Preserving Creativity, Nature and Budgets with Remote Filming
“Productions are always worried about paper cups, e-generators, and cardboard food boxes, but not the greatest creator of CO2e in film production – travel,” says Anthony Barry, co-founder of Remote Filming, a remote streaming solution designed to make it easy to stream shoots with the best picture quality, global coverage, unlimited users and 24/7 support. The company was founded in 2019 and naturally found a lot of use during the pandemic when travel was restricted for all. The industry saw just how much can be achieved without huge teams jetting off to exotic locales, instead employing the latest technology and local teams to produce incredible work. What’s more, it saved tonnes of CO2e emissions – an indisputable net positive for the planet and an industry that’s looking to become greener.
Anthony says “it’s disappointing to see the sustainability conversation focus so much on paper cups and water bottles when the glaringly obvious CO2e saver is reducing travel. Every activity which helps our planet should be applauded, no matter how small, but if production companies, agencies and clients were truly considering helping to save on emissions and spend, they should be advocating for less travel. After all, production is only a small part of the role of a CMO and we hear a lot that they want to understand more about the production process as well as maximise their budgets and what’s being produced. Educating all in what can be saved (especially brands) may also mean they can unlock precious budget that could be reinvested into creating more content for that brand while doing good for the planet. The demand for content is rising and it is rising in areas like social and digital content, not TVC.”
As the world went back to ‘normal’ post-Covid, however, the
appetite for remote streaming decreased. Yet remote streaming is still one of
the best ways to ensure that a production makes the least environmental impact.
Below we dive into the key benefits of remote streaming and the data behind it,
proving that it’s possible to preserve creativity and nature at the same time.
“It’s time for an attitude shift; without one, there soon might not be a planet
on which to make productions or adverts at all,” states Anthony.
The savings are really, really significant
When talking about savings in production, people typically
mean budgetary ones. And while remote streaming definitely delivers on that, it
also delivers a huge reduction in emissions.
In 2021, Remote Filming estimated that the average shoot was costing around
£75,000 and producing 60 tonnes of CO2e through travel but by utilising Remote
Filming’s technology, both CO2e emissions and travel costs can be cut up 75%.
Many brands have trialled the technology and the success speaks for itself.
Everyone can still attend the shoot (just not in person)
There are a lot of stakeholders when it comes to making an
ad and many of them need to, or want to be, present on set. There’s security
and safety in having everyone present and available to make decisions should
issues arise or there are questions to address. But do they all need to
physically travel to the set? With remote streaming, all interested parties can
‘attend’ the shoot virtually while only the truly key people are on set. Let’s
be honest: no amount of reusable water bottles or vegan catering can offset the
emissions of flying and driving multiple people to the set and back, but having
them attend remotely solves both issues at once. A classic win/win.
It makes shoots accessible
There are multiple green benefits to the utilisation of
remote filming though another benefit doesn’t get spoken about nearly often
enough: accessibility. Not everyone in the industry is able bodied and able to
travel – so how can we enable those creatives and makers to participate and do
their jobs from afar? Remote streaming gives everyone who cannot travel, for
whatever reason, an easy way to ‘attend’ the production ensuring that every
single one is accessible and inclusive.
Streaming quality really matters
The availability of technologies like Zoom and Teams make it
seem like anyone can join and stream a shoot remotely, from anywhere at any
time and to everywhere. That’s correct on the surface but as streaming quality,
security, and speed varies vastly and many are simply not suited to the
advanced task necessary for advertising production. Remote Filming was specifically
and expertly designed by film producer for film producers to address these
needs and challenges, ensuring that every streamed shoot is lag-free, secure, cost-effective
and planet-saving.
It couldn’t be simpler to set up and use
It takes just five minutes to set up. Remote Filming is easy
for everyone to view on any device – Mac or PC, iOS, Windows, Android. No
expensive hardware or specialist crew is needed – just a computer connected to
the internet and a capture card. It works with or without video playback, with
or without sound, and any camera, be that single or multi-camera shoots.
And a final note…
Remote Filming is the only certified carbon-neutral remote streaming service in the world.
