By Kasey Lum | October 31, 2011
Green Media Solutions talks with Film Biz Recycling founder Eva Radke about her multi-pronged approach to greening the film biz, and beyond…

What do YOU do with set materials, props and supplies once a production has wrapped?

Eva Radke, a former art department coordinator, often agonized over what she could do to help prevent barely-used production items from being dumped into landfills. After seeing too many great props and materials going to waste, Radke decided she had to do something to remedy the film industry’s consumptive habits. “The burden of throwing everything away was really starting to weigh heavily on me and I thought, ‘I’m not doing anything positive, and I don’t understand why it has to be this way.’ I just had to stop doing it.”

In 2008, Radke created Film Biz Recycling (FBR), a nonprofit organization she describes as a “creative reuse center.” At its Gowanus warehouse in Brooklyn, NY, donations from film, TV, theater, commercial and other media productions are collected and sorted. 40% of those items become inventory for sale or rent at the prop shop—everything else goes to charity.

“Our number one mission is to give it away,” says Radke. “We’re not just taking free stuff and selling it. People need to know that this is a social mission as well as a way of keeping things out of dumpsters.”

The organization currently partners with eight charities that collect donated materials. FBR sorts materials onsite, and distributes the bounty based on “what’s best and who’s going to find the most value out of them,” explains Radke. Since 2008, the nonprofit has collected and repurposed more than 200 tons of donated production items.

At the 11,000 square foot warehouse, film production teams, DIY-ers, and thrifty individuals can find anything from books and clothing to electronics and signs, and even a faux electric chair—all for a fraction of the original price and with the added cool-factor that comes with the item’s past life. “Everything here was picked out by decorators and designers in the film industry,” says Radke. “This isn’t curated by us. These are items that have been used on sets beforehand and can take on a new life somewhere else.”

There is never really a limit to what FBR is willing to take in, Radke emphasizes. “We basically take everything except particleboard, and legally we can’t take dirty mattresses. We take dirty or stained clothing because we have a textile recycling section.” The shop maintains a “tiny clothing boutique,” says Radke, but 90 percent of wearable clothing goes to men’s and women’s shelters. “We even take half-cans of paint because we can mix it with another half and make it a full color.”

Creativity in repurposing materials seems to be the key to the organization’s success. “As we’ve developed, we’re reusing these materials to teach people things. We’re organizing workshops right now, and that depends on our materials. If we get in great amounts of yarn, guess what? That means community knitting workshops!” says Radke.

But there’s more to be learned from Film Biz Recycling than knitting. Via Made in NY, a program sponsored by the Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre and Broadcasting, FBR hosts workshops and informative volunteerism that coach those entering the workforce on sustainable practices. “That’s an amazing step the city is taking,” says Radke. “They’re saying that anyone who wants to enter the industry has to have an ability to understand sustainability.”

Film Biz Recycling even runs an art gallery and exhibition space, “RE-Gallery,” featuring work from local artists that work with “found objects” otherwise destined for landfills. “We are allowing an arts community to prosper, to show their work, have a creative outlet and to make money. If you’ve created something and found a way of repurposing something, our gallery is yours at no charge.”

And if you need a place to create it, FBR has you covered there too. The warehouse boasts a communal workspace equipped with office supplies, a long table and open space to work in. For no charge, production teams can have meetings, artists can work and individuals can plan their next production.

“Anyone in this industry who wants to see what we do can come here and I can show them our process,” says Radke. “The change we’re asking for is simpler and more beneficial for every single individual.”

Hurricane Irene pounded the east coast on August 28, 2011. Photography by NASA, published in International Business Times.

To find out what, if anything, Hurricane Irene might tell us about global warming, Green Media Solutions sent an inquiry to the Climate Science Rapid Response Team (CSRRT), a pro bono organization that connects media and policymakers with relevant experts in the field of climate science. Just two hours later, we were on the phone with hurricane expert Professor Scott Mandia of Suffolk Community College.

