(Highlights) JANE ALEXANDER

(Highlights) JANE ALEXANDER

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Actress · Conservationist · Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts 1993-97

I came to conservation as a lover of nature, as a young girl growing up outside of Boston, Massachusetts. We just had a tiny backyard. But I was enthralled by whatever lived there from a very early age. So I kept up with my love of nature all through life by the same path that I was also going on in theater for the most part. And later film. And conservation came out of my love for animals because it became clear in the 70s, about fifty years ago, that there were many species that were beginning their decline and continue to do so today.

JANE ALEXANDER

JANE ALEXANDER

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Actress · Conservationist · Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts 1993-97

I came to conservation as a lover of nature, as a young girl growing up outside of Boston, Massachusetts. We just had a tiny backyard. But I was enthralled by whatever lived there from a very early age. So I kept up with my love of nature all through life by the same path that I was also going on in theater for the most part. And later film. And conservation came out of my love for animals because it became clear in the 70s, about fifty years ago, that there were many species that were beginning their decline and continue to do so today.

(Highlights) DIANA CHAPLIN

(Highlights) DIANA CHAPLIN

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Canopy Director of One Tree Planted

We planted over 10 million trees in 2020 alone. And it’s one tree planted for every dollar donated, so we make it as simple as possible, but when you add it all up together the impact is just tremendous and growing every day.”


DIANA CHAPLIN

DIANA CHAPLIN

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Canopy Director of One Tree Planted

We planted over 10 million trees in 2020 alone. And it’s one tree planted for every dollar donated, so we make it as simple as possible, but when you add it all up together the impact is just tremendous and growing every day.”


(Highlights) JESS WILBER

(Highlights) JESS WILBER

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International Outreach Citizens’ Climate Lobby
Coordinator, Senior Stewards Acting for the Environment

When I was in highschool, I recognized that climate change was going to be the largest problem facing my generation and future generations, and I couldn’t help but feel like there was nothing I could do in the face of such an impending problem. So I was actively looking at different organizations that I could become involved with that would help me develop the skills and knowledge I needed to be an effective climate advocate.

JESS WILBER

JESS WILBER

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International Outreach Citizens’ Climate Lobby
Coordinator, Senior Stewards Acting for the Environment

When I was in highschool, I recognized that climate change was going to be the largest problem facing my generation and future generations, and I couldn’t help but feel like there was nothing I could do in the face of such an impending problem. So I was actively looking at different organizations that I could become involved with that would help me develop the skills and knowledge I needed to be an effective climate advocate.

(Highlights) CARLOS SOUZA, JR.

(Highlights) CARLOS SOUZA, JR.

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Senior Research Associate at Imazon
Technical & Scientific Coordinator at MapBiomas

Find a balance. Use technology. And connect with nature. I think that’s really critical. There is big hope for your generation because you have better environmental education. I can see this. You are more aware of these issues. In terms of the environmental issues that we face now, we need to connect more with nature, to open up your heart for that. You have this amazing opportunity to reach out information to explore technologies through the Internet. What you choose now what we’re going to focus on, it’s really critical.

CARLOS SOUZA, JR.

CARLOS SOUZA, JR.

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Senior Research Associate at Imazon
Technical & Scientific Coordinator at MapBiomas

Find a balance. Use technology. And connect with nature. I think that’s really critical. There is big hope for your generation because you have better environmental education. I can see this. You are more aware of these issues. In terms of the environmental issues that we face now, we need to connect more with nature, to open up your heart for that. You have this amazing opportunity to reach out information to explore technologies through the Internet. What you choose now what we’re going to focus on, it’s really critical.

(Highlights) TIES VAN DER HOEVEN

(Highlights) TIES VAN DER HOEVEN

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Creative Director & Co-founder of The Weather Makers holistic engineering company

The story behind The Weather Makers and the whole intention is that five years by accident, I was working in a dredging company and one of the commercial people from Egypt approached me on a question about a lagoon where the fish were disappearing. So we started with this very small thing and set up a whole flow modelling approach, so really from the hydraulics, we could determine what would happen with the fish. And that really was the regretting the Sinai could have a very big impact on the world.

