One Theme, Different Visions: Climate Change in Video

A long time ago, our ancestors drew paintings with their hands in caves; later, they used papyrus paper, then canvas, all the way up to glass plates, film, and digital pixels. The means might have evolved, but mankind has always had the same instinctive need: storytelling.

The themes have hardly changed in the last 2,000 years: love and hate, war and peace, the good and the bad, hope and despair. Today, every photographer and cinematographer still feels the need to tell stories, and unless they are strictly in the news-reporting business, there are not that many untold themes anymore.

What sets the great photographers and directors apart from the crowd is the way they tell it. A frequently discussed subject can become a sensation because of a unique approach. If you want to put a love story, gang dramas or the climate issue in images, you will not be the first to do it, but you will be the first to tell it in your own way. Your vision is the most important thing to cultivate. Be original, be yourself.

I did some research on the the climate issue and found a few videos that have in common the same theme, but the way they portray it is wildly different. Whatever your next theme is, just remember: tell it as you see it.

An animated story underlines the destructive nature of humankind:

Prince Ea rapping on climate change issue:

Julia Roberts as mother nature — nature does not need people; people need nature:

Vivienne Westwood brings some fashion drama to the table:

The carbon dioxide cycle: just one graph, no other explanations needed: