Samsung and SHFT ‘Focus on the Big Picture’ with New Sustainability Series Available in Brilliant 8K Resolution

Samsung Electronics America today debuted a new content series in collaboration with SHFT— the award-winning multimedia platform founded by film producer Peter Glatzer –  to share inspirational stories from game-changers in the world of sustainability. Filmed in brilliant 8K resolution, the series – titled “Focusing on the Big Picture” – immerses viewers in rich storytelling and brilliant cinematic detail, and aims to inspire them to discover new ways of living more sustainably.

“Focusing on the Big Picture” features documentary shorts that highlight unique voices in the sustainability conversation – from musical artists (Moby; AY Young) and landscape artists and painters (Zaria Forman), to notable culinary voices (Chef Ray Garcia) and performers (Xiuhtezcatl Martinez). Each episode offers an intimate look into the ways that these passionate environmentalists are using their success to have a positive impact on the world around them.

Through immersive storytelling, Samsung and SHFT are bringing attention to the many varied ways that sustainable practices can be woven into everyday lives.

As further demonstration of the consumer tech brand’s commitment to raising awareness around the importance of sustainability in our lives, Samsung is a Founding Partner in the relaunch of SHFT.com. The newly reimagined platform, which was created 12 years ago to bring more attention to eco-conscious products and practices, debuts today with a wide range of content on the culture of today’s environment.

“When art and technology work together, it pushes us into the future,” said Glatzer. “Our series with Samsung, ‘Focusing on the Big Picture,’ is the collaboration of a shared mission between SHFT, the storytellers, and Samsung, the leader in home entertainment and innovation. The artists we profile in the series bring inspiring stories we want to tell and Samsung’s technology is the ideal engine to deliver these stories – in the highest quality –  to so many people. Samsung’s commitment to a sustainable future is evident in the company’s products, processes and practices. We applaud them for that and are honored to be in this partnership together.”

“As a global corporate citizen and leader in consumer electronics, Samsung brings this same innovative spirit to sustainability. Samsung has a comprehensive sustainability commitment with dedicated efforts underway around the world – from our pledge to achieve net zero emissions by 2050 to incorporating more recycled materials in our products and packaging,” said Mark Newton, Head of Corporate Sustainability for Samsung Electronics America. “Our collaboration with SHFT helps advance our shared effort to raise awareness about sustainability.”

Learn more about Samsung and sustainability.

“Focusing on the Big Picture” is available to stream in stunning 8K resolution on Samsung Neo QLED 8K TVs via Samsung TV Plus, Samsung’s free ad-supported television service. Content from the series be experienced in 8K at Best Buy stores across the country and the episodes can also be viewed in 4K on compatible Samsung Smart TVs, monitors, and Galaxy devices, as well as the newly relaunched SHFT.com platform.

“The collaboration between Samsung and SHFT provides a tremendous opportunity to bring important messages about sustainability to the forefront using the power of Samsung and our leading technology,” noted Sarah Larsen Tobin, Head of Home Entertainment Marketing, Samsung Electronics Americas. “By combining SHFT’s impactful storytelling with Samsung TVs, we’re able to showcase inspirational people making a difference in the world while also providing more content choices to experience the brilliance of 8K at home.”

Learn more about Samsung and SHFT here.

“Focusing on the Big Picture” features stories from diverse voices, including:

• Moby is a musician and activist whose wildly popular ambient-pop albums and DJ work has earned him top billing with EDM fans all over the world for decades. An avid and vocal environmentalist, Moby personifies the idea of using your platform – whatever it may be – to draw attention to issues.  SHFT has been keeping up with Moby’s efforts to help shape a better world and recently sat down with the artist in his ‘forest’ to learn more about how he uses his worldwide reach to amplify the causes that mean the most to him.
• Xiuhtezcatl Martinez (“X”): is a Hip Hop artist and environmental activist, and a voice of a generation impacted by climate change. At the age of 13, X was given an award for community service by President Obama for his sustainability efforts and has spoken before the UN General Assembly. Lately, X has been making music, and as you’ll hear in this episode, his music aims to raise awareness around the environment.
• Chef Ray Garcia has become known for his diversity and boldness in the culinary world. With his newly opened Asterid at Walt Disney Concert Hall, Garcia incorporates the flavors and cultures of Los Angeles into his dishes while emphasizing local, seasonal ingredients and embracing the relationship and patterns of nature in his menus. In this episode, we see Ray prepare a signature dish and take a trip to Girl and Dug Farm, where he sources ingredients and introduces us to some rare and wonderful produce that brings us from farm to table.
• AY Young is an activist musician whose Battery Tour is a series of concerts powered by 100% renewable energy. By using solar power to charge the tour, he raises money to bring power to areas around the world where there was none. AY’s tour got the attention of the United Nations who tapped him to be a UN Sustainable Goals Leader for the United States. His story is about the power of change, both literally and figuratively.

• Zaria Forman is that rare artist whose work transcends the powerful message it conveys and speaks to the soul of the viewer. Her mission is to move people emotionally with her hyper realistic, large-scale pastel drawings to document the effects of climate change. Her subject is typically ice and water in all its beauty and grandeur. In this episode Zaria flies over Antarctica with NASA to gain a new perspective and then translates the experience to her canvas.
• Mark Newton is the head of corporate sustainability at Samsung Electronics America. A PhD chemist by training, Mark has been working with companies to help them become more sustainable long before it was in the zeitgeist. In this episode, Mark walks us through the ways that Samsung incorporates sustainability into its products and creates positive impact by putting the Samsung core values into practice.

Samsung TV Plus is a free ad-supported streaming video service of news, sports, entertainment, comedy, reality, movies and lifestyle programming via premium linear channels and on-demand content. Samsung TV Plus is available in 24 countries and over 490M+ devices globally.

About SHFT

SHFT is a lifestyle brand founded in 2010 by film producer Peter Glatzer with a mission to create and aggregate content that entertains, inspires, and nudges sustainable ideas into mainstream culture. As filmmakers who feel the sustainability imperative, SHFT sets out to bring creative narratives to express the changes we wanted to see and are, gratefully, starting to observe. We feel that art and culture are powerful and inspiring means to move people emotionally and that SHFT is our particular tool to tell these stories.