Articles
All articles GFM has published in the last 10 years
about sustainability in film and TV.
Wattsun on set of ‘Meisje van Plezier’
The Wattsun, a portable, plug and play power supply, is now for rent through Locatiewerk and Het Licht. Location manager Rob IJpelaar has already tested this battery system shortly on the set of Talpa’s Meisje van Plezier. There was a shoot at Schiphol airport, where the space was limited and a lot of care had to be taken with the surroundings. The little Wattsun worked perfectly for the lighting in the clothes and makeup van.
Calculation: saving 96% on energy costs in Utrecht
‘One of the advantages of sustainable production is that it saves money!‘ We say this all the time. That it’s not poppycock is of course best proven with a concrete calculation example. We are getting help from various film commissions with the development of our harvest map and that’s how we learned that in Utrecht they have two nice examples in terms of energy. We spoke to Wim Horst, Advisor Special Use of Public Spaces, about how much you can save exactly by using green electricity instead of a diesel generator.
AVROTROS recycles clothing and props
In the past 6 months Green Film Making continued with consulting Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS in making its in-house productions more sustainable. Last year, Els Rientjes already worked with the teams of the shows Tussen Kunst en Kitsch and Opsporing Verzocht. This season the work was more than doubled with a larger number of productions. At the children’s department she advised the crafts and cooking show Jill and the game shows Kaal of Kammen and Zappsport. Besides that, she also consulted popular shows Opgelicht, EenVandaag and Radar. Els: ‘It is really striking to me how fundamental AVROTROS’ commitment to sustainability is. The producers and story editors are all very aware which direction the broadcaster has taken.‘
Brussels Breakfast meeting: Green in Cinema
Several times a year the Flemish Audiovisual Fund (VAF) organizes a special ‘Cinema breakfast’, an informal meeting for cinemas, distributors, festivals, cultural centers and other film organizations where new offers and initiatives are presented. The fifth edition was entirely devoted to sustainability and so Green Film Making was invited by our VAF colleague Tim Wagendorp to travel to a chilly Brussels last December 13th. The meeting started early and yet the venue Cinema Nova was packed with a varied group of people from the cultural sector from all over Belgium. Many inspiring examples and initiatives were presented, including the cinema Lewes Depot (UK) founded by Dutchwoman Carmen Slijpen and the eco-strategy of Belgian pop temple Ancienne Belgique. We are pleased to report here on the informative morning with our southern neighbors.
Bags from film banners at Eye Filmmuseum and Vue; Upcycling at it’s best!
Everyone knows the store at Eye Filmmuseum as the ultimate place for film lovers. But besides that the popular store, in the top 10 of the world’s best museum shops, has an exclusive collection on offer, shop manager Marjan Vos also innovates with sustainability. She set up a system in which used film banners can be upcycled into unique bags. She developed the bags together with sustainable bag maker Marie-José Hamers, who is now being contacted left and right for new collaborations. Among others cinema company Vue Cinemas joined in. We talked to initiator Marjan, artisan Marie-José and Diederieke van Herwijnen of Vue Cinemas about this wonderful initiative.
Report GFM @ ADE Green 2018
Last edition of ADE Green, the Green Film Making team kept their eyes and ears open for new applications from the event world that can also be used on our sets. ADE Green is an annual conference on sustainability during the Amsterdam Dance Event. There were quite some familiar faces such as Tijl Couzij of Lab Vlieland and Paul Schurink of Green Events, who organised the panel on energy for the Municipality of Amsterdam. But especially at the ‘Six Innovation that will change the event industry‘ panel presented by Wilbert van der Kamp of Innofest, several interesting things caught our attention.