The United Nations Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs approached us to support the internal rollout of a new initiative focused on environmental risk and stability.
Working with satellite data and advanced analysis, the programme helps identify patterns related to issues such as water scarcity, enabling teams across the UN and its partners to better understand and respond to potential risks.
The source material consisted of highly technical presentations, dense data, and scientific research, not something that naturally translates into an engaging film.
Our role was to translate this complex subject into a series of clear, engaging films, designed for internal audiences across different departments and scientific collaborators.
With limited visual assets available, the challenge was to shape a clear and compelling narrative, one that simplifies complexity without losing credibility, and brings an abstract, data-driven topic closer to a human and relatable story.
To make the subject more accessible, we stepped back and reframed the story from a human perspective, starting with the role water has played throughout history in shaping where and how we live.
This allowed us to build a clear narrative arc, gradually connecting familiar ideas to more complex environmental and data-driven insights.
With limited existing assets, we developed a mixed media collage style that combined materials from multiple sources. Paper textures, layered compositions, and stop-motion inspired transitions gave the films a tactile, organic quality, reinforcing the environmental theme.
To complement the visuals, we introduced filmed testimonials from key contributors, captured in New York, connecting the broader story to real voices and lived experience.
The result is a series of engaging films that help promote and explain the initiative across the United Nations Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and its partners.
By translating complex environmental data into accessible narratives, the films support internal communication, alignment, and collaboration, while encouraging wider awareness and adoption across an international network of stakeholders.
