"It's just advertising, we're not saving the planet," is always a useful reminder to reset your thinking and not take what we do too seriously.
That’s all well and good until the brief to “get people to take notice of climate change and inspire them to go net zero carbon” hits your inbox.
It’s fair to say we had more than one existential crisis in the 20 months it took us to make this film.
Turns out it’s pretty exhausting to think so much about our planet, humanity, and the mammoth task ahead of us to preserve it all. Climate change can feel like such an overwhelming problem that people tend to bury their heads in the sand and switch off. It’s even got a trendy name, “apocalypse fatigue”.
So the biggest challenge was going to be cutting through the doom and gloom and giving people a sense of hope. We’re all so busy in our day-to-day lives and focused on our own little world, whether it’s kids, work, friends, family, fantasy football or even a global pandemic. We needed to give people a fresh perspective.
We wanted to show Earth to someone or something that’s never been here before. That way, we could see our home through fresh eyes and remind ourselves of the awesome wonder it holds. But also, highlight the uncomfortable truth that climate change is having a terrible impact on the things we love.
The script was originally written as an alien visiting Earth but something didn’t feel quite right. It was too fictional. Not that the Moon coming down to Earth is realistic but you know what I mean. The Moon
seemed a lot more fitting. It’s been watching over us since time began, it feels like it’s somehow invested in our planet – part of it but separate – and yet it’s never had the chance to take a closer look. As soon as we started mocking up images of a giant Moon on Earth, we knew we could create some awesome visuals and capture people’s attention.
We set out to make this a net-zero carbon production. There’s no use in preaching about green credentials one minute, then flying around the world to make an ad the next. As much as I would’ve loved to be filming on a hot beach in the Caribbean, we had to walk the walk.
Animation gave us the chance to show off Earth in all its glory, without hopping on fuel-guzzling flights. Once we decided we were going ahead with the Moon, we went a bit lunar crazy. How big would the
Moon be? Would it move? How fast would it move? How realistic did we want it to be? How close would it get? Would it have a face? We were very keen to get it right, because that’s what we think makes this different to anything we’ve seen before. Especially when it comes to films on climate change.
Animation throws up so many creative possibilities, but the flip-side is that it can be a hugely time-consuming process – especially due to the level of detail we wanted to capture. Each scene had to be as incredible as the real thing. The team was spread across London, Los Angeles and Bordeaux, which meant many late nights and early mornings on Zoom going through each part of the process. It was a marathon effort from all involved. We’re truly in awe of the artists that made our idea a reality.
Another ridiculously talented person that made us look good was the voiceover – Bafta-winning actress Siân Phillips. We wanted the voice of Mother Nature. That was the brief and she absolutely nailed it. I remember sitting in the sound studio and getting goosebumps when she read: “Everything the Moon saw, the Moon adored.” To be honest, I think she could read the dictionary and I’d get goosebumps.
We realise a 60-second ad won’t convince climate-change deniers. It won't make you go vegan or stop you going abroad on holiday. But if a simple story helps make sense of a complicated problem and gets people to think about what’s happening right now, then that’s a pretty good first step.
Pete Ioulianou is a senior creative at Engine Creative.