Morgan Freeman narrates this nature documentary about an unnatural new 'species'

The short film from Google and Goodby Silverstein & Partners supports one of the UN's Sustainable Development Goals

Published On
Aug 04, 2020

Editor's Pick

Plastic pollution is on the rise, exacerbated by the piles of discarded face masks and takeout containers generated during the pandemic. Bottles, cigarette butts and plastic bags blowing in the wind and bobbing in the waves, choking beaches and sea life and strangling waterways have become a common sight.

A new short film treats these intruders like a strange new species—a “Blue Planet” for artificial ocean denizens. “Life Below Water” is a project from YouTube, Google, Tribeca Enterprises, the United Nations and Goodby Silverstein & Partners, created to further UN Sustainable Development Goal 14: ocean conservation. And like any good nature documentary, it needs a strong voice to narrate: Morgan Freeman.

Directed by Tribeca filmmaker Brian Schulz, the film’s script leans into the premise, describing the way pollution dances and plays, hunts and spreads. “The creatures in this fascinating species do not have brains, teeth or even simple nervous systems,” Freeman dictates. “But miraculously, they can travel for hundreds of miles and live to be over a thousand years old.”

Beautiful undersea camera work captures bags and bottles in their unnatural habitats, drifting by coral reefs and floating beside sea turtles, who often mistake bags for jellyfish and starve with the indigestible flotsam in their stomachs.

The campaign unfolds over four weeks on YouTube and includes two six-second teasers and four 15-second calls to action, in addition to the short film.

Credits

Date
Aug 04, 2020
Agency :
Goodby Silverstein & Partners
Co-Chairmen :
Jeff Goodby
Co-Chairmen :
Rich Silverstein
Chief Creative Officer :
Margaret Johnson
Associate Creative Director :
Hanna Wittmark
Associate Creative Director :
Kate Baynham
Art Director :
Eleanor Rask
Copywriter :
Trevor Joplin
Design Director :
Ryan Self
Designer :
Benny Gold
Managing Partner :
Leslie Barrett
Account Manager :
Emily Bollier
Partner Head of Brand Strategy :
Bonnie Wan
Partner Head of Communication Strategy :
Christine Chen
Senior Communications Strategist :
Jacob Sperla
Brand Strategist :
Darien Ahn
Head of Broadcast Production :
Leila Gage
Director of Business Affairs :
Judy Ybarra
Production :
Spacestation
Director :
Brian Schulz
Director of Photography :
Chris Bryan
Executive Producer :
Melanie Paul
Executive Producer :
Matthew Mills
Production Manager :
Ellie Cano
Production Assistant :
Allie Fuller
Post Production Supervisor :
Marni Ellis
Editor :
Sharika Ajaikumar
Assistant Editor :
Chang Wang
Diving Services Director :
Robbie Gonzalez
Diving Services Coordinator :
Giovanni Gonzalez
Safety Diver :
Daniel Alamilla
Safety Diver :
Felipe Ancona
Editorial :
eLevel
Editor :
Graham Willcox
Assistant Editor :
Liz Norris
Director of eLevel :
Michael Damiani
Post Producer :
Allison Lambert
Audio and Sound Design Company :
Elias Music
Music Composer :
Jonathan Elias
Sound Design Company :
Lime Studios
Sound Designer :
Joel Waters
Mix Company :
Lime Studios
Audio Engineer :
Joel Waters
Assistant Mixer :
Collin Thomas
Agency Director of Film and Music Curation :
Tod Puckett
VFX :
eLevel
Creative Director :
Mike Landry
Technical Director :
Nathan Shipley
Motion Artist :
Luke Davisson
VFX :
A52
VFX Supervisor :
Jesse Monsour
VFX Supervisor :
Pat Murphy
Flame Artist :
Kevin Stokes
Flame Artist :
John Valle
CG Supervisor :
Andrew Romatz
CG Artist :
Aemilia Widodo
CG Artist :
Ariana Ziae-Mohseni
CG Artist :
Joe Paniagua
CG Artist :
Michael Bettinardi
CG Artist :
Josh Dyer
VFX Producer :
Drew Rissman
Executive Producer :
Kim Christensen
Executive Producer :
Patrick Nugent
Managing Director :
Jennifer Sofio Hall
Color Company :
a52 Color
Colorist :
Gregory Reese
Senior Color Producer :
Jenny Bright
Executive Producer :
Thatcher Peterson
Partnerships Lead, Sustainable Development Goals :
Frances Simpson-Allen
Executive Producer :
Nina Chaudry
Coordinating Producer :
Nikki F. Heyman
Production Associate :
Jaimi Cooks
Partnership Development :
Jackie Hassell
Partnership Development :
Lauren Viola
Partnership Development :
Evan Dell’Aquila
Legal :
Eileen Rodriguez
Legal :
Steve DeLuca
Finance :
Joe Pugliese
Finance :
Julio Mariano
Finance :
Diane Fosten

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