Screen International is profiling all the winners of the third Global Production Awards, which were held tonight (May 19) at the Mademoiselle Gray Barriere in Cannes.
Sustainable Production Award - TV
Winner: Awesome Animals And Mini Me (Three Arrows Media, Final Pixel & Sky Kids, UK)
This category was open to an individual TV/scripted production that showcases best practice in sustainable filming. The winner, Awesome Animals And Mini Me, impressed the judges with an innovative approach that saw the series’ emissions reduce from a predicted 15.6 tonnes of CO2e to 6.8 tonnes — a saving of 56%.
Indeed, sustainability was front and centre in every step of the process, which began with the production team understanding the potential cost of travelling internationally to shoot and finding alternatives through new technology. They implemented measures across every department to reduce the carbon footprint even more.
In response to the fact the majority of their predicted emissions would come from international travel, the show became the first Sky Kids series to use virtual production, working with Final Pixel. The virtual production screen was LED, as was all lighting used throughout production.
Other initiatives included paperless forms, recycling materials used on screen, costumes donated to charity (including to a youth football team in Ghana), vegetarian catering on set, and the introduction of a green employee of the month award. The latter has since been adopted by the broadcaster and has been running as an interdepartmental competition since January 2024. “The green employee of the month scheme is such a great idea, easily duplicable,” praised one judge.
“Implementing an anaerobic waste management system when no composting facility existed at a location was clever,” said another.
Judges also noted that even though this was a small production and did not have the resources to engage a sustainability co-ordinator, it meant all the crew had to play their part in green filming. “An excellent, achievable case study,” was how one judge praised it.
Nominees
- Bridgerton, season three (Netflix, US)
- Lockerbie: A Search For Truth (Universal Television Entertainment Group, UK/US)
- Notruf Hafenkante, season 19 (Letterbox Filmproduktion, Germany)
- The Day Of The Jackal (Universal Television Entertainment Group, UK/US)
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