Shot over the course of a decade, Bridges filmed "12" whenever the actors were available and "never imposed a deadline" on the project. Throughout the course of shooting, Bridges captured footage of natural disasters and major political events, including the 1994 Northridge earthquake, the Malibu fires, four lunar eclipses and two eclipses of the sun and the Rodney King riots, which were all included in the film. Bridges explained, "My camera was always loaded and the batteries charged and often it traveled with me in my car to and from work. When there was a disaster, I was always ready to document it."