Filmmaking can generate a significant amount of carbon. According to a white paper prepared by the Sustainable Production Alliance (members include Disney, Sony Pictures, Netflix and Amazon Studios), a SPA production budgeted between $20m or less has a carbon footprint of 391 metric tons, while for a tentpole feature ($70m or above) the average was 3,370 metric tons.

The film and wider content industry has sought ways to reduce carbon emissions. The SPA (now called the Sustainable Entertainment Alliance) produced a Green Production Guide that features tools created by the studios and professionals from the industry to help make filmmaking greener. It includes, for instance, a PEAR (Production Environmental Accounting Report) tool that is used to measure the environmental impact of any given production. PLUM (Production Lumber Material) tracks the use of Plywood, and PEACH (Production Environmental Actions Checklist) helps with planning.

In the UK, an organization called Albert was created in 2011 and now owned by BAFTA provides tools, events, guidance, and training on reducing the environmental impacts made by film and TV productions in seeking a sustainable future.

Other countries have implemented similar measures creating guides and manuals for eco-friendly productions such as Greening the Screen in New Zealand, Green Film Making in the Netherlands and Green Film in Italy.  

The UK that remains committed to reaching net zero by 2050 is also home to Green Shoot co-founded by Paul Evans. It helps productions reduce their carbon emissions and costs. It was involved in The Crown (2016-2023) Netflix series that was notable for its low carbon footprint. Since the company was created in 2009, it’s been involved in over 1,500 shoots.  

Paul Evans was in Seoul earlier this year for the Seoul International Eco Film Festival where he spoke at a forum on how to make films green. When asked in local interviews here what advice he had for the Korean industry he said “in the UK, the Netflix series The Crown has set a good precedent for raising awareness of eco-friendly productions. I think it’s important for influential media players, such as TV channels and streaming platforms, to build a consensus. Money is the biggest factor. It’s crucial and the fastest way to drive action for those who fund productions and hold significant influence.”

Korea too has been making tangible steps forward in reducing its carbon emissions in its content industry amidst global ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) trends. This week we look at some of the guidelines put together by the Korean Film Council’s (KOFIC) own report published in 2020 and some of the eco-friendly shooting locations in Korea that includes CJ ENM’s studios in Paju.

2020 KOFIC report on Environmental Guidelines for Sustainable Filmmaking

Published in October 2020, a comprehensive report was put together by KOFIC on making filmmaking more environmentally friendly examining examples from overseas including Australia (Good Green Production Bible), the British Film Institute (Albert) and France (ECOPROD). It also highlighted projects such as Fifty Shades Freed (2023) and Downton Abbey (2019) and the measures that were introduced like the banning of disposable plastic bottles.

Turning to Korea, it highlights the country’s national parks, conservation areas, natural ecosystems, and marine protected areas among others. While Korea is a small nation making it less carbon intensive to travel across the country, it does host a range of habitats, forests, mountains and costal areas that can also change with Korea’s distinctive seasons. Korean films have often captured the country’s idyllic scenery but it’s also important to ensure these ecosystems are left undisturbed. The report makes reference to the controversy sparked by the film The Battle: Roar to Victory (2019) owing to the environmental damage it caused during the filming of war scenes in the Habangso Ecological Conservation Area in the Donggang River.

Akin to white papers produced by other organizations overseas, the report provides environmental guidelines for sustainable filmmaking and breaks them down into the different stages of production beginning with pre-production. Laptops, for instance, are encouraged over desktops, staff should be trained on basic environmental guidelines for the whole filmmaking process. There are also instructions on heating and the use of air conditioning, for example.

Among its recommendations are those centered on set construction, and it notes how this can have a significant environmental impact during film production. Materials used for set-design are often not recycled and sets are dismantled. Existing outdoor locations and existing sets from other production companies should, therefore, it says be prioritized and when constructing new sets eco-friendly materials should be used.

During the production phase, some of the guidelines include eco-friendly clothing brands, renting plants (instead of purchasing them), operating high-rated energy efficiency props, prioritizing hybrid or eco-friendly vehicles, using energy-efficient lighting, providing large water purifiers and educating all crews on environmental filming. There should also be precautions for filming in legally protected areas, which includes checking the regulations and filming restrictions, while filming, for instance, should be avoided during breeding season and prioritizing CGI over the use of explosives. After filming is completed, the reports states that sets should be donated or sold to film schools, while costumes should be stored for donation, resale, reuse, or recycling.

Eco-friendly shooting locations

Much has changed since the report was published with the effects from the Covid-19 pandemic and the impact streaming has had now further realized with the Korea film industry still struggling to find its feet. Some governments including the Trump administration are also putting less of an emphasis on environmental policies meaning measures to reduce carbon emissions generate less media coverage, but the challenges presented by climate change remain real as highlighted in the report.

The CJ ENM Studio Center, Korea’s largest multi-production facility with 49,586 square meters of outdoor filming space opened in 2022 in Paju, Northwest of Seoul. Its energy efficiency marked a first in Korea with LED lighting in each facility. It also has high- efficiency power transformers, automatic lighting, and heat recovery ventilators.

Utilizing technology to reduce carbon waste in reducing the need to repeatedly install and dismantle sets, the studio also opened a virtual production stage covering 360-degrees of walls and a ceiling with micro-LED lighting. It also reduces the filming time compared to green screen where effects are added later because filmmakers can see there on set how the scene will look. The technology was pioneered in collaboration with Samsung Electronics.

The studio also conducts biodiversity conservation activities including protecting wild birds, while it has also opened a nature walking trail for local residents. Furthermore, it is located near studios in Paju, Goyang and Sangam-dong in Seoul further lessoning the carbon footprint in terms of transport emissions.

The CJ ENM studio is part of a wider commitment by CJ ENM to practice ESG management echoing US and European major players such as Netflix, Disney and the BBC. It became the first Korean content company to publish an ESG report in 2021 further strengthening its ESG disclosure.

A Virtual Production studio was also recently opened at the Busan Film Studio in a collaboration between the Busan Film Commission and BASICTECH. The VR studio features an AOTO RM series LED display measuring 20.5 meters wide and 3.5 meters tall. It is also set to reduce post-production time as the industry seeks ways to become more efficient – not least at a time when film budgets are coming down as investment opportunities have dried up. 

Looking elsewhere, the Goyang Aqua Studios located just ten minutes by car from Seoul is a remodeled water purifying plant. By bringing fresh water from the neighboring Gongneungcheon stream, it keeps costs significantly down making water photography more sustainable. The studio houses two outdoor tanks (its largest is 24x11x3 meters) and is well-equipped to handle productions that require extensive and complex scenes set out in the ocean. Furthermore, the tanks were constructed utilizing existing sedimentation tanks.

Dozens of films and dramas including Roaring Currents (2014), Smugglers (2023) and Squid Game (2021-2025) have been shot there since it opened in 2011 making it one of the most sought-after shooting locations in the country.  The flooding scenes in Bong Joon Ho’s Parasite (2019) – along with the scenes in and around the subbasement - were shot there in just three weeks with all the water sourced from the adjacent stream.

Although the Korean film industry still needs to make further steps to make the process of filming more environmentally friendly, it has and continues to make steps to make film production greener. 

Written by Jason Bechervaise

Edited by kofic