Annabelle Wilczur
Annabelle Wilczur is an Assistant Business Agent with the Directors Guild of Canada, British Columbia. After 25 years on set as an AD, Annabelle has since worked for both the Quebec and BC District Councils of the DGC since 2018. She publishes the column The Green Scene for the DGC BC's Newsletter to Members and DGC BC's LOGLINE for DGC BC Permittee Logbook Holders.
The Green Scene: Reducing Dirty Diesel
What’s green and hums softly? The new range of clean and quiet electric batteries available to rent in Vancouver!
At the recent Clean Energy Workshop put on by IATSE, Reel Green and MBS, I got to see some super-cute mini electric battery units that come in varying sizes from 6K to 100K and would be fantastic for powering crafty, catering, or a lone light in the far distance that would normally take miles of cable to reach from a traditional genny. All these units recharge by simply plugging in.
Equipment houses like Sunbelt (formerly William F. White’s) and MBS are now carrying these, and what’s exciting is that this new green technology is being developed by 3 BC manufacturers: Portable Electric and RIC Electronics, both in Burnaby, and Valid Manufacturing from Salmon Arm. MBS also helped develop a larger unit, the Urban Power Source (UPS) that is the roughly size of a diesel generator but is completely electric – all it emits is a quiet fan sound. It can be used deep in the forest or right inside a studio. Think of splinter units in daylight that no longer need cabling from the main genny – or starting up catering at 5am in residential neighbourhoods – by going electric the benefits are apparent.
Compare that to the noisy and toxic fume-emitting diesel generators that can burn $30/hr of fossil fuels and emit 1 METRIC TONNE of carbon each over a 12 hour day. That’s actually more CO2 emissions than driving a car from Vancouver to Toronto! Per generator, per day! Eliminating 1 diesel generator per day keeps the air around us cleaner and will also get you 50% off a film permit from the City of Vancouver or BC Parks.
We literally have the power to make filming more sustainable. Change is in the air!
Annabelle Wilczur
Assistant Business Agent
Tell me what your show is doing to be more sustainable! Do you have a green tip or success story you'd like us to share in a future Ebulletin? Send me an email at awilczur@dgcbc.com.
For more ideas on ways to effect change, check out DGC National’s DGC Green site as well as Creative BC’s Reel Green website for new industry initiatives, green vendors, events and courses you can take.