Mandia knows a thing-or-two about the subject. In addition to maintaining the extensive climate science web resource Global Warming: Man or Myth, Mandia has written extensively about hurricanes affecting the east coast, with particular attention to the infamous “Long Island Express” of 1938—a category 3 storm that took residents by surprise, killing 700 people and destroying nearly 9,000 homes. Here’s what he said…

“Often times, people will pose the question: Did global warming cause this, that and the other thing? I always say, that’s just not the right question to ask.

Residences prepare for Hurricane Irene’s arrival in Nags Head, North Carolina on August 25th. Photo credit: Charles Dharapak/AP, via The Christian Science Monitor

“Imagine a hurricane as a fire. Global warming is that extra log you just threw on. The oceans are warmer and the atmosphere is warmer and has more water vapor–that’s what drives the power of a hurricane. So when you do get hurricanes, in a warmer world, they’re more likely to be more intense and much wetter.

“Sometimes people say, “well, I saw a study that said we will have fewer of them, and isn’t that a good thing?” But, 90 percent of hurricane dollar damage and loss of life comes from the major hurricanes. There may be fewer hurricanes, but the event of major hurricanes is  going to increase, and that’s more important. As a homeowner here on Long Island, I would rather get hit by two category ones, than one category three.

“Also, stronger hurricanes have wider reach. Vermont was devastated, and I guarantee you, up until Irene, Vermonters never thought about hurricanes. But now that these hurricanes are wetter, places that are farther away are going to be dealing with more floods than they would otherwise.

In New Bern, North Carolina, vehicles at an auto repair shop sit in flood waters from Irene’s storm surge on August 27th. Photo credit: Chuck Burton/AP, via ABC News

“So, it is actually increasing the number of people who can be affected. Irene was massive as far as her width.

“And then, you’ve got to add on top of that, because the planet’s warming and sea levels are rising, storm surges are going to be higher. Even on a smaller hurricane they’re now going to be higher because the water’s just physically higher from the beginning. That means the water goes even further inland. So, coastal regions are going to get hit with stronger hurricanes with a bigger storm surge, and regions further from the coast will have more flooding.

“Not every storm is necessarily going to be more intense, so the other analogy I use is the loaded die analogy, that is, if you can think of hurricanes on a 1-6 on a die, well global warming does is, maybe, take the one off and putt a seven on. So now you’re going from 2-7 instead of 1-6. You could still get a 2–you could get a smaller one, but you’re now bringing into play a seven, which you never had before.”

Scott Mandia is Professor of Physical Sciences at Suffolk Community College on Long Island. He is also a matchmaker for the Climate Science Rapid Response Team, an organization made up of 135+ scientists standing by to provide media professionals and lawmakers with current, quick and accurate climate knowledge.

By Solvie Karlstrom | September 15, 2011

Al Gore’s 24 Hours of Reality, a campaign of the Climate Reality Project, is in it’s final hours. Tune in to the live stream here: www.ustream.tv/climaterealityproject. At 7pm EST, Al Gore will present the final hour from New York City.

Miss an hour? Visit The Climate Reality Project’s channel on ustream.tv to watch the event one hour a time and to see GMS partner Katie Carpenter join the conversation during Hawaii’s hour.

Reporting from the event, Carpenter said, “The backstage madhouse was chaotic but uplifting—Mark Ruffalo, Rene Zellweger, Phillipe Cousteau, various politicians, scientists, celebrities and filmmakers, a potent mix.”

Visit climateproject.org on Thursday, September 15th at 1am EST for a live stream of Katie Carpenter on climate challenges in Hawaii.

On August 27th, I spent a mellow afternoon fireside at a campground in the Olympic Mountains, while Green Media Solutions partners Katie Carpenter and Meredith Bergmann, along with the rest of New York and much of the East Coast, scrambled to prepare for the impending arrival of Hurricane Irene. Windows were boarded, nursing homes and senior centers were evacuated, supermarkets were cleaned out—all while I lazily read a novel, scarfed roasted veggie dogs and generally basked in fresh air and glorious weather.

