9 minute read
THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE IS MONEY, THE NEXT BIGGEST IS ENERGY
TALES FROM THE TRENCHES
The biggest challenge is money, the next biggest is energy
FILMMAKER ZACHARY LURJE interned for six weeks as an environmental steward on the second series of Rock Island Mysteries for Network 10/Nickelodeon, filmed on the Gold Coast from late 2022. The sixweek paid gig was the first placement of its type in the country and the first under a partnership between Screen Queensland and Fremantle Australia. Lurje is a one-time teacher and sustainability advocate who drives an electric car. Since participating in this interview, he has been hired as a learning designer for Sustainable Screens Australia (SSA).
What were the most surprising, disappointing, and inspiring things you learned from your internship?
For surprising I’d say the willingness and enthusiasm of series producers Jonah Klein and Timothy Powell from Fremantle Australia, and of production manager Ange Lavey-Manché, to embrace sustainability through the whole production. It was disappointing to learn that it is difficult to confirm whether or not your recyclables are being recycled, even after talking to the waste management companies that you’re using. There needs to be greater transparency and accountability to ensure that businesses are recycling. The most inspiring thing was how crew members came up with the best ideas and were empowered to act on them. The camera crew brought in their own reusable containers for food. The art department recycled all scrap metal, timber, paint, and foam. The costume department committed to donating all clothes that were not stored for the next season to local charities.
You used the albert calculator on Rock Island Mysteries. Describe what it is, how much it asks of the user, some examples of the information it requires, and how easy or hard it was to calculate a carbon footprint.
The calculator works out the total carbon footprint of an entire production from pre through to post. It takes into account everything that a production pays for from runners to generators to purchasing new clothing. The calculator comes with a range of fairly easy to use online tools. In the case of petrol you can choose to include information about price or the distance travelled. In the case of food waste, you can record number of meals or kilograms of protein and vegetables.
Some sections are in UK pounds and it’s painful to change to Australian dollars, but SSA is adapting albert for Australia. It appears complex but is systematic. You need to take a thorough detailed approach but you just chip away at it.
You also drew up a carbon action plan. Please describe what that is and how involved it is.
To achieve albert certification all productions require a carbon action plan. It is a series of opt-in strategies developed from a series of [online] drop-down questions about whether you’re using green electricity, running a green production office, which would mean all electronic call sheets, and so on. Once a carbon action plan has been submitted and approved a production is certified and receives a star rating of between one and three.
The calculator is used differently for certification depending on whether it is a UK or an international production. You have to select country of origin early on. To obtain albert certification in the UK, domestic air travel is not permitted except in special circumstances. Often, air travel is unavoidable in Australia, but we can reduce the number of flights, carpool and use other strategies. The carbon emissions from a car journey from Brisbane to Melbourne – for an individual – are more than for a flight because we are talking about thousands of kilometres, not hundreds.
On Rock Island, interstate flights were reduced to only what was necessary at the beginning and end of production, which ran from November to April. We couldn’t get a hybrid generator and Pinnacle Films Studios didn’t have green power but did have solar power. In fact, 56 per cent of our studio power was from solar panels. Our conditions are different to those in the UK. It’s easier to get hybrid cars than electric cars, for example, but there is still limited availability in Australia. And the hire of a high-end electric car can cost up to 60 per cent more than a simple petrol car over six months of production, even with charging being cheaper than fuel. If we could hire runners with their own hybrids and EVs that would be a significant emissions and fuel saving to the production.
I’m sure there were big wins and big losses when you were working to reduce Rock Island’s footprint. Please give some examples.
As mentioned, a big win was that there was a belief in sustainability, led from the top. The leadership team – Fremantle executives, producers, line producers, the production manager and heads of department – had an overwhelming commitment to be more sustainable and to learn. It was good we were able to change caterers and switch up from compostable dining items to reusable items which reduced our waste. We used Containers for Change, which meant we collected plastic bottles and cans, got 10 cents each for them and donated the money to the Domestic Violence Action Centre and the Lamington Landcare Group - the team filmed at Mount Tamborine, which borders Lamington National Park.
