Our planet is constantly under duress from its industrialized population, as climate change affect life around the globe. While some proposed methods of fighting global warming are rather out there – Eat a Mealworm, Save the Planet -- the eponymous awareness-raising event Earth Hour has become something of a global phenomenon, in which thousands of international cities take part by turning off a significant portion of their public lights for an hour, recalling the days before skyscrapers dotted the landscapes.
Though global warming is a slow-moving enemy and nowhere near as bombastic of a threat as a movie villain – for a specific instance, let’s say John Harrison from Star Trek Into Darkness – it would be nice if a rock solid group of heroes could jump in and save the day. The members of the Enterprise weren’t there in person, but their presence was felt, as the Starfleet logo appeared in the sky over London, as StarTrek.com reports. Paramount Pictures gave their support to Earth Hour sponsor, the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF), and seeing as how London is one of the cities attacked by Benedict Cumberbatch’s Harrison, it was a fitting experiment that looked pretty spectacular in the above video, didn’t it?
Ars Electronica Futurelab and Ascending Technologies out of Linz, Austria used 30 quadrocopter drones with LED lights attached, creating a logo that stretched 308 feet, where the lowest point was 118 feet above the ground, and the highest drone hovered at 426 feet in the air.
“WWF is delighted that Paramount is supporting this year’s Earth Hour event,” said Kellie Rollings of the WWF. “Millions of people around the world take part in Earth Hour year on year and we’re always looking for innovative ways to get our message out there. It’s fantastic that Paramount has chosen to mark the hour by dimming their lights at this unusual light display.”
While it certainly added a timely boost of attention to the yearly event, it seems slightly uncouth for Paramount to worm free publicity out of a noteworthy cause like this. And it will almost certainly usher in a wave of drone-inspired advertisements at events in the future. A Clydesdale horse above next year’s un-domed Super Bowl? Perhaps.
The lights will turn off in IMAX theaters around the nation for Into Darkness ‘ May 15 release, and in every other theater two days later on Friday, May 17, 2013. To ramp up the excitement even more, check out the film's latest trailer below.
