With the increasing concern everyone should be doing everything in their power to protect the environment. As filmmakers there are plenty of things you can do when shooting on set or editing at home. No matter what scene you’re shooting you will most likely be using artificial lighting. Leaving the lights on throughout the entire shoot is bad for the environment and the lights. Turn the lights off when they are not in use. This will help save energy as well as increase the life span of your bulbs. Another thing you can do to save energy is to try and incorporate as much natural lighting into your scenes as possible. This is already a popular option in many Hollywood films like The Revenant for environmental and aesthetic reasons.
SourceMost shoots can take several hours. If so, there is bound to be garbage or waste produced. Keeping a recycling bin and compost around helps reduce the amount of waste going to the dumps. Just be sure that what your recycling is recyclable, and what you’re composting, is compostable. If you’re unsure you can search it up on your city’s website. To further reduce waste, you can reuse old props if you have any lying around or ask if your friends have any props they don’t need.
Transportation is one of the biggest factors of pollution. Many shoots require moving between locations for different scenes. To minimize the output of CO2 you can plan your shoot schedule so that you minimize the amount of travelling you need to do, finding locations that are close together or that can be re-dressed to play multiple locations.
Doing small things like these may not seem like a big change, but it does add up and will create an impact over time.