We also donated all costumes that weren’t stored to local charities, including Formally Ever After, a charity that provides those students who can’t afford it with outfits for their Year 12 formal. The biggest thing a production can do is move to green electricity –electricity that comes from renewable sources. We were unable to run production trucks at the studio because no three-phase power was available there. We also didn’t set up a composting food waste service, which would have reduced our landfill. An annual compost collection service costs less than $2,000 in the Gold Coast for example, which provides a huge reduction in waste and emissions.
As you say, sourcing green energy is key, as is using less of it and other resources, and dealing better with waste. What other specific challenges do you think will arise again and again?
The biggest challenge is money. Companies need to make a profit, but we need to convince people to make sustainability a budget line item even though it may cost more in the short term. In the end they will save money because – think about it – you’re reducing packaging and waste disposal, you’re being more efficient, you’re saving on cast and crew, you’re reducing the volume of waste being collected, you’re saving by using recycled and hired materials and objects, you’re saving a bucket using virtual screens as opposed to going to a remote location.
The second biggest challenge is energy. We need the whole industry to run off green energy. Wouldn’t it be great if a studio such as Village Roadshow Studios had solar panels and battery storage like many studios abroad? I believe VRS has one of the biggest roof spaces in Queensland – so that’s a great green opportunity. Wouldn’t it be great too if the new Screen Queensland studios in Cairns had integrated electric vehicle chargers, fed off rooftop solar and battery storage? All future studios should run off solar, with battery back-up and three-phase power. This would equate to the single biggest reduction in the carbon footprints of our productions, particularly here up north where we’ve got lots of sunlight. The third biggest challenge is rolling out electric vehicle infrastructure, but this is rapidly growing. Also, right now, crew shortages are forcing productions to fly people in.
There seems some concerns around reducing carbon footprints on low budget productions such as features. Costs can’t be amortised like on a series. What would you say to that?
It’s an excuse and a myth. People who say they can’t do it need to give it a go. I’m shooting my short film this weekend and we’re not using single-use plastics, only using rechargeable batteries and we’ve been doing all production meetings on Zoom. Water bottles and keep cups are standard. All documents and call sheets are digital. We’re also carpooling and eating vegetarian for half the shoot. Carpooling means producers only have to reimburse one person for parking and petrol. And if you’re persuading people to carpool, just tell them that ‘It’s going to be a nightmare to park!’ It’s not hard. So much of the history of film is about change and innovation; this is just another iteration.
What else would you like to say?
In any situation you have to plan disposal before you make a purchase. If this mindset is adopted, it will be a watershed moment. We need to reframe our thinking. Stop saying ‘We’ve always done it this way’ and be prepared to try something new. Everybody is responsible. No-one is too busy. Just because you are a gaffer or work in post doesn’t mean you escape responsibility. There’s a groundswell happening, particularly among younger people. You have to have clear and consistent communications right from the initial contracting so no-one is surprised they are having to scrape their food into a bin. You see ridiculous waste on set, but with careful planning it doesn’t have to be that way. The carpet from Rock Island came from Young Rock series two and will have a third life in the Cairns studios. Isn’t that fantastic?
Cost neutral or cost saving environmental tips
• In pre-production: Hire local cast and crew. It saves fuel, travel and movement and reduces the stress on them, knowing they don’t have to add significant travel time on their day. Savings can be in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, particularly on series. Source and use local sustainable suppliers where possible. Plan to use second hand materials such as art props and costume.
• Production: Insist on reusable water bottles, keep cups and dining items. Also ensure food waste is composted on site or by a composting service.
• Post: Switch to LED lights. Create a recycling hub in the kitchen.
The internet is awash with suggestions for action. Here’s a list aimed at the entertainment industry and divided into 19 sections that include lighting, audio, trucking and rigging.
