A day in the life of climate storytellers Jack Harries and Alice Aedy at Earthrise Studio

The media platform and creative studio walk HUNGER through a typical day in their London offices.

Trailblazing media platform and creative studio Earthrise have been a major player in communicating how we navigate the climate crisis via the mediums of photography, filmmaking and design. Founded in 2020 by Finn Harries, Alice Aedy and Jack Harries, Earthrise is home to an 8-member team who, among documenting the climate crisis, aim to represent diverse and marginalised voices. And to great success too, earlier this week they were named amongst Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Europe Social Impact list 2023. 

But as we all know, it’s not always easy to keep up with those throwing around data about the climate crisis, and this is something Earthrise is aware of — their goal is to humanise the issue in a digestible and unique manner. The organisation takes pride in shedding light on the diverse experiences of those living on the frontlines of climate change and the activists devoted to tackling it. Here, the bright minds behind it all take us behind the scenes of a typical day at their very busy studio.

8:59 am

It’s 8:59am, and Chloe Puttock, Earthrise’s Studio Manager, is already yanking open the heavy metal doors enclosing the Hackney-based creative and media studio. As sunlight (on a good day) spills into the cosy office, the signs on the glass door front are illuminated: “Stories for a New World. Another World is Possible.” After stopping by their favourite local cafés like La Bouche or Mare Street Market, Earthrise’s 8-member team (all women except for Jack) start to trickle in. As the coats come off and pile in the corner, everyone starts to plan for the day ahead.

10:30am

Alice and Jack gather everyone for a daily team debrief, checking in on the day’s priorities and upcoming, longer-term projects. By the time the check-in ends (circa 11:08am), the team have discussed projects ranging from editorial partnerships, documentaries, impact campaigns, consultancy work, and upcoming events in collaboration with cultural institutions, which show the breadth and variety of the work that the team are doing. 

Alice Aedy, CEO and Co-Founder of Earthrise, is a documentary Director/Producer focused on social and climate issues. Alice leads Earthrise’s overall strategy, ensuring any projects, campaigns and collaborations are aligned with the broader business goals. Speaking on her passion behind Earthrise, Alice says, “Why do I believe in what Earthrise are doing? Because I believe in the power of storytelling to shape culture and for culture to shape the system. We tell stories for a new world, stories from the future which help us navigate the now.” 

11:45 am

Things start to get busy, with Jack setting up his gear to prep for a shoot happening in the space this afternoon. The Earthrise Administrative Assistant, Yasmin Jafar, is always on hand and running behind the scenes to ensure everyone has what they need to make the day run smoothly, especially on shoot and content days. Chloe Puttock, Earthrise’s studio manager, is the go-to guru across all the admin and all the projects! It hits lunchtime, and the Earthrise team are hungry; after refuelling at Mare Street Market (again!), the team take a walk around London Fields, top up their caffeine and are back at it. 

1pm

After lunch, Joi Lee, a journalist and Earthrise’s Head of Editorial, is on a call with a global team of freelancers. She’s reviewing the latest episode of Spotlight, a 12-part explainer series on climate solutions presented by Jack and Alice. A year in the making, the project is in partnership with Bloomberg Originals, showing Earthrise’s evolution from social media content creation to co-production with media giants such as Bloomberg. There have been many moving parts on this project, and it’s been a major project for the Earthrise team.

2:30pm

Jack is the Creative Director and Co-Founder of Earthrise and is a documentary filmmaker and creative. Working closely with Joi, Jack’s focus this week is developing a new YouTube video series on the global energy crisis, ensuring the storytelling is done in a responsible, accurate and impactful manner. Discussing his approach to storytelling, Jack says, “Our job at Earthrise is to communicate the most important, impactful stories in a straightforward and accessible way. These topics can be confusing and overwhelming, so we rely on powerful imagery, graphics and video to cut through and humanise the stories we tell.”

3:30 pm

Isabella Noero, Head of Collaborative Partnerships, meets with Chloe and Alice to discuss Choose Earth, a fundraising campaign led by Indigenous Brazilian leaders, artists, and activists fighting for the future of our planet. Built in collaboration with partner Choose Love, Choose Earth is now in its third year running, experimenting with innovative Indigenous-led storytelling to challenge western narratives and amplify Indigenous wisdom in the curation of global environmental solutions. Choose Earth represents a growing ambition of Earthrise: to become a key player in the impact and cultural space. This year the campaign will see an Indigenous and non-Indigenous team come together to create storytelling and visual content to push fundraising.

5:30pm

Before you know it, it’s already 5.30 pm. Beatriz Patarata, Earthrise’s Art Director, is in a creative session with Violet Wilson, Earthrise’s Video Editor and Motion Designer. If you’ve looked at Earthrise’s Instagram and appreciated the look and feel, it’s almost single-handedly been done by these two. Today, the focus is on original Earthrise content, and Violet is working on developing a new monthly climate news strand fronted by Joi for the @earthrise.studio Instagram account.

The team leave around 5.30 – 6pm, with some going onto evening events such as the premiere of Fashion Reimagined, a documentary following trailblazing fashion designer Amy Powney on her journey to create a sustainable fashion collection.

Writer
Chris Saunders