What Exposure Labs does

Exposure Labs is a Boulder, Colorado-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit social impact film studio founded in 2012 by Jeff Orlowski-Yang and Larissa Rhodes. The studio produces feature-length and short-form documentary films — including the Chasing franchise (Chasing Ice, Chasing Coral, Chasing Time) and The Social Dilemma — and pairs each release with a purpose-built impact campaign designed to drive awareness, policy, and behavioral change around climate and technology issues. Its deliverables are narrative-driven rather than technology-driven; the underlying "platform" is a repeatable production-and-impact methodology that combines documentary craft with structured engagement programming.

The organization operates a film-plus-impact model that extends well beyond single releases. Complementary programs include the Climate Story Lab (workshops training climate organizers in narrative and impact techniques), the Film in the Field program (screening and engagement experiences), and the 1-on-1s Program (one-on-one support for impact producers). Films are distributed across theatrical, festival, Netflix, PBS/POV, and YouTube channels, allowing the studio to reach both broad consumer audiences and curated impact communities.

Revenue is generated through institutional grants — including from Far Star Action Fund, Perspective Fund, and Park Foundation — alongside individual donations and impact campaign partnerships, rather than commercial sales of the films themselves. The studio is staffed by approximately 10 employees and operates through fiscal sponsors including the Denver Film Society and The Wild Foundation. Its growth has been programmatic and cadence-driven rather than venture-backed, with new initiatives and franchise extensions layered onto a stable core operating base.

Name

Exposure Labs

Legal name

Exposure Labs

Website

https://exposurelabs.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Exposure Labs is a Boulder-based 501(c)(3) social impact film studio founded in 2012 that produces documentary films and pairs them with impact campaigns on climate and technology issues, serving institutional funders, impact organizers, and global streaming audiences with a ~10-person team.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Documentary Film Production & Social Impact Media

NAICS

Motion Picture and Video Industries (5121), Motion Picture and Video Production (51211), Motion Picture and Video Distribution (51212)

SIC

Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812), Services-Allied To Motion Picture Production (7819), Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Distribution (7822)

akta.pro primary industry

Social Issue & Advocacy Documentaries (MPADADAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Media Arts & Film/Photography Nonprofits (BPAGAHAJ), Public Media Partnerships & Content Co-productions (NGO/Cultural) (MPABADAN)

Keywords

• Documentary film production
• Impact campaign services
• Climate storytelling programs
• Social impact films
• Nonprofit film studio

Headquarters

HQ city

Boulder

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: Exposure Labs is a 501(c)(3) tax-deductible organization that accepts donations through fiscal sponsors including Denver Film Society and The Wild Foundation. Also receives institutional funding from organizations such as Far Star Action Fund, Perspective Fund, and Park Foundation.
2. Film Distribution and Licensing: Films are distributed through theatrical release, streaming platforms (Netflix), broadcast (PBS/POV), and festival screenings. Revenue is generated through licensing deals with platforms like Netflix and National Geographic.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Exposure Labs is a social impact film studio that produces feature and short documentary films on climate change and technology's societal impact, and pairs each release with a structured impact campaign (community screenings, educational resources, discussion guides, policy advocacy) intended to drive measurable social and policy outcomes. Beyond its own productions, the studio operates capacity-building programs such as Climate Story Lab and Film in the Field, and offers no-cost 1-on-1 consultations to filmmakers and impact producers. Revenue is generated through licensing to streaming and broadcast partners (Netflix, PBS/POV, National Geographic), institutional grants, and tax-deductible donations processed via fiscal sponsors.

Product overview

Exposure Labs is an award-winning social impact film studio producing documentary films with accompanying impact campaigns. The company operates a platform-plus-programs model centered around four major documentary films: Chasing Ice (2012), Chasing Coral (2017), The Social Dilemma (2020), and Chasing Time (2024). Each film is accompanied by organized impact campaigns including community screenings, educational resources, and advocacy organizing tools. Beyond its own productions, Exposure Labs supports the broader social impact filmmaking ecosystem through Climate Story Lab (capacity-building for climate storytellers), Film in the Field (advocacy support program), and a 1-on-1s consultation program. The company also offers educational and community screening access for its films, particularly Chasing Time, providing downloadable versions, discussion guides, and promotional assets to educators and community organizers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Chasing Ice Feature documentary (2012) following National Geographic photographer James Balog's quest to document climate change evidence using time-lapse cameras across the Arctic, aimed at general audiences and advocacy organizations driving climate awareness.
• Chasing Coral Feature documentary (2017) following divers, photographers, and scientists discovering why coral reefs globally are disappearing, distributed to general audiences and used by advocacy organizations for ocean-climate campaigns.
• The Social Dilemma Feature documentary (2020) exploring the exploitative nature of social media and its impact on society and democracy, distributed globally via Netflix and accompanied by an impact campaign that supported more than 8,000 grassroots film events.
• Chasing Time Short documentary (2024) reuniting the Chasing Ice team with photographer James Balog for one final mission to close out the Extreme Ice Survey project after 15 years, distributed via PBS/POV broadcast and YouTube director's cut.
• 1-on-1s Program No-cost consultation service offering 30-minute conversations with Exposure Labs team members for current and aspiring filmmakers and impact producers, designed to democratize access to industry expertise on production, story development, and impact filmmaking.
• Climate Story Lab Capacity-building program operated in partnership with Doc Society, convening climate storytelling teams through workshops, regional collaborations, and shared resources (Impact Field Guide, Climate Story Lab Toolbox) to accelerate effective climate communication.
• Film in the Field Program supporting advocacy groups across the U.S. in using film as an organizing tool, including targeted campaigns, the Film in the Field Library catalog, and an RFP process that distributed funding to frontline organizations.
• Climate Story Lab US-South Regional initiative co-designed with New Orleans Film Society and Southeast Climate & Energy Network supporting Southern climate storytellers and organizing groups to engage diverse audiences around climate action.
• Educational & Community Screening Access (Chasing Time) Free educational and community screening program providing downloadable versions of Chasing Time with discussion guides and promotional assets to educators and community organizers for non-commercial use.

