Greenpeace UK

Arctic in London with amazing 3D projection ft. Jason Mraz and Ezra Miller

Nic S — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 16:12:15 +0000

Last Saturday, the Arctic arrived in the UK. The I ♥ Arctic global day of action saw more than 10,000 of us around the world, in more than 280 cities, come together in a declaration of love for the Arctic. The day culminated in a massive effort from amazing volunteers and donated equipment, in the production of the biggest Arctic landscape the streets of London have ever seen - testament to the collective creativity of passionate people.

Many thanks to all the performers, volunteer stewards and all who helped out in one way or another to make this such an amazing event, you all rock ;)
-Greenpeace production chief Paul Earnshaw

At more than 25 events across the UK, volunteers helped raise awareness of the threats to the Arctic, talking to members of the public, taking photographs and making giant human banners that spelt out “I ♥ Arctic”. Meanwhile, thousands of volunteers, all around the world, speaking with one voice to send a clear message to politicians: the Arctic belongs to everyone.
It takes a global movement to stop the biggest companies in the work from destroying the Arctic for profit. And this production was only made possible thanks to the passion and dedication of the people who make our movement what it is.
Help the movement grow - add you support to the global call to save the Arctic

I ♥ Arctic - A Global Day of Action - 20th April 2013
Filmed at Friends House, the office of Quakers in Britain, Euston Road, London.

Projection:

Curated and Edited by Immersive Ltd
Creative work donated in full by Immersive Ltd
Project & Production Management by Immersive Ltd

Sound Design:

Mark Owens
Adam Janota Bzowski
Zak Norman

Voice Over:

Ezra Miller

Music:

'Length & Brecht' written by Halogen (Adam Janota Bzowski)
‘ I Won’t Give Up’ - Jason Mraz
Jason Mraz dba Goo Eyed Music (ASCAP) and
Michael Natter dba Great Hooks Music administered by Silva Tone Music
Courtesy of Atlantic Records.

Animation:

Jordan Foster (Immersive)
Chris Stoneman (Immersive)
Matt King (Immersive)
Tom Wall (Immersive)
Bruno Costarelli (Immersive)

Sipos Mihály (University of West London)
Daero Ra (Ravensbourne)
Peter Thiedeke (Ravensbourne)
Clive Shaw (Middlesex University)
Daniel Wiedemann (Middlesex University)
Alexander Andrew Boyce (Middlesex University)
Sunghwoa Gong (Ravensbourne)

Technical Crew:

Dave Whiteoak
Nick Whiteoak
Joe Dunkley
Martin Harvey
Philip Mayer
Bjorn Parry

Lighting, Audio and Powe:

Firefly Solar

Choreography

Laura Baldo

Film

Filmed and edited by Kin Studios
Directed and edited by: Mikél Leyva
Produced by Mikél Leyva & Marco Casadei.
Camera crew: Peter Emery, Marco Casadei, Katerina Marka and Ralph Lambert.

Greenpeace production

Paul Earnshaw

The Amazon has lost a warrior

Bernardo Camara — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 15:30:43 +0000

The rainbow usually seen floating above the Amazon is shining less brightly than usual. Some might even say it is a little dull.

And it's because of sad news: we lost one of our own this week. Tatiana de Carvalho, Greenpeace Brazil’s Amazon campaigner, has left us following a fatal accident at a waterfall near Brasilia, Brazil.

Tati, as she was affectionately known, was bursting with pure joy, authenticity, courage and spontaneity.

From the halls of the Brazilian Congress, to the labyrinths deep in the Amazon rainforest – where she spent nearly a decade uniting communities against deforestation – Tati carved out an inspiring path that energised those around her.

Since the news of her passing on Sunday afternoon, emails, messages, and phone calls have been flooding Greenpeace Brazil, a testament to the strength – in stature and in spirit – this great woman had.

Despite the sadness you can feel in our offices this week, we are sure Tati’s legacy will never fade.

From wherever she may be, this Rainbow Warrior will continue to shine and illuminate the pathways that will lead to that better world we all want.

