National Geographic

The Amazon, often seen solely as an exotic wilderness, is intricately tied to climate change, biodiversity, and the cultural history of indigenous communities. Into the Amazon was a two-year expedition undertaken by 17 National Geographic explorers. They traveled 4,000 miles across the extensive Amazon region, collecting crucial information about its forest, mountains, river and inhabitants. This research was then distilled and shared via an interactive digital experience.

Gladeye’s creative team engaged in research, and interviews with National Geographic’s scientists and explorers, to gather a range of insights into the Amazon’s ecosystems and history. This included understanding complex scientific concepts, such as the Amazon’s water cycles and biodiversity, and translating these into accessible digital content.

Gladeye’s design for Into the Amazon leveraged National Geographic’s vast catalogue of photography, illustrations, and footage, immersing users in the Amazon’s complex ecosystems. This unparalleled access allowed us to present the Amazon’s story with stunning visuals, guiding users through each layer of the rainforest. Through interactive elements, we reimagined traditional media to create a digital journey where science and exploration come to life in visually captivating ways.

We used terrain elevation data from NASA’s Shuttle Radar Topography Mission and satellite imagery from the European Space Agencies Copernicus Sentinel-2 mission to display the journey of one of the two Andean bears being tracked via GPS Collars. The elevation data was converted into a 3D model of the terrain and optimised so that the level of detail was concentrated along the bear's path. The satellite imagery was then transformed, upscaled and simplified.

We used WebGL extensively across the entire site to seamlessly mix 2D and 3D elements in one interactive experience. To do this, we developed our own animation orchestration framework that allowed us to animate WebGL and HTML/React elements alongside each other.

Into the Amazon immersive and interactive interface transforms viewers into participants. You are taken on a journey like no other with sideways movements, scrolls through 3D-like and lidar scenes and moments of discovery and delight. This multimedia, multisensory, experiences aims to make accessible the important work done by the scientist in the Amazon and highlight why it is more important than ever to protect our environment and its many incredible ecosystems.

• Illustrations by Fernando G. Baptista, Matt Twombly, Liz Sisk and Monica Serrano

• Maps by Matthew W. Chwastyk

• Photography by Thomas Peschak and André Dib

• Videos by Otto Whitehead