M OUN KY T C A I O N R I N E STIT U T LIGHTS! CAMERAS! CLEAN ENERGY! A GUIDE TO INTEGRATING CLEAN ENERGY NORMS INTO POPULAR TELEVISION AND FILM BY JACOB CORVIDAE AND DOUGLAS MILLER AUTHORS & ACKNOWLEDGMENTS AUTHORS Jacob Corvidae and Douglas Miller CONSULTANT: PGA Green * Authors listed alphabetically. All authors from Rocky Mountain Institute unless otherwise noted. CONTACTS Douglas Miller, [email protected] Jacob Corvidae, [email protected] SUGGESTED CITATION Miller, Douglas and Jacob Corvidae. Lights! Cameras! Clean Energy! A Guide to Integrating Clean Energy Norms into Popular Television and Film. Rocky Mountain Institute, 2018. http://www.rmi.org/lights_ camera_clean_energy EDITORIAL/DESIGN Editorial Director: Cindie Baker Editor: Laurie Guevara-Stone Creative Director: Romy Purshouse Design: Chang Fu Images courtesy of iStock unless otherwise noted. ABOUT US M OUN KY T C A I O N R I N E STIT U T ABOUT ROCKY MOUNTAIN INSTITUTE Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI)—an independent nonprofit founded in 1982—transforms global energy use to create a clean, prosperous, and secure low-carbon future. It engages businesses, communities, institutions, and entrepreneurs to accelerate the adoption of market-based solutions that cost-effectively shift from fossil fuels to efficiency and renewables. RMI has offices in Basalt and Boulder, Colorado; New York City; Washington, D.C.; and Beijing. ABOUT GREEN PRODUCTION GUIDE The Green Production Guide was developed by the Producers Guild of America Foundation and PGA Green with primary support from 20th Century Fox, Amazon Studio, Amblin Partners, Disney, NBCUniversal, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures Entertainment, and Warner Bros Entertainment. The Green Production Guide features a searchable database of vendors with information about their eco-products, their services, their production experience, and what locations they serve. The site also offers an updated Production Environmental Accounting Report (PEAR) calculator, which can be downloaded to help producers determine their production’s carbon footprint, and the Production Environmental Actions Checklists (PEACH), which details best practices by department, as well as other tools and resources for sustainable film and television production. TABLE OF CONTENTS 01: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ............................................................................................................................. 05 02: THE OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE CLEAN ENERGY “NORMAL” THROUGH TELEVISION AND FILM ............................................................................................................................................................. 06 03: HOW TO DEVELOP CLEAN ENERGY ROLE MODELS AND STORYLINES FOR POPULAR TELEVISION AND FILM PRODUCTIONS ................................................................................................... 09 04: NEXT STEPS .................................................................................................................................................10 05: APPENDIX: EXAMPLES OF CLEAN ENERGY ROLES AND STORYLINES ..............................11 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY HIGHLIGHTS support, there is an opportunity for it to become • Clean energy is underrepresented in popular more prevalent on-screen and in pop-culture television and film productions. Because productions of all types. The imperative for action clean energy technologies (e.g., wind, solar, is also becoming clearer due to the visible and energy efficiency, electric vehicles, and others) tangible affects of pollution, biodiversity loss, and are becoming mainstream among investors, the changing climate. corporations, households, and policymakers across • With a deficit of clean energy storylines and role the globe, the time is now ripe for storytellers in models in popular content, audiences can’t connect media to reflect this reality in popular television deeply with or model behavior of relatable and shows and feature films. compelling content and characters. In addition, • Informed by leading industry research and clean energy storylines are sometimes presented experience, Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) and as unappealing because of the negative portrayal the Green Production Guide (GPG) offer a guide of environmentally conscious characters. for television and film production companies to integrate clean energy themes and ideas into THE SOLUTION on-screen content. Production companies can • New stories need to be told that more accurately use the recommendations found in this guide describe the world as it is and that can help create to determine how they can develop characters, a better, more desirable world. storylines, and visual imagery that more accurately • There