Founded in 1993 by Barbara Shrier, the production company Palomar has obtained its first Rolling Green accreditation for its feature film Brain Freeze, released in 2021. However, the producer has been implementing green practices on her sets for several decades. It is therefore only natural that the excellence of her actions has been rewarded.
Brain Freeze, a pilot project
Initiated when the Rolling Green program was still in the making, the pro-ecological black comedy Brain Freeze served as a pilot project for the Quebec film and television council (QFTC), the Conseil québécois des événements écoresponsable (CQEER) and Quebecor. CQEER officials visited the set to observe the green gestures instituted by Barbara Shrier and her team.
Invited to speak about eco-responsibility at the annual convention of the Association québécoise de la production médiatique in April 2022, as part of the conference: Eco-responsible productions -How to mobilize your team as a producer? presented by the QFTC and Rolling Green, the producer of Brain Freeze shared her good practices with Christine Maestracci, president and CEO of the QFTC, and the hundred or so producers gathered for the occasion. “It was a huge success. Many producers came to see me afterwards to find out where to start when it comes to green filming,” she says.
The green gestures of the shooting of Brain Freeze
Some of the most notable green gestures from the making of Brain Freeze include:
– A paperless set. Since her early days as a producer, Barbara Shrier has tried to reduce paper on her productions. “I’ve been an advocate of paperless productions for years. We only print what we need to,” she says. No more service sheets, no more script cuts on the set.
– An ecological canteen. The Alliance québécoise des techniciens et techniciennes de l’image et du son (AQTIS) offered the production reusable bamboo utensils. The Brain Freeze team was encouraged to bring their own water bottle and coffee mug, with single-use water bottles banned from the set. The two daily snacks were served in containers brought by the artists and technicians, and taken home in the evening for reuse the next day. Waste was sorted on the set into three bins: compost, recycling and household waste.
– Carpooling. The artists and technicians on the Brain Freeze set formed carpools based on their location. Those who committed to transporting at least two other people throughout the shoot were reimbursed for their gas. The production also provided drivers with parking close to the shoot. Drivers of private cars did not have these benefits.
– Public Transportation. Staff traveling by public transportation were reimbursed for their OPUS card. However, due to the early morning hours of the shoot and the remote locations, this mode of transportation was not always available.
– Cigarette butt recycling. Barbara Shrier convinced the AQTIS to invest in containers to collect cigarette butts on the set. These were recycled thanks to financial assistance from the CQEER. The containers were then returned to the AQTIS so that they could be used by others.
The essential steps of a green shoot
According to Barbara Shrier, there are a few essential steps to follow in order to successfully conduct a green shoot. The first is to surround yourself with the right people. “With equal talent, it may be appropriate to choose a person with a more pronounced ecological sensitivity,” she says. She also takes care, before the shooting, to expose her philosophy to the members of her team.
The second step is to organize weekly meetings with the department heads in order to establish an ecoresponsible action plan. Good ideas are exchanged between all team members: reduction of consumption by using rechargeable batteries, reusable make-up removal pads, rental of sets and costumes, etc. To encourage the teams, a prize may be awarded to the department that has done the most good.
COVID-19, a period of green change
The COVID-19 pandemic occurred four days before the end of the Brain Freeze shoot. This forced the team to stop filming for nearly four months. The filming was interrupted in March 2020 and resumed only in July of the same year.
However, the resumption was not as smooth as expected. “When we resumed shooting, there were many restrictions to limit the spread of the virus: mandatory disposable masks, use of single-use plastic bottles and individual packaging, a ban on carpooling… It was a nightmare,” comments Barbara Shrier.
However, COVID-19 also brought a wind of green change. Some stubborn habits have been corrected in favor of more ecological gestures. For example, accounting finally went digital… and green. It was no longer necessary to print out timesheets, invoices and checks. In addition, all the different stages of post-production were organized differently, in particular by favouring videoconferences over travel.
With the return to normal, the old and new good habits seem to persist. Everything leads us to believe that, following the example of Brain Freeze, filming will be increasingly green from now on. For producers wishing to apply for the Rolling Green accreditation for their production, click here.
The COVID-19 pandemic occurred four days before the end of the Brain Freeze shoot. This forced the team to stop filming for nearly four months. The filming was interrupted in March 2020 and resumed only in July of the same year.
However, the resumption was not as smooth as expected. “When we resumed shooting, there were many restrictions to limit the spread of the virus: mandatory disposable masks, use of single-use plastic bottles and individual packaging, a ban on carpooling… It was a nightmare,” comments Barbara Shrier.
However, COVID-19 also brought a wind of green change. Some stubborn habits have been corrected in favor of more ecological gestures. For example, accounting finally went digital… and green. It was no longer necessary to print out timesheets, invoices and checks. In addition, all the different stages of post-production were organized differently, in particular by favouring videoconferences over travel.
With the return to normal, the old and new good habits seem to persist. Everything leads us to believe that, following the example of Brain Freeze, filming will be increasingly green from now on. For producers wishing to apply for the Green Shooting accreditation for their production, click here.