All about green tools and training

With Evergreen Prisma , the Lower Austrian Film Commission (LAFC) offers a comprehensive service which helps filmmakers imple- ment sustainable measures in film and TV productions. LAFC’s green film production initiative received the 2020 Makers & Shakers Award as the Film Commission Initiative of the Year. “Evergreen Prisma provides free access to professional expertise and tools for implementing green film production techniques into the daily production process”, stated the international jury, whose members included representatives from Netflix, Warner Bros, ACNE, Orca Studios and OLFFI. “This initiative leads a long-needed culture of change that goes beyond its own territory.”

 

Thanks to the stimulus provided by the LAFC, other film and funding institutions in Austria, which include the national subsidy Film Indus- try Support Austria (FISA) and the Austrian Film Institute (ÖFI) as well as regional organizations such the Cine Tirol Film Commission, also started to support sustainable film production. The Austrian Film and Music Association(FAMA) followed suit. A key requirement for green film production is sustainable procurement. In the LAFC’s online data base, which features locations as well as supply sources for products and services, the sustainable offerings are marked with a green icon.

 

In order to calculate the carbon footprint of film and TV productions, the LAFC provides a carbon calculator free of charge. The calcula- tion factor for the carbon emissions is based on the Austrian energy mix, which is more than 60 percent water power. Thanks to this tool, each department can calculate expected carbon emissions for comparison with the actual results after production has wrapped.

 

Since the beginning of 2021, the Austrian Film Institute and the Federal Ministry for Arts, Culture, the Civil Service, and Sports provide incentives for eco-friendly film production. The basis is the criteria established by the Austrian eco-label “Green Producing in Film and TV”, which has been revised in the areas of energy, transport, and waste. In order to establish sustainable production in the film industry, advanced training is being supported. And additional costs incurred by new quality standards are also eligible.

 

The expansion of green training and advanced training offerings are at the top of the LAFC’s agenda. The communication of green know- how in the film production sector is yielding its first results. During the shooting of the TV thriller Jeanny: Das fünfte Mädchen in Lower Austria, which was inspired by the song of the same name by pop icon Falco, Graf Film and Rowboat Film- und Fernsehproduktion focused on saving energy and reducing waste.

 

The implementation of environmentally friendly film and TV production that the LAFC is foster- ing with the Evergreen Prisma is completely in line with the new 2020–2023 climate and energy action plan in Lower Austria, which is setting the course for the transition to a clean and sustainable energy future.

 

Photos: © Anjeza Cikopano/MDR, LAFC

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