TIES VAN DER HOEVEN

TIES VAN DER HOEVEN

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Creative Director & Co-founder of The Weather Makers holistic engineering company

The story behind The Weather Makers and the whole intention is that five years by accident, I was working in a dredging company and one of the commercial people from Egypt approached me on a question about a lagoon where the fish were disappearing. So we started with this very small thing and set up a whole flow modelling approach, so really from the hydraulics, we could determine what would happen with the fish. And that really was the regretting the Sinai could have a very big impact on the world.

(Highlights) PATON MILLER

(Highlights) PATON MILLER

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Artist & World Traveler

When we moved back to Hawaii and lived on Molokai. I was teaching at the Kalaupapa Leprosy Colony, we had no money. And I was spearfishing, not for sport, but to get food for my family. And it was a beautiful time of our lives. We were so poor, but we were not poor. Poor is a state of mind. We were without money, but we were having so much fun.

PATON MILLER

PATON MILLER

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Artist & World Traveler

When we moved back to Hawaii and lived on Molokai. I was teaching at the Kalaupapa Leprosy Colony, we had no money. And I was spearfishing, not for sport, but to get food for my family. And it was a beautiful time of our lives. We were so poor, but we were not poor. Poor is a state of mind. We were without money, but we were having so much fun.

(Highlights) NICK MEYNEN

(Highlights) NICK MEYNEN

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Senior Policy Officer Economic Transition at European Environmental Bureau
Author of Turning Point: The pandemic as an opportunity for change

Now with this crisis even the IMF, even the economists are saying we’re not going to go back to the neoliberal era. And they were defending this era for decades. So, I have hope that maybe we can now transition to something like a Wellbeing Era, where countries are already saying “we want to be a wellbeing economy. New Zealand is telling every ministry: Tell us how you are improving the wellbeing of the New Zealand people. So that means wellbeing has become the cop who rules over the others. There are countries like Bhutan who have thirty years of experience of doing that. They call it Gross National Happiness.

NICK MEYNEN

NICK MEYNEN

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Senior Policy Officer Economic Transition at European Environmental Bureau
Author of Turning Point: The pandemic as an opportunity for change

Now with this crisis even the IMF, even the economists are saying we’re not going to go back to the neoliberal era. And they were defending this era for decades. So, I have hope that maybe we can now transition to something like a Wellbeing Era, where countries are already saying “we want to be a wellbeing economy. New Zealand is telling every ministry: Tell us how you are improving the wellbeing of the New Zealand people. So that means wellbeing has become the cop who rules over the others. There are countries like Bhutan who have thirty years of experience of doing that. They call it Gross National Happiness.

The Midnight Sky & Collaborating with GEORGE CLOONEY - MARTIN RUHE on The Art of Cinematography - Highlights

The Midnight Sky & Collaborating with GEORGE CLOONEY - MARTIN RUHE on The Art of Cinematography - Highlights

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Martin Ruhe is the internationally-acclaimed German cinematographer behind the Netflix film The Midnight Sky directed by and starring George Clooney. Previously, Ruhe worked on Catch-22, also directed by Clooney, as well as the critically acclaimed Counterpart, Run All Night with Liam Neeson, and the British Independent film award winner Control. Ruhe photographed the dark spy thriller Page Eight for BBC Films, directed by David Hare. The film earned him an American Society of Cinematographers Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Motion Picture/Miniseries Television Award for his work on the film.

