It’s time for another Motion Collabs animation project!
Presenting…
Collab 24: Solarpunk
🌞 Hopecore
Climate change is real. The world around us is changing rapidly, but fear not—not all hope is lost!
Imagine an optimistic future where humanity has gotten its collective sh*t together and embraced environmentalism. Instead of destroying forests, we build and coexist with them. Cities grow around trees instead of paving over them. Technology and nature aren't at war — they live in harmony.
Welcome to solarpunk: a literary, artistic, and social movement that imagines a hopeful, sustainable future. No negativity allowed. It envisions a world where humans, animals, and plants can live and thrive together, harmoniously.
The mission:
Concept one piece of technology that exists in this futuristic society - something that fits the theme of sustainability at its core.
Examples:
A robot built from repurposed solar panels, tending a rooftop garden
A high-tech windmill that filters and cleans a nearby river as it spins
A streetlamp that photosynthesizes
A public transit pod woven from mycelium and glass
Your goal is to create a cinematic video that shows how your piece of technology fits within its world. Think depth of field, close-ups, slow-mo — it should feel like a movie or video game trailer. Let moments breathe — no fast cuts.
Characters, animals, and plants are all welcome — this is a world built on coexistence, so let your piece interact with it.
Tone: Warm, optimistic, tactile. Sunlight through leaves, not sterile, dystopian sci-fi. This is a future worth wanting.
To Remember:
Each person is expected to:
Be active on the Discord server for the duration of the collab and remain reachable
Turn on Discord notifications for the collab channel (just for the collab, you can mute us after ;) )
Moodboard:
Need some inspiration? Check out the Pinterest moodboard!
Some examples of solarpunk in films:
The Wild Robot
Most of Studio Ghibli’s films would apply—Princess Mononoke, Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, Castle in the Sky
Annihilation
Logan’s Run
Arco
Dear Alice
Timeline:
September 10th: sign ups live!
September 15th: sign ups close.
September 16th: Collab begins! Start brainstorming ideas
September 30th: WIP share. Please share a work in progress of your submission in Discord. It can be a simple sketch, an outline of an idea, a moodboard, etc.
October 14th: Final submissions due
October 16th: Solarpunk screening!
Specs:
Resolution: 1920x1080
Frame rate: 30 FPS
Format: ProRes 422 (.MOV)
Style: Anything goes! 2d, 3d, mixed media, experimental, collage, you name it.
Audio: Please include a music track and/or SFX
One submission per member
We understand that life can sometimes get in the way of completing a video. If you need to step away for any reason, it will be your responsibility to find a replacement to take over your section.
Ready to create? Join here!
FAQ
Want to join the collab but unsure how it works? Watch the below video!
Read the brief
Join our Discord server where all sign ups and communications occur
Sign up in #sign-ups. Please only sign up if you’re confident you can turn in something by the deadline.
Once you’re successfully signed up, you will be assigned the Current Collab role on Discord. To check, click on your username and it will show up in your roles section. This may take a few minutes to show up. Contact a Collab Overlord about any issues.
You will then gain permission to the #current-collab chat where you can talk with the other collab participants and share your videos for feedback and critique. We heavily encourage everyone to be active on Discord while the collabs are happening to make sure you don’t miss any important announcements. It’s also fun to join the collab chat!
Please keep all questions within Discord and avoid direct messaging the Collab Overlords. Chances are, someone else has the same question and can benefit from seeing the answer publicly.
Remember — you don’t need be a pro to join a collab - they’re open to anyone regardless of experience.