The Power of Social Networks,
3D Documentaries and 3D Feature Films
to Promote Environmental Intelligence
By
Barry Sandrew, Ph.D.
Founder and CCO/CTO
Legend3D, Inc.
The following
is the text of a presentation to the World Cultural Forum held in Hangzhou,
China that I presented as an invited guest of the government of the Peoples
Republic of China. The Forum was attended by noted governmental leaders,
journalists, filmmakers, scientists and environmental activists from around the
world for the purpose of bringing about greater awareness of environmental
concerns and to exchange ideas as to how to produce positive change to benefit
the health of our planet.
There’s
no denying that our earth is changing. The voluminous scientific literature
surrounding global warming is a compelling indicator that we are facing an
uncertain environmental future.
However
just the other day I read that while 97% of scientists agree that man is a
contributing factor to global warming, 60% of Americans actually believe there
is no scientific consensus on the subject. Obviously scientific study and
scholarly reports have little impact on the average person… at least in the
United States, but I believe the same is true in many other parts of the world.
Clearly,
there is a need to explore innovative ways to educate and inform the world’s
general population regarding the fate of our planet and to inspire greater
environmental responsibility.
I
believe that the most important targets of this education are our children… the
environmental activists of tomorrow. How to reach them, excite them and
inspire them to action is no small task.
Creating
Awareness That We Live in a One World Society:
Our
young people must be made aware of the deteriorating state of the
environment. They must know that their way of life is being threatened…
even those living in the most privileged nations of the world. I don’t
believe this can happen without our children achieving a clear understanding of
their place in the world… that they are truly citizens of our global
community.
Social
Networks Empower Our Children:
Fortunately
that awareness began spontaneously several years ago. It happened via
social media networks such as Facebook and Twitter. Social networks have
become one of the most influential means of shaping the ideas, perspectives and attitudes
of young people.
In
fact, social networking is transforming all of us into a global society where
information, communication and ideas transcend geographic, political, religious
and cultural borders. More important, this information is coming to us via
social networks by the very people who are personally experiencing significant
world events.
The
Citizen Journalists:
These
people have become known as citizen journalists… average people who share their
perceptions with us as their stories are unfolding… not as objective reporters
but as subjective witnesses to both social unrest and environmental tragedies
that threaten their way of life if not their very existence.
Unlike
the way traditional news outlets report stories of these events, the
perspectives of citizen journalists are not about the story. Instead
their personal perspectives actually become the story… punctuated by all the
raw emotions that the moment evokes.
First
Hand Accounts of Environmental Disasters:
A
prime example… as a result of citizen journalists who uploaded videos to social
media websites via their cell phones and iPads, we learned what it was
actually like to be poolside at an Indonesian resort witnessing the
dramatically rapid outgoing tide and eerie silence that precedes a tsunami. We
subsequently understood the fear and anticipation to be with other terrified
and helpless tourists watching an ominous 30-meter high tsunami approaching
from the distance.
At the
same time, from the false security of a hotel room we learned from another
citizen journalist what it was like to watch the tsunami consume everything in
its path… sweeping away cars and people as he recorded each moment on video
along with a spontaneous, emotional running commentary.
We
understood from first hand accounts of citizen journalists what it was like
preparing for the certain destructive power of super hurricane Sandy as it
threatened entire communities in the North East part of the US.
We
turned to social media sites along with millions of other individuals to
discuss the unfolding events leading up to and including the onslaught of
Sandy's extreme wind and rain. Most important, we observed people in the
communities most affected, communicating with each other, comparing experiences
and lamenting the frustration that comes from a lack of civic resources to help
in the immediate aftermath and cleanup.
Social
Media Is Empowering:
It’s
the immediacy, intimacy and interactivity of social networks that makes them
particularly effective in teaching our children that they are part of a
one-world community characterized by interdependence.
The
words, pictures and videos shared by people all across the globe are constant
reminders that our differences are quite superficial and that our interpersonal
relations, our personal goals and our hopes for a better future represent a
common denominator that defines the human condition.
Achieving
this one world perspective is an essential precursor to the establishment of an
environmentally aware generation that can drive positive change.
Immersive
Stereo 3D Has Unique Educational Potential:
However,
to fully reinforce this emotionally immersive perspective, we
need a way to physically immerse our young people into the dark
side of environmental issues so they can understand by personal experience how
fragile our planet is and what the potential solutions are to current and
future environmental crises.
