SEETREE at the WORLD CONGRESS of SCIENCE and FACTUAL PRODUCERS

17.12.2024

Last week, Managing Director Claudia Zenkert was in Marrakech, Morroco, at the World Congress of Science and Factual Producers. Claudia was representing our wonderful projects, F*ck the Lawn and Ocean.Contact on two panel discussions. And the reception and feedback was amazing, with wonderful discussions about how our industry has to evolve to face both the implementation of AI and the Creator Economy that is now taking over.

SEETREE is an Official Network Partner to the German UN Ocean Decade Commitee 

26.09.2024

SEETREE GmbH and mixed.world GmbH are now official network partners to the German UN Ocean Decade Committee! We want to do our part in the UN Ocean Decade (2021 – 2030) by developing Ocean.Contact into an important ocean awareness tool!

Ocean conservation starts with awareness: We only protect what we know and love! Since 99,9 % of the people on this planet will never get the chance to experience life beneath the surface, the ocean and its marine habitats remain a true underdog! Most people do not have any emotional connection, despite the fact that the ocean is one of our biggest and most important ecosystems. We want to change that: Ocean.Contact brings life-sized, photo-realistic marine life into your homes and into public spaces! You will experience underwater ecosystems in a safe and comfortable environment. Protection starts with caring, so get ready to fall in love with the ocean!

F*CK THE LAWN gets first season in Ireland

01.07.2024

Our snappy (r)evolution of gardening shows is going into production! We have teamed up with the wonderful Irish production company New Decade TV & Film to get our piloting season of the ground in Ireland. The ground-breaking landscape designer and founder of WeAretheArk.org, Mary Reynolds, is designing the ARKs for our first seven protagonists, and we are so proud to bring native plants and wildlife back into our gardens. Aedín Ní Thiarnaigh will host our Irish version, and it will be called Rhéabhlóid ar Chúl an Ti, which translates into Backgarden Revolution. Watch out for it on social media (#f_ckthelawn, #ar_chul_an_ti) and TG4 in 2025.

Ocean.Contact World Premiere at the VIP Terminal of Frankfurt Airport 

01.06.2024

The last couple of days have been an incredible rush! On Wednesday, we launched our unique Ocean.Contact mixed reality experience at the VIP Terminal at Frankfurt Airport. We introduced the world’s first interactive, multiuser ocean experience that introduced the guests to the beauty and fragility of the ocean ecosystem. Ocean.Contact brings life-sized, photo-realistic marine animals into our world. Up to six people can share the experience and interact together, closely examining the shown species.  

This event marks the first milestone on a beautiful and important journey. We want to turn Ocean.Contact into an edutaining tool for ocean awareness and implement live-campaigning and sponsoring, alongside an interactive ocean map. We are also looking to expand the experience from HMDs (Head-mounted-devices) to BYOD (Bring-your-own-device) to make it accessible to everyone.  

Filming at the Arctic Circle for Pathfinder

25.03.2024

Our crew is underway in Norway, filming Arctic foxes in and around the Varanger National Park for our Pathfinder feature documentary and our science documentary Land of the Arctic Fox. Snow blizzards, white outs and prime views to a beautiful and ragged landscape included. The project will be delivered in December 2025 and will beairing in 2026 on several international outlets including SVT, PBS/WNET, and arte. We are also planning a theatrical release in Sweden and Estonia.

Pathfinder Case Study in Tallinn

13.10.2023

In the framework of the Ice and Fire Docs workshop, Claudia Zenkert and her co-production partners Katri Rannastu and Joosep Matjus were invited for a case study on their international multi-genre documentary project Pathfinder. Talking about the co-production structure, the workflow and how it is to work together transparently across three countries. SEETREE was invited over by the Estonian Film Institute and the Estonian Creative Europe MEDIA Manager Anu Ernits. The European co-production between Foxwalk (Sweden), Wildkino (Estonia), and SEETREE (Germany) will be delivered to WNET, arte, SVT and Fremantle, among others in December 2025. 

