Posted on November, 12 2024

In their latest collaboration, WWF and the London-based creative animation studio NOMINT, present In Hot Water at COP29, a film that dives deep into the devastating impacts of climate change on the world's ocean. The film brings to life a crucial narrative of rising ocean temperatures, marine heatwaves, and their threat to marine and human life.

Set against the haunting backdrop of Radiohead’s No Surprises, reimagined with additional production by Neil Barnes of Leftfield, In Hot Water captures a visceral and emotional journey that underscores the urgency of climate action.

Synopsis: Into a Sea of Heat

In Hot Water follows the journey of a young boy as he dives into the ocean, mesmerized by vibrant sea life that dances around him in a joyful, silent harmony. As he reaches a lush coral forest, a creeping warmth transforms the environment, turning the serene waters red-hot. The boy escapes the increasingly scorching sea, passing by heart-wrenching scenes of dying coral reefs, abandoned boats, and disintegrating homes. Struggling upward, he glimpses an overheated earth, its horizon glowing an ominous red. With a final, determined push, he surfaces, gazing at the horizon—a poignant reminder of the immediate need for action.

A Groundbreaking Production: Heat as a Medium

In Hot Water showcases NOMINT’s commitment to blending creative storytelling with cutting-edge techniques. To achieve the film’s unique visual language, the team employed state-of-the-art thermal imaging cameras to capture each frame in stop-motion animation, bringing a striking heat-based color palette to life. Using replacement animation, multiple poses of the boy and fish were first animated in 3D, then 3D-printed and meticulously heated to specific temperatures to achieve the desired visual effects. This painstaking process allowed NOMINT to "paint" the underwater environment with heat, so that each object radiated a distinct temperature and hue.

Achieving this level of precision required exact control of heat for different elements within the same frame. In many shots, different objects needed to reach separate target temperatures to stand out from one another, while maintaining continuity across frames. Using ovens, heat lamps, heat guns, and freezing sprays, the team crafted an environment where each frame was calibrated to a precision of 0.1 degrees Celsius/0.18 degrees Fahrenheit. This innovative approach transformed each frame into a layered, heat-driven visual, embodying the film’s message on the impacts of climate change.

The production process itself echoes WWF’s message at the climate COP – every fraction of a degree matters. A few fractions of a degree of global warming could mean the difference between a future with coral reefs in our ocean, or where they have been wiped out.