The founder of zero-waste film studio The Vectar Project on why he is urging the film and TV industry to reduce the impact it has on the environment and adopt the company’s pioneering cardboard set solution.
Once the lights dim on a film or TV set, hidden from sight behind the veil of a camera lens is the impact the industry has on the environment.
“We’re great about telling the climate story but we are one of the worst at actually adopting it,” Tom Henderson, Managing Director at The Vectar Project, told Prolific North on the issues within the industry.
From flying staff to locations across the world to building thousands of studio sets from scratch that are often dumped when a shoot ends, practices within the industry could be set to change.
Industry body The British Film Institute (BFI), in collaboration with the BAFTA-led consortium behind Albert, produced a study in 2020 calling upon the industry to ramp up its attempts to address the toll it has on the environment.
Over the last year at The Vectar Project studio in Stockport, Henderson has partnered with British sculptor artist Chris Gilmour to develop a sustainable solution – sets made entirely from cardboard.
“It’s cheaper to build, it’s faster to build, which saves production studios and all these resources, and it’s up to 90% lower carbon footprint.
“It’s quite simple,” he said.
Traditionally, he explained, the industry often builds entire intricate sets made from materials ranging from wood to plastic.
With the studio’s cardboard set solution, he hopes producers will make the switch to propel the industry towards a greener, more sustainable future.
