Is Film Production Sustainable?
Author: Richard Whittington
On a production set, several copies of the all-important script are printed on paper and throwaway plastic is often used to keep the cast and crew fed and hydrated. Props and costumes are often discarded after use, and huge convoys of vehicles and power generators leave a substantial carbon footprint. Additional post-production emissions must also be considered. High-definition movies we watch on streaming apps are compressed and stored in power intensive and heat generating data centers which run 24/7. From the time we turn on a viewing device, to when the files move along optical fibers from data centers to deliver the streaming of a movie, carbon emissions are being released into the atmosphere.