Wrapping Up the Falling Walls Foundation Summer School

01.10.2023

Claudia Zenkert was invited to moderate the final Pitch Event of the brand-new Falling Walls Foundation Summer School in Hannover. The Falling Walls Foundation partnered up with the Hannover Re Foundation to bring scientists, lawyers, doctors, engineers, and science communicators from over 21 countries together for a series of workshops and pitch training, all under the motto Global Solutions for Water Security. 

We need really skilled science communicators that understand and embrace the different corporate landscapes and media outlets, as well as flourishing cross-trade networks across the globe to learn from each other and drive change. 

Maddie’s Urban Jungles is Recognized for its Green Production Value 

15.08.2023

Our pilot episode got recognition at this year’s Jackson Wild Award for our green production strategy! Though we are extremely proud that we are not only aiming but delivering the highest standards of sustainable production – we wish that more production companies would be pro-active in doing so. 

Over 450 films entered this competition and three (!!) got recognized for their green production efforts. We as an industry must do better. 

Maddie’s Urban Jungles is Nominated at Jackson Wild

13.08.2023

Our pilot episode is a 2023 Jackson Wild finalist! The wonderful Maddie Moate is nominated for Best Onscreen Talent – we have known all along but are extremely happy for the well-deserved international recognition. Creating a format that inspires kids and families to go outside and embrace the nature around them – and doing so on an eye-to-eye level – wouldn’t have been possible without her.  

Over 450 films entered the competition, with over 1.100 category entries from 74 different countries around the world. The finalists were selected by more than 200 international judges. The winners will be announced on September 28th at the Jackson Wild Summit Awards Gala. SEETREE is running against the production giants Silverback (BBC), Wildstar (NatGeo), and Day’s Edge (PBS) and is the definite underdog. So fingers crossed!

You haven’t seen it? Check it out: https://youtu.be/C5rjbfAPB64?si=LiFGLoalXOG8YnC6 

Meet SEETREE at the Pridelands Wildlife Film Festival in Watamu, Kenya  

21.07.2023

SEETREE’s Managing Director Claudia Zenkert is heading to Kenya, to attend this years’ Pridelands Wildlife Film Festival (more information under www.pwff.africa ). The festival will take place from the 26^th to the 29^th of July in Watamu, Kenya. Claudia Zenkert will moderate a session on international co-productions and how we can evolve the narrative of African storytelling. She will be joined on the panel by Dr. Irene Amoke, Executive Director of the Kenya Wildlife Trust; filmmaker Maurice Oniango, and filmmaker and co-director of the festival Fiona Tande.  

Happy Holidays and a great start into 2023  

22.12.2022

SEETREE is now two years old, and we are so grateful that we are going strong! It has been an amazing year where we not only produced and launched the pilot to our first nature/ edutainment format for kids; but also extended our collaborations to the wonderful team from The Big Sky, the inspiring Irish production company New Decade, Alexandre Soullier from Bonne Pioche (finally!), Katri Rannastu and Joosep Matjus from Wildkino in Estonia, and the Canadian power duo from Zoot pictures. We started to take our first steps into the world of augmented reality with the tech masterminds from mixed.world, and to top it off, we joined forces with the amazing landscape architect Desiree Theriault to bring our Future Homes format to North America.

We cannot wait to continue our journey and turn all those wonderful ideas into real content for traditional and avantgarde broadcasters, online platforms, and other publishing areas.

And who would have thought that SEETREE would venture more deeply into kids/family programming – encouraged by the success of Maddie’s Urban Jungles, we have quite a few wonderful ideas cooking… to be revealed in 2023.

To sum it up: 2022 was a continuing privilege and made us hungry for more!

But for the next two weeks, we will retreat to family life, happy overeating, lush long walks, board games, and good books. Don’t forget to reflect, as we seem to always look forward and forget to appreciate the past. We wish all of you equally wonderful holidays with your loved-ones and a marvelous start into an exciting 2023!