Today
our children can experience… essentially first-hand… significant environmental
events throughout the world through well-crafted, immersive documentaries
produced by gifted 3D filmmakers.
Unlike
current 2D movies, 3D filmmaking transforms the movie screen into an
exquisitely open window that has both an interior and an exterior, enveloping
the entire theater.
In
fact, when produced correctly, the space both in front of and behind the movie
screen becomes an integral part of the story and the message.
As
both a neuroscientist and filmmaker I’m very much aware how audience members
experience feature films differently in a 3D movie relative to a 2D
movie. In a 3D movie they experience the content both visually and
viscerally in a very primal manner because the 3D medium actually infringes on
each audience member’s unique personal space… drawing them into the 3D
immersive experience.
To
better understand… surround sound has an analogous effect in that we sense that
we are physically “in the center of the audio” rather than
passively listening to stereo audio in front of us. This is
the difference between 2D documentaries and what I see as the future of 3D
environmental education.
As a
pioneer of 3D filmmaking I believe that presenting the facts of global warming
and environmental decay in a manner that closely simulates reality is the most
effective method for capturing and holding the attention of young people…
motivating them to become engaged in conservation and environmental change.
However,
recent 3D environmental documentaries present naturalist themes that deliver sanitized,
naturalist views of the world via stunning cinematic vistas and staged cycle of
life docudramas of indigenous animals and people. Unfortunately, these
documentaries do little to draw awareness to the plight of the planet. Quite
the contrary, they present a sense of denial.
Who
Will Deliver Environmental Messages in 3D?
There
are filmmakers like naturalist Sir David Attenborough, who create overtly environmentalist films. In
State of the
Planet, released in 2000, he presented a documentary on the impact
of man’s activities on nature. He later tackled the issue of global warming in The Truth
about Climate Change, released in 2006 and human population growth in How
Many People Can Live on Planet Earth?, released in 2009. In addition, he
highlighted the plight of endangered species in
BBC's Saving Planet
Earth project in 2007. These are exceptional films but they
were all produced in 2D.
It’s
only been within the last 3 years that Attenborough has started to experiment
with the use of 3D filmmaking in his nature films. In that time he’s
created several exceptional documentaries such as his recent three part series
on Sky3D entitled Galapagos 3D that explores the history of the Islands and its
bio diversity using 3D filmmaking that literally immerses us within that exotic
location.
However,
unfortunately all the 3D documentaries Attenborough has produced to date have
been focused more on his talent as a naturalist than as an environmentalist.
We can
only hope that in the future he and other noted documentary filmmakers will
focus this new and exciting 3D medium less on the entertainment value of the
craft and more on reaching into the heart of serious environmental issues as
Sir David previously did in 2D.
In
addition to no holds barred, hard hitting 3D documentaries there is also a need
for fictional dramas and docudramas with scripts that create a clear backdrop
of environmental activism. A great example, but in 2D is the film
Gorillas in the Mist, the 1988 American drama, nominated for five Academy
Awards.
Directed
by Michael Apted
and starring Sigourney
Weaver as naturalist Diane Fossey, it tells the
true-life story of Fossey’s work in Rwanda with mountain gorillas
threatened by poachers.
Environmental
films with this much dramatic impact should be encouraged. We need to see
and understand the dark side of man’s interaction with nature via exceptional
scripts produced, not in 2D, but rather by today’s new breed of 3D filmmakers
in a manner that takes us into the story as if we’re actually there.
Who
Will Fund Direct, Hard Hitting Environmental Films?
Obviously,
quality 3D movies with environmentalist messages similar in impact and scale to
Gorillas in the Mist can generate sufficient box office and Blu-ray sales to
justify their production. However, 3D documentaries and docudramas with
less revenue potential will likely require subsidized funding. MacGilivray
Freeman Films Educational Foundation is one such non-profit which contributes
to the conservation of the world’s natural and cultural heritage through giant
screen films and companion educational programming. More funding from
around the world targeting environmental awareness needs to be funneled into
direct, impactful storylines that can be presented in the form of informative
and immersive 3D films and documentaries.
Conclusion:
Conclusion:
I
believe that this revolution in both social media networking and 3D movies will
bring about a greater awareness in all of us that we exist as part of a
symbiotic global community. As a natural consequence I believe ecological
and environmental intelligence will take hold inspiring positive activism among
people of all ages but in particular, in our young people.
