Grantham Institute: From Climate Research to Climate Storytelling
The Grantham Institute, part of Imperial College London, commissioned Velvet Green to produce two documentary films designed to raise awareness of complex climate topics for a broader public audience.
The goal was simple, to bring the Institute’s annual research reports to life by turning them into educational, digital first content, helping broaden their reach from a primarily academic audience to tens of thousands of viewers online.
The films explore two of the most pressing issues shaping global climate action today, the UK’s path to net zero by 2050, and the international agreement on loss and damage following COP27. They feature leading climate scientists from Imperial College, international negotiators, and policy figures including former UK Prime Minister Theresa May, former Irish Minister for the Environment Eamon Ryan, and Fiji’s Permanent Secretary for Environment and Climate Change Sivendra Michael. Together, the documentaries provide expert insight in an engaging and highly consumable format.
Rather than following a traditional academic or report led structure, the films were produced in the style of contemporary online content. Using a mix of high-quality interviews, animation visualising key information, archive and high end stock footage, and news coverage, the documentaries break down complex policy discussions into clear, engaging, and digestible narratives. The approach was designed to meet audiences where they already consume content, without diluting the seriousness of the subject matter.
At Velvet Green, we delivered the full production, shaping the narrative and editorial structure, curating the visual language, and conducting all interviews with senior figures. The films were intended to complement the Grantham Institute’s written impact report and were distributed online, generating tens of thousands of views and significantly expanding the reach of the Institute’s work beyond academic and policy circles.
What
Two documentary films combining interviews, animation, archive, and news footage to explore net zero and loss and damage, with supporting social media collateral.
Our involvement
Full production cycle, editorial development, filming and conducting interviews, animation, post production, delivery for web and digital platforms.
