Earth in 100 Seconds

Earth in 100 Seconds is a shocking short film. Each second reveals 1% of land and how we are using it.

At a time of climate and ecological crisis, and when a million species are at risk of extinction, Earth in 100 Seconds demonstrates how little space is left for wildlife and how much is prioritised for livestock.

From family shoppers and geography teachers to national policy-makers, we want as many people as possible to watch this film so they can make better decisions for life on Earth.

You can help by backing this project.

The no-budget film has been made by a small pro-bono and volunteer team. All of your donation will be invested in boosting the number of people who see Earth in 100 Seconds. Your donation will help with:

• translating the film's captions into more languages
• making sure it is seen at festivals and events
• championing it online
• promoting it to teachers, influencers and leaders

Once released, it will be free for anyone to watch or show the film.

Every pound raised will help us reach and include more people. Chip-in enough and we'll even add your name to the credits!

Why "In 100 Seconds"? Why now?

Earth is really big and complicated. No wonder it's hard for us to get our heads around what it really looks like, how we're using it - or get organised to better manage it.

Good decision making about land use is key to the survival of human and more-than-human life across many parts of our planet. It is also fundamental to securing futures that are more just and equitable.

Having better data, information and understanding of how we are using land is critical for decision making, whether that's when choosing a sandwich in the shops or choosing who to vote for. 

The chart below from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's Special Report on Climate Change and Land does a great job of summarising global land use data - but charts like these are sterile, fail to tell a story and don't give people an emotional sense of place or scale. 

Besides, how many people will actually ever read reports like this?

Earth in 100 Seconds takes the same data, but uses a humble walk to turn it into a relatable journey, story and scale. In a short period of time, the film provides an opportunity to not just see what the data represents, but feel it - by sitting through it.

People will be both shocked and surprised by what the film reveals. It will spark thousands of conversations about our relationship with land, resources, wildlife, livestock and each other.

The next in the series

Earth in 100 Seconds is the next in a series of short 100 second films that use scientific data to give people a better understanding of how we're using land.

As well as being shared online, the films are widely used by teachers, lecturers, activists, charities and civil servants.

I started making the films because I was deeply concerned by an idea in society that the United Kingdom was "full". An idea that is still prevalent today and impacts on some of the greatest challenges society faces - changing populations, migration, housing, hazards, nature and climate.

This first film was made in collaboration with Friends of the Earth and poet Benjamin Zephaniah. 

I then crowdfunded to make the UK in 100 Seconds - thank you to everyone who supported that film! This film was voiced by the wonderful Cerys Matthews. 

And then I was then invited to make the Netherlands in 100 Seconds by Brabant Living Lab.

Earth in 100 Seconds is made from footage that was collected in the making of these first three projects, but is supplemented by a small amount of stock footage. You can see me walking in all of the top-down shots, other than the permanent ice. We included some establishing and closing stock shots too. As much as I would have liked to travel more for the making of the film, this saved a lot of time, money and carbon.

The team

I am a guerrilla geographer, social innovator, National Geographic Explorer and former high school geography teacher. I also founded the National Park City movement and the Slow Ways walking network. You can see more of my work here.

I am delighted to have collaborated with my son, Seb Raven-Ellison, on this project. Seb produced the soundtrack, reshaped the script and recorded the narration. He's a musician, rapper and available to hire!

The majority of the film was shot by Jack Smith, an enormously talented director of photography who usually works on music videos, adverts and short films. 

The post production was by the brilliant and innovative Tim Neeves, founder and director at Prospect Arts. Tim kindly responded to a Linkedin post asking for some help to pull the project together. 

The wider team includes all the people who helped make the previous "In 100 Seconds" films, upon which this new one is based. This includes the 90 people who backed my previous crowdfunder.

What next?

Dates are to be confirmed, but the film be made available to events and film festivals in 2025, before being released across social media later in the year. Anyone will then be able to watch or screen the film for free. 

If you have an opportunity for the film to be broadcast, streamed or shared widely, please get in touch. 

Rewards

You can choose to just support the project. You can also claim some rewards to thank you for your support. These include:

• Your name on the end credits
• Sponsor a language translation + Get your  name on the end credits
• Invites to a supporter's pre-launch screening, panel discussion and Q&A
• Introduction, preview and Q&A Zooms for schools
• Knowing that you helped the film

We want to get Earth in 100 Seconds translated into lots of languages. Where we can, we want to use human rather than AI translations. Choose to sponsor a language to help make that happen. Let us know your preferred language by commenting on the project. We'll email to ask after the crowdfunding campaign ends too.

Thank you

Thank you very much for your support! Every donation will help.

Would you like to show your support but can't afford to donate right now? Please share this page using the hashtag #EarthIn100Seconds. You will find the promotional video on YouTube here.

FAQs

Why do you need donations?

The film has largely been made from footage collected while shooting earlier "In 100 Seconds" films and the team have given their time to make the film for free - so (ignoring the costs to make the first films) we have been able to absorb all of the costs. 

Translating and promoting the film has real financial costs. By helping to cover those we will be able to reach and include more people than by simply putting the film online and hoping that it catches on. 

Translated captions will be done by real people where we can, so the film does not lose its meaning.

What is Topolocus?

Donations will be paid to Topolocus Limited, the company I put my private work through. Topolocus has not only supported the "In 100 Seconds" films, but incubated the start-up of London National Park City, Slow Ways and many of my other projects.

When will the film be available?

It will be available for screenings from the start of 2025, but it will not be released online until later in the year. We will use funding raised from this crowdfunding campaign to submit the film into a range of international film festivals. Many of these will not show the film if it has already been widely released, which is why the online launch will be deeper into 2025. We will post dates on this site once they are finalised.

How long is the film?

The whole film is 220 seconds as it includes a short introduction and conclusion. The core of the film is 100 seconds, with each second reflecting 1% of how land is used.

What data is the film based on?

Land use data is complex and imperfect. It is impossible to represent every type of land or use of it. The film is mostly based on data from the IPCC's Special Report on Climate Change and Land. Those numbers are updated to includes permanent ice, which cover 10% of land. 

The chart below made for us by Urban Good CIC shows the breakdown of data that we've used. 

#EarthIn100Seconds