Working closely with director Anton Corbijn, Ruhe photographed The American. Starring Clooney as an aging assassin on an assignment to create a specialized weapon, Ruhe’s meticulously arranged shots helped to build the tone of The American, while reviews applauded the film’s beauty. Ruhe lensed Harry Brown, a Michael Caine-starring vigilante thriller which premiered at 2009’s Toronto International Film Festival. His photography on Harry Brown received critical acclaim; Joe Leydon of Variety saying, “The moody lensing by Martin Ruhe vividly conveys the no-hope squalor of a contemporary urban wasteland.” Combining the best cultural influences from the U.S. and Europe, Ruhe is fluent in English, German and Spanish. He loves stills photography and travel.

MARTIN RUHE

The Midnight Sky is a film with big scopes. We have big vistas, we’re in space, we are on the moon, in the Arctic. Also, it’s a very intimate film because it’s a lot about connection, so we when we see people we get close to them and we feel intimate with them because we are literally with the camera quite close to them and looking into their faces. In this film, it helped that we went on 65mm. We shot on a large format. First of all we started that for the big landscapes, but I think it’s great also for faces because the face also becomes like a landscape.

❧

Early on in my career, I met a cameraman called Mike Southon. When I was working as a runner in London, on weekends I would try to go to shoots and see as many shoots as I could. Mike once told me our job would be. 10% is craft, 10% is talent, and 80% would be diplomacy. It’s actually interesting because quite often we caught in-between producers telling you, “Oh, you can’t have this.” Or, you have to do this. Or this is the framework. And then directors telling you, “I want to see the whole world at night.” And you go, “That’s a lot of money...” So, I think that’s one interesting thing I learned early on.

There are many people you meet along the way and you pick up things from them. I loved when I started working with Anton Corbijn. His photography is so…he mainly uses one lens. One camera. It’s not complicated, but he gets intimate with people in the way he is with them. That’s why his portrait photography is so stunning. Over the years, it’s relevant because he’s curious, he’s open, and he just allows things to happen. I love that. I love creative things.

Early on, I did some workshops with some of the great DPs like Robby Müller. And then you watch films, you read, you listen to what people have to say about them.


This interview was conducted by Mia Funk with the participation of collaborating universities and students. Associate Interviews Producer on this podcast was Bret Young. Digital Media Coordinator is Yu Young Lee. 

Mia Funk is an artist, interviewer and founder of The Creative Process.

Find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Breaker, Castbox, TuneIn, Overcast, RadioPublic, Podtail, and Listen Notes, among others. 

MARTIN RUHE

MARTIN RUHE

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Martin Ruhe is the internationally-acclaimed German cinematographer behind the Netflix film The Midnight Sky directed by and starring George Clooney. Previously, Ruhe worked on Catch-22, also directed by Clooney, as well as the critically acclaimed Counterpart, Run All Night with Liam Neeson, and the British Independent film award winner Control. Ruhe photographed the dark spy thriller Page Eight for BBC Films, directed by David Hare. The film earned him an American Society of Cinematographers Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Motion Picture/Miniseries Television Award for his work on the film.

Working closely with director Anton Corbijn, Ruhe photographed The American. Starring Clooney as an aging assassin on an assignment to create a specialized weapon, Ruhe’s meticulously arranged shots helped to build the tone of The American, while reviews applauded the film’s beauty. Ruhe lensed Harry Brown, a Michael Caine-starring vigilante thriller which premiered at 2009’s Toronto International Film Festival. His photography on Harry Brown received critical acclaim; Joe Leydon of Variety saying, “The moody lensing by Martin Ruhe vividly conveys the no-hope squalor of a contemporary urban wasteland.” Combining the best cultural influences from the U.S. and Europe, Ruhe is fluent in English, German and Spanish. He loves stills photography and travel.

MARTIN RUHE

The Midnight Sky is a film with big scopes. We have big vistas, we’re in space, we are on the moon, in the Arctic. Also, it’s a very intimate film because it’s a lot about connection, so we when we see people we get close to them and we feel intimate with them because we are literally with the camera quite close to them and looking into their faces. In this film, it helped that we went on 65mm. We shot on a large format. First of all we started that for the big landscapes, but I think it’s great also for faces because the face also becomes like a landscape.

