Recently, as part of BAFTA Albert’s inspiring Green Light Season, our CEO Tom spoke on the panel for ‘Frame the Future: What does sustainable filmmaking really look like behind the lens?’ alongside cinematographers Mattias Nyberg and Gabi Norland, Pat McEnallay from Green Kit and host by Ian Haydn Smith.
It was an animated discussion to an enthusiastic crowd, with contributions covering production, post, and finance and legislation. Here are Tom’s key takeaways from the event:
PRODUCTION:
- Battery power and hybrid generators are plentiful, highly advanced and more practical than ever
- On location in cities, battery solutions are sometimes being required (not desired) to negate local noise & pollution
- Energy is being budgeted in prep by thoughtful DoPs, with lighting requirements carefully considered against supply constraints
- Script indecision is a cause of massive over-supply across many departments
- ‘Just in case’ and time pressures on-location mean over-provisioning, therefore adding transport emissions
POST-PRODUCTION:
- Editors, VFX artists and other freelancers at home can—and must—track their energy usage
- Start a dialogue with production over energy spend for bookings and tasks
- Small in-line power meters (as shown on stage) are cheap and simple to add to computer setups
- Post companies need to include power spend with financial spend in quoting and invoicing
- Waste heat can be re-purposed for the community, as shown by Dirty Looks’ public swimming pool render farm
FINANCE & LEGISLATION:
- Generosity of UK Tax credits to producers should be caveated with carbon considerations in production and post
- Decision makers must make good decisions, always choosing ethically and environmentally first
- Legislation is urgently needed to enforce and audit sustainable practices
Being in a room with like-minded people, discussing actions, is positive. Dirty Looks is also looking forward to participating in the Green Champions in Post working group. This group was initiated by Sky Productions in conjunction with BAFTA Albert, the UK Screen Alliance, and a few post-production companies. Collaboration is vital for cutting sector emissions, and I anticipate great impact as the group grows.
To collectively reduce UK film and TV emissions, all businesses must play by the same rules. That means adopting a standardised reporting framework without delay. Once the framework is active, companies must then rigorously and actively cut carbon—however inconvenient.
Image credit: BAFTA/BAFTA Albert
