Filmmakers have a lot to worry about: raising funds, figuring out the logistics of production and post, actually getting people to see their film… And now they’re also supposed to think about saving the environment along the way?
With the growing awareness of global warming and the need to protect Earth’s resources, there’s pressure on all industries to clean up their act. It’s this awareness, along with the recognition that filmmakers already have enough on their plate that has spawned the green movement within the film industry. This is a relatively new area that goes behind the scenes and analyzes the environmental impact of the filmmaking process.
Filming green means adjusting current practices to reduce consumption, waste and greenhouse gas emissions, and therefore lower production’s carbon footprint. The green film movement seeks to develop resources and guidelines to help make these changes possible. With the right resources in place, filming green won’t add to a filmmaker’s worries, but will in fact lighten the load.
In blogs to come I’ll give more in depth information on everything relating to green filmmaking (how-to’s, resources, philosophical thoughts… you name it). If you can’t wait for more details, you can read my longer introduction here:
http://austineconetwork.com/content/green-film-introduction
2 Comments
Well it is all the more difficult to get efilm productions to come to the state, much less come and be regulated bout the waste they are going to bring, and waste they will generate. Filmmaking is not inherently Green, I see a very difficult road
He or she who wastes the most wins” has been the name of the game in Action pictures for years,
not counting films the without all the fx, unless you do a cartoon and shoot all your actors against green screen, and farm out all the CGI to India. But you know what, I’ve been thinking that you want to consider, to stop a lot of waste of electricity,manpower, popcorn and coke production and trucking of JUNK food cross country, then how bout this, open the web to more free, highspeed internet lines, then we don’t have to spend all the money going to the theater, with cars and highway use and paying for over priced tickets and baby-sitters, and such. Sure would be cheaper for people to see the movies on home tvs with highspeed internet.(oh I forgot lots of people are already downloading movies on netflix)
and UTUBE and such
Thanks for your comment Richard.
I just wanted to clarify, assuming I understood your post correctly…
I’m definitely not suggesting regulating production’s waste and emissions (aside from the state wide regulations that already exist). Instead, there should be added incentives for a film to come shoot in a state where eco-resources are readily available, and perhaps we can work towards greater tax credits for films that utilize these resources. The fact that filmmaking is not inherently green is exactly the problem, which is why resources and guides need to be developed to make these adjustments possible.
Special effects is a large topic to tackle – yes, blowing stuff up can create a lot of waste and carbon emissions. It is important to consider this area of the filmmaking process, and hopefully further studies will be made in the future to give us a better idea of the actual environmental impact and what alternatives may be possible.
The distribution end is also another topic. I mostly focus on the production end of filmmaking, but again this area should not be ignored. I certainly don’t support not going to the theater to see a film – most will agree that watching a film on the small screen is an entirely different experience. Saving money on babysitters and boycotting “overpriced” theaters will hardly have a major impact on waste and GHG emissions.
Perhaps instead you can use public transportation, choose not to buy soda or junk food, and encourage your local theater to donate a portion of ticket sales to purchase carbon offsets.