The next morning, Hurricane Irene began it’s ascent along 1100 miles of the east coast. Before fading into the Labrador Sea off the Northeast coast of Canada on the night of August 29th, Irene took the lives of more than 44 people in ten states, knocked out electricity for millions and cost the United States as much as $7 billion dollars.

Climate change may not seem urgent on a gorgeous summer day in the Pacific Northwest, but Irene is another reminder that the climate crisis is global, and affects different regions in different ways. A warmer planet with warmer oceans and more water vapor in the atmosphere is more hospitable to powerful storms, says Scott Mandia, Professor of Physical Science at Suffolk Community College. Those conditions are “what drives the power of a hurricane,” he says.

“Vermont was devastated, and I guarantee you, up until Irene, Vermonters never thought about hurricanes,” says Mandia, “but now that these hurricanes are wetter, places that are farther away [from the coast] are going to be dealing with more floods than they would otherwise. So it is actually increasing the number of people who can be affected.” [Read the rest of the interview here.]

On Wednesday of this week, 24 Hours of Reality, a campaign of Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project, will explore the various ways climate change is making an impact around the globe. Beginning with Boulder, Colorado at 7pm CST, 8pm EST, 24 presenters from 24 time zones and speaking 13 different languages will share climate stories from their region—one every hour for 24 hours. Each presentation will stream live from climatereality.org when the local time hits 7pm.

GMS partner Katie Carpenter joins the line-up at 7pm in Hawaii (1-2am EST and 11pm PST), and at 7pm in New York on Thursday, Al Gore will present the 24 Hours of Reality final hour, streaming live from an undisclosed location in Manhattan. Doors will open at 5:30pm to an invitation-only audience, with the presentation beginning promptly at 7pm EST.

Throughout the day, viewers will hear from diverse speakers–including Larry Schweiger of the National Wildlife Federation and pro-snowboarder Jeremy Jones–hailing from Istanbul, London, Tonga, Dubai, Islamabad and more. Click here for the complete list.

By Solvie Karlstrom | September 10, 2011

On the set of “Milligan’s Stew,” an instructor-led short film shoot at Vancouver Film School. The background haze wafts from a shanty town bonfire scene underway. With proper ventilation, the smokey effect poses no health threat to students and instructors on set. credit: Vancouver Film School

By Kasey Lum | August 31, 2011

Whether it’s the couch, the cabinets or the fresh paint job, contaminants on set can arrive from a variety of unexpected sources, and many of these can end up in air inhaled by cast and crew. Overexposure to some can cause difficulty breathing and concentrating, nausea and irritation of the eyes, throat and nose, and in rare cases of prolonged exposure can lead to long-term health conditions like asthma—and after many years—cancer.

The United States Department of Labor Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) standards regulate certain worst offenders, like asbestos and carbon dioxide, and require adequate ventilation systems to maintain safe working conditions. Yet, fresh air polluters can still end up on set. Read on for details on four culprits frequently found in film production.

PAINT

The Bad

Large production sets often require coats of paint to perfect staging, props and scenery. Those layers of various enamels often contain high levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). According to the EPA, VOCs are released as gases from certain solids or liquids and include a range of chemicals, many of which cause short- and long-term health problems. The health effects of VOCs vary from eye, nose, and throat irritation to headaches, loss of coordination, nausea, and damage to one’s liver, kidney, and central nervous system.

The Good

As an alternative, choose paints containing low- or zero levels of VOCs. Several paint companies have created low-odor, low-VOC paint for heavy-duty projects without compromising the color or quality, including Mythic, Benjamin Moore, and Olympic. When painting solid hardwoods, try chemical-free Old-Fashioned Milk Paint.

CLEANING PRODUCTS

The Bad

Many sprays, polishes and disinfectants contribute VOCs when used. Popular powder cleansers sometimes contain the carcinogen and male reproductive toxin Benzene, or the developmental toxin Chloroform. Glass cleaners can contain the reproductive toxin ethylene glycol, and aerosols contain ingredients that, when mixed with ozone as they are in a spray can, produce formaldehyde and harmful particulate matter, a 2006 California Air Resource Board study found. Products that typically contain the highest concentrations of air quality contaminants include toilet bowl cleaners, oven cleaners, furniture polish, and automatic dishwasher and laundry detergents.

