Written by Kianna Best on Nov 20, 2024. Posted in Production News

Bristol’s The Bottle Yard Studios and Picture Zero collaborate on sustainable strike

For the production of new BBC drama Wolf Hall: The Mirror & the Light directed by Peter Kominsky, Bristol’s The Bottle Yard Studios have supported Picture Zero to embark on a sustainable strike of scenery and sets. After filming at the studio facilities, as well as many locations across England and Wales between December 2023 and April 2024, the end of the production saw 23 tonnes of scenery re-homed.  

Image courtesy of the BBC

“As our industry grapples with the overlapping challenges of climate change and resource depletion, it is more important than ever to tackle our consumption excesses and reduce waste,” commented Lisa Osborne, producer of Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light. “Having worked with them before on Becoming Elizabeth in 2020-22, I knew that The Bottle Yard would be enthusiastic partners in helping us to minimise waste on Wolf Hall: The Mirror and the Light and was delighted when Picture Zero stepped in to help coordinate our efforts. Together they made the whole process straightforward and collaborative.”

Whilst no stage space had been used at the famed Bristol based studios, The Bottle Yard’s facilities were utilised for storage for scenery materials, the majority of which was transported to The White Horse military show, a not for profit initiative in Neston Park Estate, Wiltshire. Efforts like sustainable set strikes combat the many gateways for increased CO2 emissions during the production process, and  the staggering 12.8 tonnes generated for the average hour of film and TV according to a 2022 BAFTA albert report.

Image courtesy of Picture Zero

“Using recycled sets like these from the film industry enables us to create new sets for our immersive living history festival run by volunteers from all walks of life,” commented Richard Dalton, production director at The White Horse Military Show. Over a 40-acre site we create environments for re-enactors, singers and historians to perform in- this year we had 26 sets in total. The sets will remain with us and go up again year after year.”

“From the outset, the producers were clear they wanted to donate and rehome as much scenery as possible,” commented Lily Limmer, sustainability manager at Picture Zero. “Usually we’d arrange for scenery and sets to be kept on the stages for a few days post-wrap, to give theatres, charities and schools enough time to come and collect pieces from a centralised store. However, Wolf Hall: The Mirror & the Light was shooting entirely on location. Production headquarters were based at The Bottle Yard Studios, but no stage space had been hired. The locations that filming was taking place at were often very remote, and there was no realistic way we could have arranged collections from them.”

Image courtesy of Picture Zero

The Bottle Yard Studios are well versed in implementing sustainable practices in the production process, taking home the Sustainable Initiative Award at last year’s Global Production Awards. Their TBY2 facility, which received and “Outstanding” rating by the BAFTA albert Studio Sustainability Standard, is powered by a community owned 1MW solar rooftop funded by Bristol Energy Cooperative.

“We see it as part of our role to support productions to work sustainably, and sometimes that requires flexibility and collaboration to find ‘workarounds’ to problems,” commented Katherine Nash, business & operations manager and sustainability lead at The Bottle Yard Studio. “It’s great to see more productions bringing experts like Picture Zero on board. On this occasion we thankfully had space to provide the storage that was needed to meet the team’s sustainability goals, and we did so with the knowledge that local organisations would benefit from reusing these materials. Drama is the highest CO2-emitting genre in film and TV production, so we’re always looking for ways to help productions reduce environmental impact.”

Meet The Bottle Yard Studios and Bristol Film Office at this year's FOCUS London, held from 10-11 December at the Business Design Centre in Islington. Register HERE for your complimentary delegate pass.