"For James Bond, around 30 million worth of cars went to the scrap yard. "
In the film and TV industry for 10 years, this former location manager saw the hidden side of film production. According to him, environmental considerations are lacking.
In the film and TV industry for 10 years, this former location manager saw the hidden side of film production. According to him, environmental considerations are lacking.
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00:00We all watch movies and series on TV, but what we don't know is that a shooting pollutes a lot and has a very important ecological impact.
00:07There are a lot of movies that have a big ecological impact.
00:26It also depends on the size of the project.
00:29Of course, American superproductions are the most consuming and polluting.
00:33In 2006, studies showed that Hollywood was the second polluting industry after oil in California.
00:42James Bond, for example, 30 million euros of cars thrown in the trash.
00:46Expendable 2, more than 22,000 bats killed in a cave in Bulgaria.
00:49Game of Thrones, 150 sets around the world with all the teams traveling.
00:53Avatar production, 900 people working in studios that consume the equivalent of a small country in terms of electricity.
01:00These are absolutely staggering figures on a global scale.
01:14I have been working in cinema and advertising for 10 years.
01:18I was a director, so I was in charge of the logistics.
01:20So I've seen the hidden side of shooting for all these years,
01:23especially on the consumption of plastic, the poor waste management, all the unnecessary trips.
01:29And it's thousands of plastic bottles consumed.
01:31Same for water bottles, we have about 10 to 15,000 small plastic bottles on a film.
01:36There are more than 300 feature films in France per year,
01:38so we exceed 3 to 4 million plastic bottles consumed,
01:41not to mention commercials, series, telefilms.
01:45So that's a lot.
01:46Another example is on a shoot where we needed to cover a mountainside with fake snow.
01:54And it turned out that the fake snow was small white plastic residues
01:59that covered the whole mountainside to make it all white.
02:02And it was absolutely horrible for the set to leave it in that state.
02:06So we spent three days cleaning them on our personal time
02:09so that it didn't pollute the beautiful set we were in.
02:12What is the role of logistics in the production of a film?
02:21In shooting, it's the artistic side that prevails, but it's normal.
02:24We are in a very creative industry and the film has to be shot
02:28so that the director has all the possibilities, all the cards in hand.
02:33And so it's true that ecology comes second, because logistics is very complicated,
02:37budgets are reduced, time is reduced.
02:40And so we in France, with Sequoia, that's what we're trying to do.
02:43We're trying to support production in a more sustainable and eco-responsible approach
02:48so that the shooting projects are greener and more respected by the planet and by humans.
02:53All the professional environments are involved.
02:55There are standards everywhere to frame this.
02:58So I think that indeed, the shootings themselves, without being restrictive,
03:02because once again, artistic freedom must prevail,
03:05but behind that, we have to keep an eye on it and stop doing nonsense.
03:11We have to stop destroying natural settings and natural parks
03:15at the other end of the world to shoot a 15-second scene in a film.
03:18Maybe other solutions, a little more ecological to put in place.