The Rogier Wieland Studio was asked to create three animated clips for a series of films about high polluting industries and how we can start decarbonizing them. The team was tasked with producing a brief 10-second opening sequence for each film plus a “science clip” that helped explain concepts throughout the piece. These sequences aimed to introduce the industry being discussed and show an animated explanation of the scientific process behind the plan to reduce carbon emissions in an engaging way. The animations focused on depicting three environmentally harmful industries: cement, steel, and chemicals, while also illustrating the scientific methods employed to decarbonize these sectors.

In order to effectively show cement and its diverse applications, the opening sequence of the cement film aimed to create a visual representation of its widespread use. “What better way to show where concrete is used than to build a miniature city out of it,” the studio decided. So, they made over 20 kg worth of cement pieces for the piece by creating rubber molds and casting building and road pieces in concrete. Then they animated it by adding cement pieces layer by layer, frame by frame to build the city.

The team was also asked to create an animation in three scenes illustrating the science behind an alternative way of catching and storing CO2 produced by cement manufacturing. The paper animation they came up with was made with multiple layers of cut colored paper to reveal moving shapes that illustrate everything from the path the removed carbon takes, to the journey of the ship that it around the Norwegian coast.

For the steel film, as with cement, the studio wanted to stick with the medium being talked about: “By using objects made out of metal we were able to create creative imagery while showing the multitude of places that we use steel in our everyday life,” they said. “The pylons were created completely with nails and bolts while the final building was made with metal pieces that were cut down every frame as we zoomed out.”

For the chemicals opening, the studio created a fluid animation that showed a variety of different everyday objects that contain chemicals. Everything from household objects to clothing and medicines quickly morph into shapes and into one another to give the overall impression that chemicals are, in fact, in almost everything we touch in our daily lives.