connection to nature). Consider working with climate psychologists to understand culturally resonant emotional responses. Offer these resources to the director and writer(s) to use for character development. Consider sharing with cast members as they come on board.
Financing
If your financing is happening in parallel to development, look ahead and think about building impact partnerships that will convey support as well as audience reach to financiers. It’s never too early to sow seeds for marketing relationships that will also be of keen interest to financiers and distributors (see marketing tips below).
The evidence researched by Rare Entertainment Lab suggests that Americans are more aligned, more supportive, and more willing to engage on climate solutions than our public discourse reflects, challenging the popular perception that climate policies are polarizing. Reviewing the Harmony Labs data on media consumed by your audiences will generate and reveal concrete ideas for marketing and impact partnerships uniquely suited for your story.
Pre-Production and Production
Create Your Own Green Team on Set
Simple things you can consider:
- During interviews with HODs, share that sustainability is going to be a priority on this production, and you’ll look to them to keep this top of mind and recommend solutions within their departments.
- Location Tech Scouts and the crew-wide production meeting before the start of principal photography are great opportunities for producers and the directorial team to address support for a culture of safety and sustainability throughout the production, and talk personally about why this commitment is important.
- Organize informal lunch tables or coffee sessions to gather cast and crew and converse. Discover your own ways to talk about our cultural relationship to systems of land, water, labor, value extraction, and other climate-related issues that may be personally impacting you and members of your team. It’s also an easy way to strengthen relationships across departments and develop crew alliances that are invested in sustainability and will take these practices onto their next productions.
Encourage Sustainability on Screen
On-set departments, including Assistant Directors, Props, Set Decoration, Picture Vehicles, Scenic Design, Graphics, and Costumes, are the teams creating the visual world on screen. Encourage them to contribute on-screen ideas from their areas of expertise and consult our Sustainability On Screen tip sheet.
As a producer, assess the level of interest from your writer and directorial teams and offer support in ways to communicate the world-building approach to production design, cinematography, and location teams early. Encourage and support consultations with climate scientists or other expert consultants to ensure authenticity.
Consider key world rules: What’s changed? What remains? How do people adapt? Use world-building exercises (see the World Building section of this site) to develop complete knowledge of your setting.
In Post-Production, a lot of creativity goes into the design of VFX, sound and atmospheric dialogue recorded in studios. Encourage new thinking (e.g., what are the conversations people are having in backgrounds? Where do the sounds of nature reside? In areas like graphics and VFX, add solar panels, use signage to message in billboards, frames, etc.).
Marketing and Impact Campaigns
Throughout the process from development to marketing, powerful feedback loops are in the wings waiting to be heard. For example, a climate narrative that resonates with youth will synergize over decades. Yale Program on Climate Change Communication’s “Six Americas” segmentation research shows that Gen Z and Millennials are more likely to be “alarmed or concerned” about climate change than older generations. Gen Z alone represents approximately a quarter of the global population (2 billion people). It will dominate entertainment and media consumption for the next four to six decades.
Think about the wide range of audience interests for your story. Are there policy angles that reflect swaths of constituencies concerned not just about climate change, but the intersectional issues of gender equality, economic justice, food systems, clean water and health?
If so, think about the non-profit organizations and the politicians in local to national government who may be interested in creating conversations and hosting events. Are there angles for institutions such as natural history and science museums to support?
Consider the draw for seniors who gravitate toward historical themes. (AARP has been known to be a strong partner.) Also consider that 84% of the global population identifies with a religion with deep-rooted communities and infrastructure. Catholicism, for example, highlights intergenerational justice and ecological stewardship. Jewish environmental organizations lead with beliefs like tikkun olam (repairing the world). In many countries, faith leaders across religions deliver social services and often play key roles in adaptation and resilience efforts.
Use Rare’s Climate Culture Index and the Harmony Labs New Climate Audience data to mine extensive, detailed information about audiences as identified by their media (and brand) consumption.
What Does Success Look Like?
Your climate story succeeds when your audience feels empowered. When the story depicts realistic pathways to change. When underrepresented voices and frontline voices are included. When characters demonstrate agency and meaningful action. When the narrative leads to the idea of futures worth fighting for. When viewers leave inspired to take action in their own lives. When culture shifts.
Case Study: Don’t Look Up
In terms of marketing and impact, the way movies and programs are framed for audiences is a big determinant of success. With the film Don’t Look Up by writer-director-producer Adam McKay, Netflix used consultants, influencers and key thought leaders in the scientific community to leverage the metaphorical setup of the story.
An allegory for humanity’s collective failure to respond to climate change, Rare Entertainment Lab reported that the impact of the film was found to only be significant when viewers also viewed a marketing video with Leonardo DiCaprio explaining the conditions of climate change represented by an extinction-level comet hurtling toward Earth in the story.
Case Study: Twisters
Early prep with impact partners can allow for long-term innovative campaigns with action steps. On Twisters, NBCUniversal partnered with the American Red Cross to support disaster relief efforts for communities affected by tornadoes. It was a health and humanitarian campaign supporting lifesaving blood donations and disaster response capacity.
Campaigns activated during the release of the film can balance any anticipated public relations concerns. On a different level, NBCUniversal has used behind-the-scenes videos with cast for films like Wicked and The Wild Robot, to offer action tips and message their concern for environmental protection alongside the movies’ themes.