Quantifiable outcome

• Chasing Ice reached 172 countries and all 7 continents
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• Denver Film SocietycoreOthersLocal Colorado-based fiscal sponsor for accepting 501(c)(3) tax-deductible donations. Also accepts cryptocurrency donations through Denver Film Society.
• The Wild FoundationcoreOthersLocal Colorado-based fiscal sponsor for accepting 501(c)(3) tax-deductible donations for the Chasing Coral campaign.
• United Talent AgencycoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorExposure Labs is represented by United Talent Agency for talent representation and industry dealings.
• Doc SocietycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to launch Climate Story Lab and share resources like the Impact Field Guide and Climate Story Lab Toolbox for filmmakers working on climate stories.
• New Orleans Film SocietycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-designed Climate Story Lab US-South initiative to inspire and activate a regional cohort of storytellers, climate organizing groups, and climate experts in the Southern United States.
• Southeast Climate and Energy Network (SCEN)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-designed Climate Story Lab US-South and partnered on Film in the Field Request for Proposal process with advocacy organizations using climate films as an organizing tool.
• Conservation Voters of South Carolina (CVSC)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered on the Dear South Carolina Tour using film to advance solar legislation. The statewide tour was a critical factor in securing unanimous passage of the Energy Freedom Act in May 2019.
• PBS / POV (American Documentary)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorBroadcast partner for Chasing Time, airing the 24-minute Emmy-nominated broadcast version as part of the POV Shorts program.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves6 records

Direct peers

• Doc Society: Global nonprofit supporting impact documentary filmmakers via grants, the Impact Field Guide, and Climate Story Lab co-convening. Functions as both a direct partner (Climate Story Lab co-founder with Exposure Labs) and a peer in impact documentary capacity building.
• Concordia Studio: Impact-driven documentary production company founded by Davis Guggenheim; produces socially engaged nonfiction films with strategic impact distribution. Directly comparable mission and operating model.
• Participant (formerly Participant Media): Pioneer impact-driven film and media company founded by Jeff Skoll; combines social-issue feature/TV production with impact campaigns. Closest business-model analogue to Exposure Labs in the documentary social-impact space.
• Kartemquin Films: Chicago-based 501(c)(3) documentary studio with a 50+ year track record of social-issue films (e.g., Hoop Dreams, The Interrupters) and embedded impact campaigns. Highly comparable nonprofit film studio model.

Emerging players

• XTR: Documentary-focused streaming platform and production company; comparable as a specialist documentary distributor/streamer addressing the same independent nonfiction audience.

Broad incumbents

• National Geographic Documentary Films: Established documentary division within National Geographic/Disney that distributes nature and climate documentaries; relevant overlap because Exposure Labs' Chasing Ice was originally picked up by National Geographic.
• A24: Independent film and television studio with a slate that includes documentary and social-issue titles. A broader incumbent whose distribution and prestige playbook parallels Exposure Labs' festival-to-platform pipeline.
• NEON: U.S. independent distributor handling prestige documentaries and narrative features; comparable on the theatrical-and-platform distribution side that Exposure Labs has used for Chasing Ice.
• Imagine Documentaries: Documentary production arm of Imagine Entertainment (Brian Grazer/Ron Howard) producing high-profile nonfiction features for streamers; broader incumbent with comparable festival-led social-issue documentary output.
• PBS / POV (American Documentary): Public broadcaster and curated documentary strand. Functions as a distribution partner for Exposure Labs' Chasing Time but also as a broader incumbent producer/curator in the social-issue documentary space.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/exposure-labs

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Exposure Labs