The Good

Eliminating hazardous, VOC-emitting cleaning products significantly lowers the risk of air quality-related health issues. Look for, or ask your supplier for, cleaning products containing low- or zero-VOC, and for products certified by Green Seal, Cradle to Cradle or the EPA’s Design for the Environment. In 2004, an Environmental Working Group study found that, on average, “green”-certified products emit just a fifth of the contaminants associated with standard products. When there’s no certification in site, read labels and choose products made with plant-based ingredients.

SET MATERIALS

The Bad

One of the most heinous VOCs, formaldehyde, crops up in countless unexpected places, including wood and fabric set props and materials. A colorless, flammable gas with a pungent odor, formaldehyde can be found in products such as particleboard, carpets, and upholstery, due to the glues used to bind the materials and provide structural strength. Like other VOCs, formaldehyde vapors can continue to enter the air for exceptionally long periods of time. Particleboard outgases roughly 25 percent formaldehyde vapors within the first two months of construction, and then slowly seeps the rest for as many as ten years. Exposure to formaldehyde can cause eye, nose, throat, skin irritation. It causes cancer in animals and is suspected to in humans.

The Good

To reduce exposure to formaldehyde on-set, avoid pressed wood products, choosing solid woods whenever possible, or look for pressed wood products categorized as “exterior-grade.” “Exterior-grade” plywoods contain a type of resin with considerably lower formaldehyde emissions. Other clean air wood options include lumber milled from post-consumer and reclaimed materials, and products certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). To reduce health risks, increase ventilation by opening windows or using fans to prevent formaldehyde from accumulating indoors. Air conditioning and dehumidifiers also help to maintain temperatures and reduce humidity levels.

IDLING

The Bad

With all the transportation and on-set action that comes with film production, vehicular idling is another practice that contributes to poor air quality. Idling engines increase levels of carbon monoxide levels in the air. Carbon monoxide exposure can cause respiratory disease, impaired lung development, cancer, asthma, heart disease, lower IQ levels and prenatal complications. Not only does carbon monoxide create health problems, but it’s also a greenhouse gas that contributes to global warming when released into the atmosphere.

The Good

Beyond protecting the health of your cast and crew, regulating idling saves fuel, thereby benefiting the environment and your production’s budget. Designating sets and locations as idle-free zones could save as much as 15 gallons of gasoline and 300 pounds of carbon dioxide each day, while lowering the risk of dangerous carbon monoxide levels on-set. Location teams on some productions have worked to identify “driver-ready” rooms and locations where drivers can wait in comfort close to their vehicles, rather than sitting inside of them idling with the air conditioning or the heater running. For even greater fuel and emissions savings, consider converting vehicles and engines to run on biodiesel, or invest in vehicles designed to run on cleaner energy, such as natural gas, propane, alcohols, electricity, or a blend of conventional and alternative fuels.

Being aware of the materials and chemicals used on set is critical to the health of your cast and crew, and improving air quality starts with smarter choices and safer products. Using clean, eco-friendly products and reducing the amount of harmful chemical emissions during production lowers health risks health, lowers production costs and benefits the environment. Now, don’t you feel better?

Have you tried any of these strategies or found others that have been effective? Let us know!

By: Solvie Karlstrom

From 2009′s action thriller 12 ROUNDS, the above scene was filmed on New Orleans’ iconic Canal Street. photo credit: Intenteffect/Flickr

Emerging earlier this year as the 3^rd largest film producer in the nation, the rapidly growing New Orleans film industry is en-route to becoming one of the greenest as well. Thanks to the enterprising efforts of New Orleans LEED Silver-certified film studio Second Line Stages, Hollywood’s younger southern cousin is now running on biofuel.

