Making Films Sustainably:
lessons from ‘Soft Rains’
I recently had the pleasure of attending a conference in Cardiff hosted by Ffilm Cymru, where we explored many sustainable filmmaking practices. It really got me thinking about my own team's journey in creating our short film, There Will Come Soft Rains, which is about a girl who is so haunted by rising sea levels that she decides to dig her father’s grave to move his body to higher ground. The film will have its world premiere at Aspen Film Festival in April 2025.
In 2023, we won Climate Spring’s Hot House Short Award, a fund designed specifically for narratives that have climate as characters rather than concepts. And that was the beginning of our journey to make a film that has Climate as number one on the call sheet.
Creating a film is an immense task and takes its toll on the planet, so I am well aware of the irony of making a film about climate change, but sometimes, it’s a message that has to be told in order to move people to change.
This is why we decided early in production to create a film that honours our planet while minimising our carbon footprint. Working in partnership with Green Screen and Green Rider Pilot (an initiative by Danusia Samal and Will Attenborough), we prioritised sustainability throughout every stage, from pre-production to post. And with the Green Rider, it ensured that our actors were on board from the very beginning.
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The film industry has a significantly large carbon footprint. Everything from transportation and energy use to catering waste, cast and crew travel and set construction can all lead to substantial CO2 emissions. Even smaller indie films which might not necessarily have big budgets still have a big climate footprint.
The industry is very wary of change and taking risks and often are slow to respond to the needs of our planet when it comes to our duties to make greener films. Yet, our film Soft Rains demonstrates that it is absolutely possible for filmmaking and sustainability to go hand in hand without compromising the quality of the end result.
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Here's a glimpse into some of the ways we made our film sustainable:
Smart Location Planning During pre-production, we carefully chose shooting locations that were close together, which did mean we needed a longer pre prodcution schedule, but it paid off. This not only helped us cut down on our carbon footprint by reducing our travel times between locations, but also allowed us to make the most of our shooting schedule.
Second-hand Sourcing Instead of buying new props and costumes, we opted for second-hand ones. This not only helped us reduce waste but also meant our production design was a lot more affordable.
Vegan Catering We embraced vegan catering during the whole production, which significantly reduced our environmental impact compared to traditional film set meals that often rely on animal products. And it was tasty!
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Sustainable Transportation Whenever we could, we used public transport for our travel and for those times when we needed power in remote locations, we utilised an eco-friendly generator provided by NXTGenbps instead of traditional diesel options.
On-set oversight We had a dedicated Green Screen Steward on set and present throughout production who continuously monitored that our environmental standards were maintained without compromise.
Remote Post-Production To cut down on unnecessary travel, my editor and I collaborated remotely using Frame.io. This way, I could share notes, feedback, and revisions without the carbon footprint of too many in-person meetings.
We also had the following policies on set:
- Won't use polystyrene in the catering dept. (It is carcinogenic and non recyclable)
- Donate any unwanted production assets (food, props, clothes, etc.) to charity.
- Implement a 'Switch Off' energy reduction campaign.
- Implement a no-idling policy for all vehicles.
- Recycle all batteries.
- Crew were encouraged to bring their own water bottles and coffee cups instead of using single-use plastics
These sustainable practices significantly contributed to our cost savings. By reducing waste, reusing materials, and planning effectively, we managed to maximise our limited budget even more.
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As filmmakers, we have a distinctive privilege and opportunity to highlight climate change through our narratives. Climate stories are human stories and no other industry tells human stories better than our own. However, our influence goes beyond what appears on screen - our filmmaking methods and the way we tell our stories are crucial as well.
My journey making There Will Come Soft Rains has demonstrated that sustainable filmmaking is not only achievable but is also practical and, above all, an essential responsibility for us as storytellers in this new world of rising waters.
Making films greener isn’t hard - be sure to read the Production Handbook by WeAreAlbert, as well as resources by Climate Spring, Greenscreen and The Green Rider who are all here to help you make films sustainably.
In 2023, we won Climate Spring’s Hot House Short Award, a fund designed specifically for narratives that have climate as characters rather than concepts. And that was the beginning of our journey to make a film that has Climate as number one on the call sheet.
Creating a film is an immense task and takes its toll on the planet, so I am well aware of the irony of making a film about climate change, but sometimes, it’s a message that has to be told in order to move people to change.
This is why we decided early in production to create a film that honours our planet while minimising our carbon footprint. Working in partnership with Green Screen and Green Rider Pilot (an initiative by Danusia Samal and Will Attenborough), we prioritised sustainability throughout every stage, from pre-production to post. And with the Green Rider, it ensured that our actors were on board from the very beginning.
The film industry has a significantly large carbon footprint. Everything from transportation and energy use to catering waste, cast and crew travel and set construction can all lead to substantial CO2 emissions. Even smaller indie films which might not necessarily have big budgets still have a big climate footprint.
The industry is very wary of change and taking risks and often are slow to respond to the needs of our planet when it comes to our duties to make greener films. Yet, our film Soft Rains demonstrates that it is absolutely possible for filmmaking and sustainability to go hand in hand without compromising the quality of the end result.
Here's a glimpse into some of the ways we made our film sustainable:
Smart Location Planning During pre-production, we carefully chose shooting locations that were close together, which did mean we needed a longer pre prodcution schedule, but it paid off. This not only helped us cut down on our carbon footprint by reducing our travel times between locations, but also allowed us to make the most of our shooting schedule.
Second-hand Sourcing Instead of buying new props and costumes, we opted for second-hand ones. This not only helped us reduce waste but also meant our production design was a lot more affordable.
Vegan Catering We embraced vegan catering during the whole production, which significantly reduced our environmental impact compared to traditional film set meals that often rely on animal products. And it was tasty!
Sustainable Transportation Whenever we could, we used public transport for our travel and for those times when we needed power in remote locations, we utilised an eco-friendly generator provided by NXTGenbps instead of traditional diesel options.
On-set oversight We had a dedicated Green Screen Steward on set and present throughout production who continuously monitored that our environmental standards were maintained without compromise.
Remote Post-Production To cut down on unnecessary travel, my editor and I collaborated remotely using Frame.io. This way, I could share notes, feedback, and revisions without the carbon footprint of too many in-person meetings.
We also had the following policies on set:
- Won't use polystyrene in the catering dept. (It is carcinogenic and non recyclable)
- Donate any unwanted production assets (food, props, clothes, etc.) to charity.
- Implement a 'Switch Off' energy reduction campaign.
- Implement a no-idling policy for all vehicles.
- Recycle all batteries.
- Crew were encouraged to bring their own water bottles and coffee cups instead of using single-use plastics
These sustainable practices significantly contributed to our cost savings. By reducing waste, reusing materials, and planning effectively, we managed to maximise our limited budget even more.
As filmmakers, we have a distinctive privilege and opportunity to highlight climate change through our narratives. Climate stories are human stories and no other industry tells human stories better than our own. However, our influence goes beyond what appears on screen - our filmmaking methods and the way we tell our stories are crucial as well.
My journey making There Will Come Soft Rains has demonstrated that sustainable filmmaking is not only achievable but is also practical and, above all, an essential responsibility for us as storytellers in this new world of rising waters.
Making films greener isn’t hard - be sure to read the Production Handbook by WeAreAlbert, as well as resources by Climate Spring, Greenscreen and The Green Rider who are all here to help you make films sustainably.
21 March 2025