Hollywood is going green - on screen.
The 11th Hour, a feature-length documentary that premieres in Los Angeles and New York on August 17, explores industrial civilization's impact on our ecosystems. To reduce the carbon footprint of its production, the film used 300 stock-footage clips. Using stock was among a number of environmentally friendly measures, which also included minimizing travel, carpooling and the use of hybrid vehicles and sustainable products and services.
Produced and narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio, the film focuses on environmental damage, global responses and how we can change course. The 11th Hour features well-known figures worldwide, including former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, renowned physicist Stephen Hawking, former head of the CIA R. James Woolsey and more than 50 other cultural, scientific and political leaders.
Original interview footage is supported by stock clips from various sources, including 35 minutes sourced from BBC Motion Gallery, which handles footage licensing for BBC Worldwide and the CBS News Archive. Licensed clips depict scenic views alongside polluted waters, floods, melting icebergs, nuclear explosions, refugee camps, the inside of a brain, a beating heart and archival footage of news anchors covering natural disasters.
David Seevers, founder of a San Francisco-based market research and business development consultancy Thriving Archives, says the film's emphasis on using stock in an eco-aware society is smart business. While most film producers downplay use of stock, establishing a link between stock footage and sustainability can be beneficial to stock suppliers. As film producers look for ways to reduce the environmental impact of their work, stock footage becomes an attractive option.
The green trend has also affected other segments of the stock-licensing business. Industry leaders, including Corbis and Getty Images, have both invested in visual-trend studies and image collections with an environmental bent. Both companies report a rise in demand for imagery on environmentally friendly subjects, such as ecotourism, conservation and people interacting with nature.