“In 2010, the film industry in Louisiana generated over $450 million in revenue for the state, with more than $300 million generated in the New Orleans region alone,” says Diane Wheeler Nicholson, Director of Sustainability at Second Line Stages. “The industry continues to grow and fuel spends are a real part of every project.”

Aiming to reduce travel costs associated with refueling, Second Line Stages launched a mobile biofuel delivery service, providing unprecedented on site refueling for fast-paced productions underway in the region. Manufactured locally from used cooking oils, the blends meet ASTM standards for biofuels, and come at competitive prices when compared with traditional diesel. Replacing traditional biodiesel with a Second Line Stages B5 blend will reduce tailpipe emissions 4-5%. The higher the blend, the greater the emissions savings.

Already, the states largest full-service film fleet, Hollywood Trucks, has committed to fueling with the studio’s B5 blend—a move that will reduce particulate matter, carbon monoxide and hydrocarbons in vehicle emissions and improve local air quality.

But biodiesel is not just for vehicles. At Green Media Solutions, our clients have fueled their base camp and even their main stage lighting with biodiesel blends. One Green Media Solutions client, while filming at Brooklyn’s Broadway Stages, fueled their main stage for five weeks with soy-based biodiesel procured from a 3^rd generation New York City-based supplier less than a mile away. Power was provided via a 1250KW (14,000 amps) biodiesel-ready generator that ran an estimated 10-16 hours a day and burned anywhere from 20-75 gallons per hour. Those 3690 gallons of B20 replaced the standard diesel fuel that would have otherwise been trucked in from Staten Island–thereby reducing carbon emissions, conserving nonrenewable petroleum-based resources, bolstering the local economy and saving the production almost $1000 in fuel costs. The new station at Second Line Stages provides an invaluable opportunity for productions to conserve nonrenewable energy resources across all departments, while saving a good chunk of change.

“With the number of film productions growing in the New Orleans area,” says Rebecca Otte of the Southeast Louisiana Clean Fuel Partnership, “this move has the potential to significantly increase the use of biodiesel in our region and helps promote southeast Louisiana’s expanding green economy. We look forward to all the other fleets getting onboard.”

Second Line Stages is located at 800 Richard Street in New Orleans. For more information, contact Diane Wheeler, Director of Sustainability, Second Line Stages: (504) 224‐2249 or dwheeler@secondlinestages.com.

credit: Pete Lewis/flickr

When’s the last time you calculated the carbon footprint of a film or television production? Never? We’re not surprised, which is why we’re here to help.

There’s no better way to gauge the success of your greening efforts than to take a good look at the numbers. When you quantify the impact of your production, you reveal not only the green bragging points that you’re team can be proud of, but also the areas to target improvement next time.

But for many, carbon calculating is foreign and daunting, involving far too many gallons, kilowatts and square footage for comfort. If this sounds like you, schedule a Carbon Calculator Workshop with Green Media Solutions to de-mystify the math. In our Carbon Calculator Workshops, we sit down with you and your team and walk you through the process from start to finish. Like any green program, the more prepared you are ahead of time, the less of a headache collecting and computing those figures will be throughout the project.

To get started, download the Producer’s Guild of America’s Carbon Calculator at greenproductionguide.com, and email us to set up a tutorial for your team.

Want to reduce the environmental impacts of your next movie or TV show?

The entertainment industry’s first ever consolidated green production guide is now available on greenproductionguide.com! Created by the Producer’s Guild of America, with the help of Green Media Solutions, the PGA Green Unified Best Practices Guide compiles the sustainability guidelines followed at Disney, Fox, NBC Universal, Sony Pictures Entertainment and Warner Bros. into a comprehensive green production handbook that covers all departments from pre-production through wrap. Download the complete guide here, or visit the website to browse by department.

For more green film production tools and resources, search greenproductionguide.com’s green vendor database, browse-able by geographic location, and download the carbon calculator to measure your green achievements.

Producers need to be the driving force behind green production practices. Production Coordinator William Greenfield explains…

By William Greenfield

Being green isn’t always the flashy thing to achieve in Louisiana.  It isn’t popular or easy, and it requires more manpower, which requires more money.