is an opportunity for television and film present clean energy to their audiences and make productions to better represent and normalize it more relatable. clean energy across society by integrating the topic • This guide also encourages film schools, film into the storylines, character roles and identities, festivals, and city/state/national film offices to help and visual imagery of popular content. promote increased use of clean energy storylines • This guide offers television and film production in productions. professionals concrete recommendations and creative fodder for increasing and improving the THE CHALLENGE representation of clean energy in productions for • There is a discrepancy between the growing mainstream audiences. uptake and popularity of clean energy and the • Production companies (as well as film schools, film representation of clean energy in popular television festivals, and film offices) can partner with GPG and film productions. Clean energy continues to for advisory support to integrate clean energy be treated as a niche topic in content and is most characters, storylines, and visual imagery into often limited to documentaries with relatively low productions. They can also partner with RMI to viewership. Because clean energy is no longer develop a robust business strategy for energy a niche “alternative” energy source, but rather a performance improvements and renewable energy major source of employment, investment, and voter procurement to support their company’s operations. M OUN KY T C A I O N R A GUIDE TO INTEGRATING CLEAN ENERGY NORMS INTO POPULAR TELEVISION SHOWS AND FILMS | 5 I N E STIT U T THE OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE CLEAN ENERGY “NORMAL” THROUGH TELEVISION AND FILM CLEAN ENERGY IS outnumber fossil fuel jobs in the United States, with UNDERREPRESENTED IN POPULAR 25% and 32% increases in 2016, respectively, in TELEVISION AND FILM PRODUCTIONS, solar and wind power jobs. These clean energy jobs GIVEN ITS FAST-GROWING are creating new roles for people across multiple PROMINENCE AND PUBLIC SUPPORT economic sectors. Clean energy investments are growing at a rapid rate: Due primarily to technological improvements and cost Clean energy markets present opportunities for the reductions, the global clean energy industry is now broader public: Clean energy is poised for continued as large as the fashion industry in size, reaching $1.4 market expansion as investment and employment trillion in revenues in 2015. Recent market research opportunities grow over the coming years. The indicates that renewable energy projects represent broader public has a major stake in knowing about nearly two-thirds of new capacity additions to the US these opportunities so that they can position electricity system as costs decline and new financing themselves to capture investment opportunities and solutions emerge. pursue education and training for clean energy jobs. Clean energy is favored in popular opinion: Polls across the globe, such as this recent US poll, continue to demonstrate that most people favor clean energy over energy from fossil fuels. Support for candidates who promote clean energy also transcends political party lines among US voters. Concern over climate change in the United States has also reached an all-time high. Major companies—including those in technology, consumer products, fashion, and more— are setting and making progress toward meeting clean energy goals. Some of these companies are also proactively promoting these goals, encouraging consumers to follow their lead, and even integrating clean energy into their storefronts. These favorable views imply that audiences of popular television and film productions would relate to clean energy stories and characters upon which they can model the decisions they make for their households, businesses, and communities. Clean energy employment is on the rise: A growing number of people work in wind, solar, energy efficiency, electric vehicles, and other clean energy industries. For example, clean energy jobs already M OUN KY T C A I O N R A GUIDE TO INTEGRATING CLEAN ENERGY NORMS INTO POPULAR TELEVISION SHOWS AND FILMS | 6 I N E STIT U T THE OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE CLEAN ENERGY “NORMAL” THROUGH TELEVISION AND FILM PRODUCTIONS SHOULD ENHANCE THE REPRESENTATION OF CLEAN RELATED HISTORICAL EXAMPLES ENERGY IN POPULAR TELEVISION AND FILM PRODUCTIONS Media is both a driver and a mirror of change in Productions should integrate clean energy in popular society. This role directly benefits the television and television and film productions to promote emerging film production industry when it creates on-screen social norms: Although clean energy technological content that better connects with audiences, increases improvements and cost reductions, along with viewership, and attracts advertisers. Consider increasing