The Planet Positive Winner & Finalists

CAMA Assetstore is nominating the Art Dept for The Essex Serpent (Apple TV+ and See-Saw Films), for its commitment to working more sustainably in very challenging circumstances. On location in the Essex estuary, the Art Dept worked closely with the Producer and Marine Dept, who were committed to protecting the biodiversity of the salt marshes. On location, nothing was built from scratch, instead sets were adapted from existing buildings. The tide directly affected access, so crew, equipment and props had to be sent out by boat. The rule was “if you can’t carry you can’t take” which was supported fully. The Sustainability Co-ordinator and Art Dept ensured set pieces and props were donated to various organisations or stored with CAMA. Two arctic trucks worth of set-build: an entire bedroom, 3 window-seat structures, floorboards, windows, stairs, a cupboard and exterior wall flats was donated to Ravensbourne University, for their filmmaking students. The Essex Serpent was an Albert Certified and accredited production.

The production was mainly based in and around Margate, with crew staying locally or using public transport and electric bicycles to travel to set. The construction team used recycled materials in key set pieces, and props were sourced second hand where feasible. Crew were encouraged to avoid use of single use plastics among other sustainability initiatives.

Our presentation shows how we incorporated reclaimed elements from house clearance into sets, made thoughtful design choices using less materials, worked closely with the props department to find sustainable homes for almost everything in a prop sale and by finding new places to take leftover items to. We acknowledge our attempts weren’t perfect but this particular project increased awareness of sustainability in design for many of us and is something that we are taking into new projects and making better, more informed choices. We look forward to learning from other entries and sharing ideas as we go forward.

The vibe of this whole campaign is joyous and playful with a sense of magic and whimsy that permeates each story. In the three unique films of this campaign, we’re actually showcasing examples of a single story – the story of Meta’s Personalised Ads allowing small and midsize businesses to effortlessly and joyfully flourish. From the very beginning we pitched the idea of a wholly sustainable production to the client who were completely supportive of the methodology. We are convinced that by increasing green jobs and by making it easy and cost-effective to choose green solutions, we can promote a virtuous circle where increased sustainability awareness on sets improves all aspects of production. Our client: Facebook is now using our techniques to showcase how to have a more sustainable and eco-friendly production which is a monumental result! The ads themselves are pretty great too!

My initiative will help reduce the film industry’s reliance on landfill and continue to lower emissions for years to come, all whilst helping vulnerable people. I worked with a charity that installed our set’s carpets into council houses as tenants often can’t afford carpet and are left with cold bare floors when they move in. Just 4 of our sets will recarpet more than 15 homes and in turn these homes will use less energy on heating. Were the whole industry to get involved we could make an astronomical impact!

The designer was committed to creating a set construction method that avoided waste. The result was a self-designed solution of cardboard bricks which was then skinned with printed or painted canvas. The brief to the set dressing team was to avoid plastic and ensure props were 100% compostable.