Is our species on an inexorable, suicidal path to extinction? Are we rapidly approaching the end of civilization as we know it? Are we past the point of no return? Experts warn that unless we change course the "perfect storm" of population growth, resource depletion and climate change could wreak havoc on planet Earth. In order to plan for the worst we must anticipate it, and "earth2100," ABC News' unprecedented two-hour television event, which aired in primetime on June 2, 2009 and was hosted by ABC journalist Bob Woodruff, explored possible consequences of human inaction on current and impending issues that threaten our planet.
With 30 plus minutes of animation created by Guerilla FX, projections by leading scientists, historians and economists, a simulated global summit on climate change, audience generated web submissions and some stock footage, the special educated viewers on the state of dystopian Earth in 2015, 2050 and 2100.
Guerilla FX (GFX), the New York-based visual effects, production, post finishing, design and interactive house, designed and executed over 30 minutes of animation from thousands of original illustrations. Sometimes the illustrations stand alone, but often they are animated in combination with footage and still photographs, creating a stunning animated future.
"earth2100" is an imagining of the future of the planet in the event that no major changes are made before 2100. A 91-year old fictional storyteller, Lucy, born in 2009, guides us through the century and looks back at the hurricanes, wildfires, drought, catastrophic flooding, pandemics, abandoned cities, northern migration of environmental refugees, dangerous border regions, and more through which she lived.
"ABC wanted something 'different' and together we decided on a graphic-novel approach as we felt the stylized, colorful and playful design would be more exciting for the audience. 9 of 11 acts of the show featured graphics heavily. At GFX we storyboarded every graphics scene, then created an animatic version and completed full blown illustrations of the environments and characters. Next we added some photographs and then blocked out the shots. All elements were blocked to scale so that people were all five to six feet tall and the environments, cars and buildings were proportional. The elements were broken up into three dimensions - either in After Effects 3D or 3D in 3DS Max - even though the images were 2D cards," explained John Bair, who served as GFX Director of Animation for the project.
"To illustrate the nostalgic sequences, we created snapshots in which the camera could drift and find emotionally compelling content. Once we had built these environments, we could move the camera around and through them and do traditional and exciting framing, and create action. In addition to the illustrations, we used live-action for visual effects, such as gunfire and flames, stock imagery, and photos that the team shot throughout the City, and imagery was heavily posterized to resemble and blend with the traditional high-contrast illustrations. For example, the ambulance scene is one of the most kinetic and frenetic in the show. We let the camera do its thing - when we saw an interesting moment we captured it and then moved on to the next - as we would in a doc that employed live actors in similar environments," he continued.
The Guerilla FX team led by Bair, included Executive Producer Vivian Connolly; Animation Producer Renuka Ballal; Designers Yorgo Alexopoulos, Christian Lowe, Dana Schechter and Molly Schwartz; Animators Brian Haimes, Sean Kim, Amber Kusmenko and Aaron Raff; and Illustrators Tim Hamilton, Joe Infurnari, George O'Connor and Leland Purvis. Guerilla FX utilized After Effects, 3D Studio Max and Photoshop in the execution of this project.
Representing ABC were Executive Producer Michael Bicks; Senior Executive Producer/Director Rudy Bednar; Producers Ralph Avellino and Linda Hirsch; and Writers Abigail Thomas and Josh Neufeld. ABC News edited the footage and added voiceovers, sound design and music.