To Tati’s family, we offer our deepest sympathies and condolences. As for you, Tati, we promise to honor your dreams and continue the struggles we've shared. Rest in peace, dear friend.

VIDEO: going live and shutting down Shell

jamie — Mon, 16 Jul 2012 14:00:24 +0000

It's not often you get to be part of a major piece of activism and a 12-hour live broadcast at the same time. But that's exactly what's been happening today.

While sqauds of volunteers close down Shell petrol stations in Edinburgh and London, a team of presenters, camera operators, vision mixers and editors (with one person often covering many of those roles!) have been running a special online TV channel from the Greenpeace warehouse in north London.

Here's just a taste of what's been going on. Tune in on the hour today for the latest news.

Slideshow: polar bears on parade

jamie — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 15:21:55 +0000

There never really needs to be an excuse to look at incredible images of polar bears in the wild, but today has been designated International Polar Bear Day by conservation group Polar Bear International. So to mark the occasion, here's a selection of shots from the Greenpeace archives.

Of course, polar bears - along with many other Arctic species - are at risk, thanks to climate change, as many of these photographs show. As the sea ice shrinks each year, polar bears lose their hunting grounds while oil companies like Shell see an opportunity to move in and search for more oil.

So if you like the photos, make sure you email Shell and demand an end to its plans for Arctic drilling.

That was 2011: we couldn't have done it without you

jamie — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 13:55:50 +0000

The winter solstice is as good a time as any to look back over the last 11-and-a-bit months that were 2011. And what a year it's been, not just for us here in the office but for all our supporters and volunteers who've kept our campaigns going.

From the incredible success of our tinned tuna campaign and challenging Cairn Energy in the Arctic and in its Edinburgh office, to persuading more companies to drop their contracts with Asia Pulp and Paper and the hundreds of thousands of Jedi challenging VW's stance on climate laws, we've certainly packed it in. Some of the highlights feature in the video above.

None of it would have been possible without the help of our supporters. If you sent an email to Princes or John West, stood on the street collecting signatures to send to VW, or donated towards the construction of the new Rainbow Warrior, you've been part of an amazing year. Thank you!

But what's been the highlight of 2011 for you? Let me know in the comments below.

Stories from the Rainbow Warrior: Changing Sides

bex — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 08:54:04 +0000

In the latest in our video series, "Stories from the Rainbow Warrior", Martti talks about his journey from an unhappy sailor working for an oil company to a sailor / activist on a Greenpeace ship. Want to get on board?

The battle for the Frozen North: Point Hope (video)

bex — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 12:45:30 +0000

The small Alaskan community of Point Hope - or Tikiġaq, as the Iñupiaq people call their homeland - is one of the oldest continually occupied sites in North America.

The Iñupiaq settled here some 2,400 years ago and, since then, have depended on subsistence hunting of Arctic mammals - including seal, caribou and bowhead whale - for their survival.

But life there may be about to change. Next year, Shell hopes to start drilling in the Chukchi Sea just north of Point Hope, threatening not only the region's oceans and wildlife, but also the Iñupiaq's culture and food supply.

Caroline Canon, featured in this video by Will Rose and Kajsa Sjölander of 70°, is among those challenging the conditional approval of Shell’s exploration plan - backed by a group of 12 environmental organisations including Greenpeace. (The others interviewed are Steve Oomittuk, Point Hope City Mayor, and Lydia Nashookpuk, Point Hope resident.)

And, tellingly, a couple of weeks ago, voters in the North Slope Borough mayoral elections - a vast area encompassing the coastline where Shell plans to drill next year - swung behind the mayoral candidate who opposes offshore drilling, Charlotte Brower. She beat former Shell employee George Ahmaogak in a tense run off battle, in which the defining issue was offshore drilling.

As the battle for the Arctic gets under way, you can do your bit too. Right now, the UK is lobbying to water down new European proposals which would ensure that oil companies, like Shell, have to meet tough new standards when they operate in fragile areas like the Arctic. Ask David Cameron to use his influence to help protect the Arctic.