Claudia Zenkert is the Head of Study Film for the newly founded Silbersalz Intstitute  

16.12.2022

This year the Documentary Campus gGmbH is presenting The Silbersalz Institute, a brand-new training program in cooperation with MC2 Grenoble, Hexagone Scène National and Pariscience. This program is tailored to encourage international scientists to engage and train their media communication skills.  

SEETREE’s Managing Director Claudia Zenkert is announced to become the first Head of Study Film 2022/23. She will mentor and support the selected scientist together with a team of skilled experts and help them create media anchoring points for their research. 

Learn more about the Silbersalz Institute here

More than 4mio views for Maddie’s Urban Jungles 

12.12.2022

The pilot episode of our Maddie’s Urban Jungles has gotten over four million views! Our (yet) unrecognized brand is right up there with YouTube Original’s signature nature brand Coyote Peterson’s Wild Field Trip. 

We did a little dive into the statistics and found that we have a 57% female viewership – which is amazing! And over 51% of the viewers are US based, followed by the UK, Australia, and Canada (with the big cities making up the majority) – which means that we are meeting our intended audiences. To top it off, we have an incredible amount of returning viewers. It proves that there is a need for fresh, eye-to-eye level exploration and nature edutainment. 

Thanks again to the YouTube team around Craig Hunter! And of course, none of this would have been possible without the incredible Maddie Moate, my partner Brady Valashinas, and our wonderful crew. 

Find the pilot episode here: Maddie’s Urban Jungles on YouTube

Meet SEETREE at the WORLD CONGRESS of SCIENCE AND FACTUAL PRODUCERS

10.11.2022

SEETREE’s Managing Director Claudia Zenkert will be attending this year’s World Congress of Science and Factual Producers (WCSFP). The congress will take place from November 28 th until December 2 nd in Glasgow, Scotland. Besides the classical sessions and case studies, the congress is also focusing on diversity and sustainability. Claudia Zenkert will join Lee Constable on a panel, called The planet is dying – so what? – discussing new ways of sustainable production and how we best reach people in different social bubbles.

Maddie’s Urban Jungles Premieres on Youtube 

23.09.2022

We are thrilled to announce that the pilot episode to our wonderful nature edutainment format Maddie’s Urban Jungles is now available on YouTube! For this episode, the wonderful Maddie Moate is exploring the green spaces and local wildlife in Austin, Texas, and London. She is guided by four local experts, Zoe and Barrett in Austin, and Cherise and Max in London. Whether by bike, in kayaks, by public transport or on foot – fun and excitement is guaranteed! Check it out and spread the word!

Pilot to Maddie’s Urban Jungles in Produktion 

14.06.2022

The pilot episode of our wonderful nature edutainment format Maddie’s Urban Jungles is in production. For this episode, the wonderful Maddie Moate is exploring the green spaces and local wildlife in Austin, Texas, and London. She is guided by four local experts, Zoe and Barrett in Austin, and Cherise and Max in London. Whether by bike, in kayaks, by public transport or on foot – fun and excitement is guaranteed! 

The pilot episode will air later this year on YouTube and the YouTube Kids App. So, keep your ears pricked and your eyes open. 

SEETREE Produces for YouTube Originals 

13.05.2022

YouTube unveils slate of new kids and family originals, and SEETREE is part of it! 

Today, YouTube announced its new slate in Variety Magazine and our nature edutainment format Maddie’s Urban Jungles got a commission for a pilot episode. The show features kid explorers alongside host Maddie Moate as they seek out wild refuges and green sanctuaries within their home cities. The pilot episode will air later this year on YouTube and the YouTube Kids App.

SEETREE is now Albert Trained

17.01.2022

It is in our best interest to start producing in a sustainable way, limiting our carbon footprint wherever possible! So, we started by completing the Albert Training end of last year. All of SEETREE’s productions will be done by using the Albert system and aim to be certified. We will also exploit additional ways to offset our Carbon Footprint and implement as much environmental awareness into our daily lives as possible. 

