HAPPY EARTH-DAY EVERYONE! Earth-Day is an opportunity to reset our goals and ask ourselves what we do on a daily basis to give back to the earth that provides us life. At World View, for decades we have considered this both at work and at home long before it became "sexy."  We also see it in the type of work we engage in.
We've spent weeks filming at the eco village Dancing Rabbit, for the Morgan Spurlock FX documentary series, 30 days, following two 30-year-old New York City friends and typical Americans i.e., ravenous consumers, and users of fossil fuels, as they live 100% OFF THE GRID. This entertaining series introduced the mass audience to topics like: environmental footprint, energy shortage, renewable energy, recycling & composting EVERYTHING (can you say humanure?), bio-fuels, hay bale house, rain water capture & conservation, hybrid cars, off-gassing, agricultural impact, and more. As a producer on a number of HGTV series, we've provided additional insight on Green aspects of building and design, recognizing that every design choice has environmentally friendly options, while every green option has design elements. These practices had previously been learned while renovating our own homes. Profiling Alice's Garden, a thriving urban community garden serving over a thousand community members, was the result of a personal exploration into urban green movements in Milwaukee a number of years ago. We also met and profiled other community leaders that understand the benefit of developing green spaces in the fight against crime, improving neighborhoods and the environment on so many levels. We chose to profile 3X James Beard award nominee, chef Greg Leon of Amilinda, because of his amazing cuisine and his commitment to using fresh ingredients from local farmers. In the technology space we worked closely with Intelligent Generation to help them share their successes in the solar energy capture & storage field.
We are very proud of the feature film, Saving Walden's World, which we helped shoot and produce, and is currently doing the festival & screening circuits around the world. SWW is a film about women led solutions to the possible 6th extinction through the eyes of those living in and making a difference in less than utopian societies. We met the director and author, Jim Merkel, at a local Earth week event, just as Jim was nurturing the first seeds of the idea taken from his earlier book, Radical Simplicity: Small Footprint in a Finite World. Jim had changed his life dramatically from a conservative engineer working on top secret weapons communications for the government, learning how destructive his life was to others, to traveling the globe to witness the best practices and living in a most sustainable way. We knew there was an inspiring story to share.
Our own practices start with minimizing our footprint by working with creative collaborators remotely during pre-and post production. During production, we set out to be as efficient as possible on location or in the studio, and using local crews around the world, which keeps production costs down and minimizes the amount of resources used.
We at World View can do better, but we're proud of the subject matter we've chosen to explore, and hopefully have inspired viewers to get involved in saving this planet of ours. We will always try to make ourselves available for any and every project that addresses Earth-Day issues & solutions.  Please reach out if you have a project or an idea.
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Images below: L-R, row 1: Filming the Casimiro Family in Cuba for Saving Walden's World, Rooftop garden in Cuba, Silo house at Dancing Rabbit for 30 Days. Row 2: Morgan Spurlock, Chef Greg Leon tests local produce at Amalinda, Venice Williams E.D. for Alices Garden Urban Farm. Row 3: Nate Haban films rooftop garden at Clock Shadow Creamery, Commercial solar array at MAGID for Intelligent Generation.

As Easter approaches, it's a good time to reflect on one of our favorite TV productions I worked on, Miracle Quest, on Travel Channel. From the stigmata of Padre Pio in Italy, or the many miraculous visions of The Virgin in France, to the rebirth of the American Indian White Buffalo tradition, this series provides viewers with a sense of adventure and open-minded curiosity as it examines the theories, questions the authorities, and speaks with those who've experienced miracles first-hand. 
The teaser below takes you to the first stop, Italy, to meet Vatican experts, locals, and believers who come from all over the world, moved by their faith. Our travels through Italy's historic cities and countryside, from coast to coast, ​navigating the mountainous terrains and active volcanoes, gave us unique access to those that have experienced miracles. 
I was fortunate enough to be the Director of Photography alongside two brilliant women, multilingual producer & director Mathilde Bittner, and host & theology expert Flavia Colgan. Shooting multiple locations in approximately one week, was not without its challenges. The budget was snug for sure, requiring us to use second tier equipment to get top tier results. The support crew were young and hungry and learning curves were steep, but everyone stepped up, and took on the day to day challenge. Many have gone on to be brilliant directors, producers and visionaries in their own right, like James Mann & Matt Hobin. Mathilde had a clear vision and always communicated it with grace, despite sometimes little sleep due to last minute logistical changes, or rewrites. What a model she was, setting the tone for everyone. 

NEXT STOP: FRANCE
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CONTACT WORLD VIEW FOR ANY PRODUCTION NEEDS, AT HOME OR ABROAD 847-561-0576

Telling the stories of the renewable energy revolution is nothing new to us at World View Productions, Ltd, but it is still an honor when we connect with some of the early adopters.
Intelligent Generation, a leader in empowering businesses to engage in the clean energy grid, called upon WVP owner Bob Maraist to produce an engaging and informative general awareness video that would inspire businesses to learn more about IG's capabilities and software. IG's clients like MAGID, G&W, and Abt, have some of the largest, most cutting edge solar energy systems in the country. The scale of their rooftop solar panels, the varying battery storage, and micro-grid distribution systems were the backdrop to their testimonials stating the benefits they get thanks to working with the Intelligent Generation team.
Before going on location Bob helped the IG team recognize the DOZENS of additional opportunities WVP can deliver from the initial shoot. When the initial video was presented to a full house, IG received comments like: "Now I understand what you really do!" The IG team sees new and exciting opportunities to stay connected to their audience by harvesting additional material from the single production. Learn more and see the video
If you are looking to elevate your business through stories in renewable energy capture and storage, and their financial, security, and environmental benefits, contact World View Productions at 847-561-0576, or [email protected].
To learn more go to:
www.worldviewpro.com
https://intelgen.com

Photo's L-R, Row 1: One of ABT's many solar array's, MAGID executive Harvey Cohen, IG's Khalif Woodard and World View's Bob Maraist, G&W's John Mueller and IG's David Braun within their massive battery system  Row 2: WVP crew films ABT's Director of Operations Bob Taylor with Greenleaf's Ben Bezark, WVP crew film John & David, Khalif and Harvey at MAGID.