084: Sustainable Filmmaking & Production with Emellie O'Brien of Earth Angel Sets
A Sustainable Mind - environment & sustainability podcast
Marjorie Alexander
4.6 • 588 Ratings
🗓️ 19 March 2021
⏱️ 54 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Since Emellie O'Brien's first days in production, she knew there was a way for the role of sustainability on-set to go beyond basic waste management and recycling. She got her start at the NYU Tisch Film program and not long after graduation she landed her first job as a "Green Steward" with Big Beach Films in 2011. Her early years of dedication to green practices and passion for the environment on-set is what earned her the nickname "Earth Angel" from fellow crew members over the walkie, and to this day is still what production colleagues call her whenever she is on set. By 2013 EOB founded Earth Angel and turned it into a scalable model that has since inspired the entertainment industry and significantly reduced its environmental impact.
Earth Angel has helped films and series avoid 8,500 metric tons of greenhouse gases, divert over 4,800 tons of waste, and donate over 125,000 meals to the local communities. Their client roster includes The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Spielberg's The Post, Emmy-winner The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, and Lin Manuel Miranda's In the Heights. Earth Angel is headquartered in New York with offices in Los Angeles and Atlanta.
Interested in sponsoring or supporting A Sustainable Mind? Visit our sponsorship page at ASustainableMind.com/sponsor!
In this episode Marjorie and Emellie discuss:
- What it's like to work on and run a film production with and without sustainability in mind
- The type of research, stats, and projections that are considered when EA works with a production and what numbers are presented to the client at the end of a project
- What happens to the materials that are not used up at the end of the production
- What you should keep in mind when working with a company like Earth Angel and how you can make your production more sustainable on your own
- How Covid has impacted the film industry and the way EA works with productions
Resources mentioned in today's episode:
- Hot Take Podcast and Newsletter: https://www.hottakepod.com/
- Green Production Guide: https://www.greenproductionguide.com/
- The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/us
- Earther: https://earther.gizmodo.com/
- The Book on Awakening:
- Website: https://www.earthangel.nyc/
- Instagram: http://instagram.com/earthangelsets
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EarthAngelsets/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/earthangelsets
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/earth-angel-sustainable-production-services-llc
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/asustainablemind/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/SustainableMind
- Website: http://www.asustainablemind.com
Join us for our first live event, M.A.S.S. Eco Summit! It will be 3 days of keynotes, panels, and workshops on your favorite topics in the world of environmental sustainability! Grab your free ticket and learn how to get involved at MASSEcoLive.com.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is A Sustainable Mind, Episode 84. Today's episode is brought to you by Novak Hair Studios. |
| 0:10.2 | Novak Studios is a zero-waste salon in the Dallas-Forth area and is a certified green circle salon, |
| 0:17.5 | which means that they collect, recycle, and repurpose salon waste of all kinds, |
| 0:22.4 | and they are also taking measures on many other fronts to be able to bring more sustainable |
| 0:27.0 | hair care services to their clients. In episode 83, the founder Ben Hudgens shares with us |
| 0:33.7 | how he came to be inspired to start his own salon, and we also chat about what it's |
| 0:38.7 | like to run a sustainable business in an industry where it's not always easy to know exactly |
| 0:43.5 | how to be more environmentally conscious. You can learn more about Novak Studios at |
| 0:48.6 | Novakstudios.com. That's N-O-V-A-K-studios.com. |
| 0:58.2 | If you would like to sponsor a sustainable mind, we would love your support. |
| 1:04.3 | I was actually approached by a company just a few weeks ago that wanted to partner with us as a sponsor. |
| 1:12.3 | After a couple of weeks of conversations and doing a lot of digging on my own, I was actually really disappointed to find that this company that I was previously excited to chat with was not only doing a tremendous |
| 1:18.2 | disservice to many of their customers that were having terrible experiences, but also their |
| 1:23.4 | client support team was ineffective and dismissive. While I was not able to back up some of the |
| 1:30.8 | claims that I'd heard about them not fully following through on their promises as far as |
| 1:35.3 | environmental sustainability goes, it was enough for me that they were not doing right by their |
| 1:39.7 | clients. It can be a minefield out there to vet companies, test products and services, have conversations with those running the company or the founders, |
| 1:49.4 | enough to know not only where their heart is, but also to see if they're making good on their promises as it relates to environmental impact. |
| 1:56.9 | No company is perfect, nor am I, but I want to be as thorough as possible when it comes to bringing |
| 2:04.0 | you all companies that are doing good out in the world. And that includes them, hopefully being |
| 2:09.7 | honest about the impact that that company is having in their communities, on the environment, |
| 2:15.0 | and in what they're delivering to their customers. |
... |
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