Sustainable Film Production Workshop at Binus Alam Sutera

As part of International Academic Contemporary Art & Design Exhibition (INACADE) 2023, Film Department Binus University held a workshop titled “Lokakarya Syuting Ramah Lingkungan” (Or: Eco-Friendly Film Shooting Workshop) on Friday, 24 November 2023. The workshop delivered a useful and applicable tips and tricks on how to support sustainability.

On November 24, Ms. Aryanna Yuris (producer) and Mr. Yongki Ongetsu (cinematographer, director) from Aenigma Pictures were invited to Binu Alam Sutera in order to hold a seminar regarding the art of sustainable film production. The seminar focused on how the pre-production aspect of film plays a heavy role in determining how much a film would cost, therefore dictating how sustainable a film would be to produce.

Ms. Aryanna and Mr Yongki first began the seminar by listing the many things that are needed to produce a film; whether it would be the film crew, props, provisions, equipment, etc. The myriad of components needed ultimately causes a film’s production to be costly; therefore, before making a film, one must ask: “Is it sustainable? How do I make it less costly than it needs to be?” The answer to these questions, as Ms. Aryanna and Mr. Yongki stated, lies in the pre-production, the step where everything is planned before they are executed.

In order to illustrate the point, the two drew from their own experience from making films like “Detak”; there they were faced with the predicament of the high costs that came from maintaining a crew for the film’s production that would last 16 days. In order to lower the costs, they went with creative solutions to the problems; like using reusables for provisions, whether that would be using tupperware, stainless cups etc. Using LED lighting instead of high consumption lighting, making props that can be reused for future projects or given to others to lower the costs and work with locals. All of these add up in saving costs within a production, by the end of it all. Which accumulates with both Ms. Aryanna and Mr. Yongki in telling one to invest in good pre-production, to be mindful of what you want and need alongside knowing who you’re working with when producing a film; these are the keys to sustainable film production.

The seminar was an insight and reminder to aspiring filmmakers of the size and cost of a fully realized film production. A wake up call to start making mindful decisions during pre-production in order to produce a film without investing excess costs. For when it comes to filmmaking, managing budget and costs is the first step before the production that determines howwell it would go. As the end goal of producing a film should always end with profit in order to sustain future projects.

Author: Veron Sinison Susilo

Editor: Rico Apridon, Yafi Rajabil