Director of Photography Philip Dillon Talks Sustainability on Set

When I was first asked to contribute to the IATSE Local 600 talk, the initial thought for all involved was what the impact of LED’s had on film making, in general. But I find that slightly misleading, and not indicative of the whole story. When the original Red cameras, and the original ARRI Amira, arrived on the scene in the early 2000’s, they boasted an ISO of 800. For those of us that had shot film exclusively, this was a massive improvement over Kodak 5247. I realize Kodak had improved speed on a number of their films, but the sensitivity of the new sensors was astounding. This new sensitivity laid the ground work for smaller lighting units, and the need for LED’s in general. In addition, by using reusable cards, that can be used, erased, and used again, a huge step forward for sustainability was attained. Gone are the chemicals, the raw stock, the work prints, and all other film related byproducts. All replaced by a small card.

Another substantial step forward for Sustainability for film makers is “NLE”, or “Non Linear Editing.” Coming into its own in the early ’70’s, NLE replaced the miles of raw stock and work prints with a streamlined process of loading above mentioned cards into a computer’s hard drive, and editing from that source. Not only was it greener, but much faster, and more economical in terms of costs.

The early LED’s had a horrible reputation. The color temperature was inconsistent; they were fragile and not very reliable in a day to day situation. But they did have numerous advantages over older film lighting units. In general terms, LED requires much less power than Tungsten lights. As far as lumens, for the same amount of light, an LED requires 7 watts of power. This compares to Tungsten, which putting out same amount of light, requires 40 watts. LED energy usage is less by a factor of 5.5. Not only is it more efficient, but an LED’s operating temperature hovers around 60 degree centigrade to 80 degree centigrade. This compares to Tungsten, which burns at 2000 degrees centigrade to 3600 degrees centigrade, or over. The old ratio for Tungsten lamps was 60% heat, 40% light. The safety concerns are evident when you consider the higher temperatures forTungsten units. Simply put, LED is safer for technicians and talent. The savings on energy cost of LED vs Tungsten can be significant, especially for longer jobs. This ratio is most apparent for air conditioning costs for studios, again significant concerning longer jobs. Finally, LED’s bulbs lifespan is 15,000 to 35,000 hours, while Tungsten is approximately 1,000 to 2,000 hours, a lifespan 15 times over Tungsten.

An interesting development, done over 60 years ago, has had a massive cost saving impact on film making in 2023. The advent of Green Screen, and its various versions, has finally been become commonplace on film sets. Directors and Art Directors are now able to envision any environment and make it come to life in post. This allows production to not only create fantasy scenes but also everyday backgrounds. Entire productions can shoot a script in a studio, without leaving the studio. Once a large green screen is lit, a number of scenes from a script can be adapted to that environment. That means the massive support group for productions are not moving daily to different locations, it will be developed in post. Transportation, fuel, and the sheer logistics of moving a production are minimized, as is cost.

As we head in to the late 20’s, major advancements in LED walls and virtual studios are coming into the mainstream. Industrial Light and Magic have led the way with their “Stagecraft”, which is an environment created by digital images that are shown on LED walls. Chris Bannister, Executive Producer at ILM, notes that the Stagecraft can eliminate, or substantially reduce, the number of locations that would otherwise be required for filming. The Volume, which is what the virtual environment is called, doesn’t eliminate all set construction, but there will be a 30 to 70 percent reduction in construction materials as a result of smaller sets. Again the sustainability issue centers on cost of moving massive amounts of gear, people and trucks to various locations.

We have come a long way since the early days of film production. It has been a slow process, but inevitable. And, forward thinking film makers have endorsed it with a passion. It’s up to us as members of Local 600 to decide how to move forward and how to allow all of us to continue to work as filmmakers sustainably.