❧

Early on in my career, I met a cameraman called Mike Southon. When I was working as a runner in London, on weekends I would try to go to shoots and see as many shoots as I could. Mike once told me our job would be. 10% is craft, 10% is talent, and 80% would be diplomacy. It’s actually interesting because quite often we caught in-between producers telling you, “Oh, you can’t have this.” Or, you have to do this. Or this is the framework. And then directors telling you, “I want to see the whole world at night.” And you go, “That’s a lot of money...” So, I think that’s one interesting thing I learned early on.

There are many people you meet along the way and you pick up things from them. I loved when I started working with Anton Corbijn. His photography is so…he mainly uses one lens. One camera. It’s not complicated, but he gets intimate with people in the way he is with them. That’s why his portrait photography is so stunning. Over the years, it’s relevant because he’s curious, he’s open, and he just allows things to happen. I love that. I love creative things.

Early on, I did some workshops with some of the great DPs like Robby Müller. And then you watch films, you read, you listen to what people have to say about them.


This interview was conducted by Mia Funk with the participation of collaborating universities and students. Associate Interviews Producer on this podcast was Bret Young. Digital Media Coordinator is Yu Young Lee. 

Mia Funk is an artist, interviewer and founder of The Creative Process.

Find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Breaker, Castbox, TuneIn, Overcast, RadioPublic, Podtail, and Listen Notes, among others. 

The Lonliest Whale with Cinematographer ALAN JACOBSEN - Highlights

The Lonliest Whale with Cinematographer ALAN JACOBSEN - Highlights

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Director of Photography
Emmy & Sundance Special Jury Award-Winning & Oscar Nominated Documentaries

I hope that film and the story can help people get their heads around these huge ideas that are pretty terrifying and almost hopeless to think about. What can we do? Are we on this track? What have we done to the earth? I think scientists are very much starting to agree that it’s getting to the point where it’s almost too late. So can humans see that far ahead? Can we understand the track we’re on in time? I don’t know, but I’m willing to use whatever tools possible to try to help that conversation happen.

ALAN JACOBSEN

ALAN JACOBSEN

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Director of Photography
Emmy & Sundance Special Jury Award-Winning & Oscar Nominated Documentaries

I hope that film and the story can help people get their heads around these huge ideas that are pretty terrifying and almost hopeless to think about. What can we do? Are we on this track? What have we done to the earth? I think scientists are very much starting to agree that it’s getting to the point where it’s almost too late. So can humans see that far ahead? Can we understand the track we’re on in time? I don’t know, but I’m willing to use whatever tools possible to try to help that conversation happen.

The Ice at the End of the World with JON GERTNER - Highlights

The Ice at the End of the World with JON GERTNER - Highlights

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Journalist & Historian on Science, Technology & Nature

I don’t think there is anything in our history that prepares us for what we have to do next. I think we have a lot of promising signs. It seems like the real work is still ahead of us. To me it feels that we’re making this up as we go along, we’ve made a couple good steps, we know the problem really well. We know what to do or at least what is needed, but those questions of policy and politics and how to mobilise governments and align people, at least to me it seems like the world has gotten more contentious, maybe because of the pandemic, rather than more willing to align.

JON GERTNER

JON GERTNER

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Jon Gertner is a journalist and historian whose stories on science, technology, and nature have appeared in a host of national magazines. Since 2003 he has worked mainly as a feature writer for The New York Times Magazine. He is the author of The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation and The Ice at the End of the World. A frequent lecturer on technology and science history, Gertner lives with his family in New Jersey.

This interview was conducted by Mia Funk & Lila Muscosky with the participation of collaborating universities and students. Associate Interviews Producers on this podcast were Panisara Jaijongkit & Lila Muscosky. Digital Media Coordinator is Hannah Story Brown.

Mia Funk is an artist, interviewer and founder of The Creative Process.

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