Media Lab Studios Efficient Film Challenge

Indie film powerhouse IFC Entertainment is hoping to spark more efficient film production by holding a green short film contest. The Media Lab Studios Efficient Film Challenge is offering three prizes of up to $3,000 for short films that tackle the topic of energy efficiency. This is a fantastic opportunity for aspiring filmmakers to get exposure on the Independent Film Channel and Sundance Channel (not to mention some cash!), while making a timely statement and raising awareness.

No Impact Man

Our friends over at Oscilloscope, who distributed FLOW, have another environmental documentary coming out which we're very excited about. The film, which was shown at both Sundance and the LA Film Festival, follows Colin Beavan (aka No Impact Man) and his family as they spend a year in New York City trying to live without leaving any impact on the environment. That means that Colin, his wife, and his 2-year-old daughter planned to make no new purchases, use no electricity, and produce no trash.

To document the experiment , Colin started a blog that has since become a resource for anyone trying to reduce their carbon footprint. In addition to the film, Colin's story is also the subject of a book that will be released in September alongside the film. Meanwhile, Colin's currently working on the No Impact Project, a non-profit project meant to "engage citizens in choosing lives that they believe will both make themselves, their communities and the planet happier."

I Want My GreenTV

Something for everyone: G Love raps green at Bonnaroo, Jill Sobule sings an acoustic ditty about global warming, and some dude makes sweet electric love using a wheat pick.

WEEK 2: The Office

There's a lot of paperwork that must be done for a movie to get made - script rewrites, business plans, contracts, press kits and all other forms of hodgepodge that begin to clutter up the workspace. In short, a film spends half its life in an office.

This week, we're going to delve into how to make that office greener from cutting down on on junk mail to joining a socially conscious mobile phone company. Jenny and I will also be talking from a writer's perspective on paper consumption, something we're both very familiar with.

Brad Hole from The Sustainable Group will chime in with some helpful pointers on how you can modify your office to be more sustainable while also highlighting some interesting facts about his green office products company. We'll finish up the week with a checklist of green actions we're going to attempt in our own production office.

Howdy

Until now, the only environmentally friendly activity I took any interest in was recycling, and that had more to do with not wanting to get fined by my township than wanting to save the environment. It’s not that I didn’t care; I was hesitant. To be honest, I still am to an extent. My greatest fear is that the green movement becomes a lot of media hype about a topic that really needs public debate and education. And to be honest, it wasn’t something I thought I would be involved in until I saw a job posting on the Philadelphia Film Office website.

The thing that grabbed me about Jenny’s passion for her project is that it comes from an “I’m learning too” standpoint. She’s not pretending to have a solution but, when it comes to the film, she’s at least trying to find ways to shoot it as consciously as possible. My job is to document that here. As I’ve mentioned before, I know very little about how to “be green.” So as we do the research in pre-production, I’ll share it with you here.

Topics will range from how to get rid of used CDs and DVDs to interviews with people who are making an impact in their communities. We’ll demystify things like green certificates, carbon neutrality and fair trade and hope you'll join in on the discussions with your own questions and expertise. But please keep one thing in mind. We’re filmmakers first, environmentalists second. We’re learning, too. Mistakes will be made. We look forward to, and encourage, those heckles.

So sit back, drink some tea brewed in unbleached manila hemp teabags (or bourbon aged in recycled oak barrels, for you Hemingway types) and prepare yourself for what will hopefully be a fun and informative way to not only watch the mechanics of a how a film goes green, but how to be environmentally conscious without being preached at. Scout’s honor.