Overview
Director: Ádám Miklósi, Arrabona Studios
These videos were part of a campaign to stop the EU Council from overturning the Nature Restoration Law in the European Union, a law that aims to reverse biodiversity loss in European habitats.
The videos were filmed during press trips to the Auenreservat Marchegg and Donauauen national parks in Austria, Tivedens nationalpark in Sweden, and in Brussels in front of the EU Council. They were shown at internal campaign events and some were shared on social media and YouTube.
Process
I worked with a combination of proxies and original media throughout the project, and adapted the organizational structure of the director, who requested the project file at the end of the editing process.
I made initial selections from the interviews and filtered out the stronger story beats for the director. The two of us worked closely to compress over two hours of interviews into a five-minute video that built a coherent narrative while hitting all of WWF’s talking points.
I added cinematic B-roll captured on site and edited the audio stems provided by the director to create a cinematic bed.
Given that the videos would be watched in full during the campaign, I had the liberty to follow a more traditional documentary format rather than the modern social media format that relies on hooks and sustained tension for audience retention. My goal was to capture the arguments for preserving biodiversity as well as the beauty of nature.
The final stage involved polishing the interviews and cuts before handing the project over for color grading.
Auenreservat Marchegg and Donauauen
The Austrian national park Auenreservat Marchegg uses grazing as part of its restoration efforts. Wild horses were reintroduced into the area and are helping reverse the decline in biodiversity, offering a model for nature restoration.
In the Donau-Auen National Park, river restoration work has reconnected previously cut-off side branches of the Danube.
Full video
Tivedens nationalpark
At Tivedens nationalpark in Sweden, experts discuss the alternatives to clearcutting that are being used in the forests of Tiveden. Clearcutting is the dominant forestry practice in the EU and the most damaging to forest biodiversity. Sweden in particular has done very little to conserve old-growth forests and habitats.
The video highlights the effectiveness of alternative forestry practices and explores how forests can support local communities through tourism while remaining intact.
Run4Destruction
A short parody video filmed in front of the EU Council, satirizing MEPs who voted against the EU Nature Restoration Law.
Results
On June 17, 2024, the Nature Restoration Law was adopted by the EU Environmental Council and became law.
The videos were a vital part of the internal campaign run by WWF.