Happy Holidays and a great start into 2022

22.12.2021

We cannot believe it has already been over a year, since SEETREE went live! And what a ride it has already been: we found amazing partners in Brady Valashinas, Carl Herdenberg, Nha-Uyen Chau, Tom and Michael Attanasio, Aris Stoulil, and Claudia and Hendrik Schmitt; we’ve developed nine amazing unscripted projects and three scripted projects – all coming with extensive multimedia packages; got one development deal; and already roughly financed two major projects (stand by for news there). We are thrilled for the journey to continue and the Herculean tasks that head our way.  

To sum it up: 2021 was a privilege and made us hungry for more! 

But for the next two weeks, we will retreat to family life, happy overeating, lush long walks, board games, and good books. We wish all of you equally wonderful holidays with your loved-ones and a marvelous start into an exciting 2022!

SEETREE teams up for Global Adaventure

07.12.2021

We are thrilled to announce that SEETREE has teamed up with the multi-award-winning team from The Jetlagged for an epic ocean awareness project. Together with Claudia and Hendrik Schmitt we will go on an investigative journey that will follow the ocean’s currents, unravel the problems, show solutions, and connect the dots on a global level. With stunning, intimate insights this project will prove that protecting the ocean is not just about the mysterious beauty of the marine world – it is about our very own survival on this planet.

71% and Rising will be the greatest manifesto for the protection of the ocean in the UN Decade of the Ocean, and it is designed to reach the masses: documentary, feature film, web series, VR360° experiences, augmented reality and a transmedia education package are all part of the project.

A trailer and exposes are available, and we are looking for co-production partners. Want to become part of the 71%? Contact us.

Green Screen 2021 Recap

17.09.2021

That’s a wrap on our first in-person film festival in over 1 1/2 years. And it was amazing! Great people, interesting conversations, new input … and seeing lovely films!
Congratulations to all the winners – so well deserved! I hope we can stay in touch and start making the most of our ideas!

SEETREE Goes Scripted

The first Scripted Co-Development between SEETREE and Night in Los Angeles

20.08.2021

We are proud to announce that SEETREE has teamed up with the American writers/producers Tom and Michael Attanasio from Night in Los Angeles to develop, finance and produce several scripted projects. Claudia Zenkert has known and worked with the brothers from New York for over three years and they have successfully developed based-on-true-stories materials.  

SEETREE is always trying to fully develop ideas across all media, and we see huge potential in the cross-fertilization between the unscripted and scripted genre.  

Get ready for the evolution of home-building formats: Meet Kaylie Salvatori and Future Homes (WT) 

18.08.2021

SEETREE aims to not only find new ways to inspire awareness and action in vast audiences, but also evolve existing formats and their ways of storytelling. This is why SEETREE created a new lifestyle/ architecture format called Future Homes (WT) that will introduce and embrace the principles of regenerative architecture and define 21^st century living! We also aim to work with a wide variety of indigenous talent, both in front and behind the camera, and we are starting this journey with Australian indigenous landscape architect Kaylie Salvatori, who we’ve teamed up with to host the format.  

A trailer and an introductory interview with Kaylie are available and we are looking for co-production partners. Interested? Contact us. 

It’s a Wrap! 

What a treat it was to be screening films, as part of the nomination jury, for this year’s Green Screen Nature Film Festival  

27.05.2021

Over 230 films from 57 countries were submitted to this year’s Green Screen Nature Film Festival and Claudia Zenkert had the privilege to be part of an amazing nomination jury. Along with eleven other jury members, the nominees were picked for the award categories. The results will be published at the end of the month on https://www.greenscreen-festival.de/. And if you want to learn more about why and how the jury has decides, what impulses they got from the submissions and what trends are surfacing – here are the news articles published by the Eckernförder Nachrichten and the Stadtnachrichten. 

