Over the weekend, on Saturday night, the iconic Empire State Building in New York City was transformed into a moving tribute to endangered animals around the world. This spectacular light show, called Projecting Change: The Empire State Building, was organized by director Louie Psihoyos and producer Fisher Stevens of the Oscar-winning documentary The Cove, a film that explored dolphin hunting in Japan. The duo collaborated with Obscura Digital co-founder Travis Threlkel on the projection, which was illuminated from 9PM to 12AM and featured a looping reel of “Noah’s ark” animals.
Endangered creatures both large and small were depicted on the 33-story structure, including a black rhino, a humpback whale, and a bald eagle. Cecil the lion, whose untimely death has recently made international news, was also included in the series. The projections serve as a companion to Psihoyos’s upcoming documentary, called Racing Extinction, scheduled to air on the Discovery Channel in December.
Producing the awe-inspiring sight was no easy feat – 40 stacked, 20,000-lumen projectors were placed on the roof a building on West 31st street. Together, they turned the Empire State Building into a shining beacon of hope for these voiceless animals, acting as reminder of how little time some of these species have left. It’s up to us to do our part and save them from extinction.
Above image credit: @discoverychannel
Image credit: Joel Sartore and Ron Robinson/Obscura Digital
Image credit: @tp2115
Image credit: @andrew_bass7
Image credit: @oceanicpreservationsociety
Image credit: @jess_609_nj
Image credit: @j_leigh71
Image credit: @wendynuale
Image credit: @samhorine
Image credit: @twistedlamb
Racing Extinction: Website | Instagram
via [The Dodo, The New York Times]