Q&A: Filmmaker Michael Brown Documents Shrinking Glaciers

If you ever visit your local museum’s IMAX or click on to the Discovery Channel you have most likely seen Michael Brown’s award-winning cinematography. Working on such projects as IMAX: Return to Everest 3D, The Alps IMAX and Storm Chasers for the Discovery Channel, Brown’s usual day at the office sees him hanging out of helicopters with 100 pound cameras and climbing the rock faces of Nepal. Consistently grabbing up press for having one of the coolest jobs on earth, he also has some strong convictions about how to protect it:

CS: In your role as filmmaker, you have been a lot of places most of us don’t get to travel to. What have you seen that makes a case for climate change?

MB: I have been to a lot of glaciers in the mountains and polar regions. They are all shrinking. It is easy to see, they are like bulldozers that have stopped and started backing up, leaving a pile of dirt with a big empty space behind. I have also seen a lot of the world from the air. Our atmosphere is a milky white in many places. This opaque air reflects the sun back into space. It’s a scary thing.

CS: You mentioned you had strong opinions about the environment. When did it all change for you?

MB: My parents, though they divorced when I was young, were both conservation minded. Mom fought dams in Montana, Dad battled for wilderness in Colorado. I grew up in an activist household and came to expect that I would be the same.

CS: Recently you were invited to work with the Extreme Ice Survey expedition. What is it and why does it matter?

MB: The Extreme Ice Survey is a photography project founded and lead by James Balog. He is documenting glaciers in the Northern Hemisphere with stills and time lapse. The time lapses are the interesting aspect in that they allow us to ’see’ glaciers move and in all cases retreat.

CS: What was the most striking event you witnessed on the expedition?

MB: We were lucky enough to be the first people ever to be present and see when a glacial melt water lake drained down through the Greenland Ice Cap. The ice cap melts down about five feet in three months every summer. It produces a heck of a lot of water. The water flows across and sometimes forms huge lakes. These lakes eventually reach a critical depth and the ice fractures and an entire lake drains down in a few hours. These are a critical part of the hydrologic cycle and scientists are looking at these for answers as to why the ice is moving and flowing toward the sea faster in general.

CS: When you travel to remote areas, what do you do to minimize your impact?

MB: We are constantly aware of our impact when traveling. Helicopters are hideously expensive anyway so we can only afford a minimum time. Ironically we are often in competition with oil and mineral exploration for helicopter time. Money aside, booking the machines is a real challenge.

For myself, I have seen too much in the process of making films and helping other people make films about energy. I feel that between the polluted water from mountain top removal, rivers destroyed by dams and wars in oil producing regions, our energy comes at too high a cost. Climate change is but one aspect. I am almost silly in my militant quest turning off lights, riding a bike to work and generally reducing my own energy use.

CS: I noticed visiting the Serac Adventure Films office in Boulder, Colorado there are a lot of bikes and recycling bins, how do you apply what you have learned on your expeditions to the home office?

MB: We care deeply about these issues. I will make hiring decisions based on whether or not someone is willing and able to ride a bike to work. I don’t like to hire people who have to drive.

CS: What are some of the best films you recommend on the subject?

MB: It might be a surprise but the most effective environmental films are disguised as narrative features. Environmental films, especially documentaries tend to preach to the converted. Some surprises come from Hollywood, Soylent Green, V for Vendatta, Fern Gully, March of the Penguins and the Matrix are all films that increase our appreciation and make powerful points while also being entertainment.

- Carole Snow Wefler

This is our 2nd post from guest blogger Carole Snow Wefler. If you’d like to write for us, send an email to dorothee@see3.net.

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