VIDEO: These boots are made for walking (just not all over the Amazon)

jamie — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 16:50:33 +0000

Remember the photoshoot we staged outside a fashion industry event in Italy? The one reminding companies that make and use leather that the Amazon is not for walking over? Here's a great little video which I neglected to post last week, showing our models strutting their stuff for the rainforest.

Greenpeace photographer Daniel Beltra wins Wildlife Photographer of the Year award

jamess — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 11:28:02 +0000

Daniel Beltra wins Wildlife Photographer of the Year for this photo

Today, I have the honour of congratulating Greenpeace photographer Daniel Beltra on becoming the Veolia Environment Wildlife Photographer of the Year. Daniel made his winning picture for Greenpeace, of oil-oaked brown pelicans at a temporary bird-rescue facility in Fort Jackson, Louisiana, while documenting the environmental impacts caused by the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.

During Daniel’s 15-years as a friend and colleague at Greenpeace, Daniel has spent long weeks on board ships and in remote locations, becoming a world-class photographer, and a dedicated environmental campaigner . His exhibitions and publications on international projects such as Southern Ocean whaling, global rainforest destruction and ocean defence have become a means for Daniel to voice his environmental concerns during media interviews, presentations and lectures.

2011 has been a great year for photography awards at Greenpeace, and we’ve seen a significant change the media landscape. Earlier this year, Greenpeace photographer Lu Guang won 3rd prize for spot news features at the World Press Photo Awards for his Dalian Oil Spill story, the first time an non-governmental organisation has ever won a World Press award for a news story.

Today’s news, Daniel’s compelling, groundbreaking award, marks the first time that the internationally prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year’s winning picture shifts from pictorial to journalistic; it signifies that it’s time to take a completely new look at the environment, not just as nature as something beautiful, but also as nature in crisis.

Not only is winning the Wildlife Photographer of the Year that’s important for Greenpeace, but also how Daniel’s image will inspire a desire for change in the millions of people that will see the it, in newspapers and magazines, online and as the exhibition tours the world. For Greenpeace, this way of campaigning for a better world holds as much persuasive power as the non-violent direct action that Greenpeace is best known for.

Thank you, Daniel, and once again, congratulations - as a friend and colleague Daniel we hold your work as photographer and environmentalist in high esteem.

- John

John Novis is Head of Photography at Greenpeace International

VW film competition: classic Greenpeace films - Nestle

Richardg — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 10:15:01 +0000

Picture the scene: you're revving up to enter our Volkswagen film competition, to expose its dirty lobbying against strong climate change laws. But you need some inspiration to get the creative juices flowing. So how about reviewing some of our classic films for campaigns gone by?

After last week's ancient forests epic, we’re sticking with the forests theme with Give The Orang-utan A Break. The film accompanied our campaign to get Nestle to stop buying palm oil from companies which are trashing the rainforest.

Despite (or perhaps because of) the somewhat gory climax, it went on to scoop the Viral Video Award at the 2010 Berlin International Film Competition. But the real hubbub took place online.

In what soon became a textbook example of how not to do social media, Nestle tried to ban the film from Youtube and started censoring its Facebook pages, deleting comments from people who’d seen the film.

Faced with what witty commentators were soon calling a ‘kitkatastrophe’ (groan), Nestle agreed to introduce a policy to make sure deforestation wasn't part of its supply chains. Communications companies analysed the campaign, and one produced an amazing diagram showing how the message spread around the internet.

So if our KitKat film has whetted your appetite - for campaign films that is, not chocolate bars - then we need your help to show how VW is spending millions on lobbying to undermining new laws to make cars more efficient and reduce CO2 emissions across Europe.

Interested? Register for the competition below and we'll send you the entry pack when it's released on 17 September.

When you've submitted your email address, this page will reload.

Watch classic Greenpeace films for inspiration and ideas, and follow @gpfilmcomp for updates throughout the competition.