For instance, if you want to recycle in New Orleans you have to be willing to do one of two things: either pay for it, or send your production assistant on an hour long round  drive to drop it off.

Shreveport and Baton Rouge both offer commercial recycling services free-of-charge, which for the production office, is very convenient. Recycling on set, on the other hand, still remains a problem and it’s a hurdle that’s difficult to overcome.

Eco-friendly practices are even more difficult to implement on set than they are in the production office. In Louisiana, two departments deal with the trash on set: craft service and locations. These departments generally do not have the additional manpower or additional cost in their department budgets to handle being green on set. This is a cost that would have to be approved by a Production Manager, and if you’re a low budget independent feature, this can be a problem when you simply do not have the money to support it.

The author at his desk in the production office

Other changes we can make on set revolve around production van idling.  Production vans idle all day long sometimes, just so someone can be comfortable in the day’s weather. We could protect the environment and save on energy cost if we limited idling to cast vehicles, which need AC to keep actors prepped. In the Louisiana heat, makeup running on an actor’s face can slow the production down.

Recycle bins at every production trailer and working truck can also help cut down on waste. I see a lot of waste on set, which could be cut down if the crew did not have to spend time taking recyclable trash to catering or craft service.

Some studios that bring their productions to the south really promote the practice of being green, despite the extra small costs they may incur. This is a great thing happening on bigger budget shows, but it’s not as apparent on indie films.

Producers need to be the definitive leaders in this change if we want it to succeed. Great leadership can drive a production to success so let’s put that same focus on bringing the ‘above the line’ and ‘below the line’ crew together for a great cause!

William Greenfield is a film production coordinator based in Shreveport, Louisiana. Projects he has worked on include Jessy Terrero’s FREELANCERS (to be released in 2012), Mike Gunther’s SETUP (to be released in 2011), Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer’s VAMPIRES SUCK (2010) and Rod Lurie’s remake of the 1971 classic STRAW DOGS (to be released in September of 2011).

Katie Carpenter (left) and New York WILD Film Festival founder Nancy Rosenthal at WILD’s preview event, April 7th 2011.

By Katie Carpenter

Sustainable practices are gaining ground throughout the film industry. Already in 2011, releases JUST GO WITH IT, WATER FOR ELEPHANTS, CEDAR RAPIDS and BAD TEACHER all earned EMA Green Seals for conserving energy and water, and recycling as much film waste as possible.

Now a few trailblazer film festivals are getting into the game. Sundance made some green changes this past winter, and a few others have made efforts to reduce their waste, but this spring, a newcomer jumped firmly into the fray. The New York WILD Film Festival held their “Preview Event” at the TriBeCa Film Center in Manhattan on April 7th.

Green Media Solutions was called in to consult with the film festival’s founders to determine ways to lighten the ecological impact of the event, as well as to prepare for the greening of the entire festival when it launches a multi-day program next year.

Printed discreetly on the program read: “Sustainable strategies have been utilized in the production of this film preview event to reduce its carbon emissions and environmental impacts,” a statement that was exemplified in the number of environmentally-friendly vendors in attendance. Green products and services included organic catering through Manducatis Rustica; EcoSelect biodegradable popcorn bags by Packaging Concepts, Inc.; BioBags from Buygreen.com; reusable gift bags from World Wildlife Fund and program printing by Greendot.

The festival featured a variety of screenings of documentaries and shorts, and was well attended by notable environmental leaders and filmmakers from Environmental Defense Fund, National Geographic, World Wildlife Fund, Open Space Institute and more. This year’s films included an award-winning film on orangutans in Indonesia (“Green”), an outdoor adventure film (“Alone on the Wall”), an animated short (“The Krill is Gone”), and a comedic music video (“Plastic State of Mind”).

With journalist, field scientist and former head of The Explorers Club Richard Weise moderating, panels were provocative and engaging. New York WILD Film Festival Founder and Executive Director Nancy Rosenthal was pleased with the turnout and the discussions that ensued, and has committed to a fully green festival launch on April 12-15, 2012!