Why a film maker is riding the school bus 

A Portrait of SEETREE’S Founder Claudia Zenkert for the Kölner Stadtanzeiger/ Euskirchener Rundschau 

26.05.2021

The Founder of the production company is talking about the challenges of setting up an international business in a rural area and how the global pandemic has helped her with that. Whether SEETREE will be able to stay there or move headquarters to the near-by media cities of Cologne or Bonn is yet to be decided.   
read more… 

Businesswoman to Businesswomen 

A Conversation with Claudia Zenkert at the IHK Bonn/Rhein-Sieg Founder’s Day 

09.04.2021

It’s a long and rocky road from the first idea to a running business. Especially when you’re a woman! Twice a year, the Chamber of Trade and Commerce (IHK) Bonn/Rhein-Sieg is hosting a Founder’s Day for women, with sessions, seminars and talks – all centered around, how women get their ideas turned into successful businesses.  This time, Claudia Zenkert is sharing her experiences alongside brilliant other businesswomen in a panel session. For her it is essential to create a community of support and exchange with others, and to encourage women to take the step into independence. 

Interested women from all kinds of industries and backgrounds are invited to join this hybrid-event on Friday, April 16^th 2021 and take part in lively conversations that will help you shape out your ideas, organize the process and find answers to your questions.

Njálla – Land of the Arctic Fox (WT) Open for Co-Production

26.02.2021

Arctic foxes are one of the flagship species of the effects of climate change, but very little is known about their way of life and their role in this land of ice and snow. Now this is going to change: This documentary will introduce you to the Fennoscandian arctic fox in an incredibly intimate way, as we follow a vixen and her litter through the first year of the young pups’ life – facing habitat loss and a cruel invader from the South.  

Contact us and get access to our trailer, pitch deck and exposé and let’s start a conversation how you can become a part of this stunning project! 

First Glimpse into the world of Wild Child (WT)

07.01.2021

This is a first glimpse into the upcoming trailer of our project Wild Child (WT)! We are so thrilled to have found our perfect family:
The Welch Family in the South of California.
Wild Child (WT) is a beautiful documentary series that will show you nature and the wild through the eyes of children. Can’t wait to find the right partners and produce it together with the truly gifted Brady Valashinas, and Aris Stoulil. Stay tuned for the final Trailer!

Happy Holidays and a Great Start into 2021

22.12.2020

A crazy year draws to a close and the SeeTree-Team and its partners wish everyone a very happy Christmas, some quality time with your loved-ones and a great start into a better year! We are looking forward to working with old and new partners in the new year and getting some unique projects off the ground.

SeeTree will be at the WCSFP

08.11.2020

SeeTree will be at the World Congress of Science and Factual Producers. We are looking forward for three days of exciting sessions and inspiring discussions. And we would love to meet you, so let’s arrange a meeting. 

Official Launch of the new SeeTree Website

08.11.2020

Our Website is finally online. Feel free to share feedback and bug reports – it’s highly appreciated.

Company launches in times of Covid – Interview with the official magazine of the Chamber of Trade and Commerce.

12.10.2020

What makes anyone found a company in the midst of a pandemic? How to best organize it and how can the Chamber of Trade and Commerce assist founders in getting their business started properly – Covid-19 or not? SeeTree founder Claudia Zenkert on preparations, market changes and helpful collaborations. 

In the midst of a global pandemic and the fear of a devastating economic recession, the founders of SeeTree prepare the launch of their new company. Their business model: one story, several media outlets. SeeTree’s mission is to make the most out of a unique story, by developing its potential in full medial concepts, so they work for multiple audiences – from TV broadcasters and streaming platforms, museums and schools, to public institutions and companies.  
read more… 

Founding in times of Covid – Interview in the Bonner Generalanzeiger 

10.08.2020

The Bonner Generalanzeiger asked the question: how recent founders are coping with the global pandemic and the accompanying economic crisis? SeeTree founder Claudia Zenkert was interviewed along with two other founders about new business models, strategies and support in this unpredictable time. 

Founding a company takes guts. The 38-year-old Claudia Zenkert is optimistic. She is currently preparing for the launch of her media production company SeeTree. Zenkert and her business partner are also launching in the midst of the global pandemic, an endeavor well-thought through and with lots of industry experience. 
read more…