IFN-Talk 10.11.2023 mit Maris Salumets 🇬🇧

The transcription is about a LinkedIn Sustainability Talk featuring a guest named Maris Salumets. The talk is conducted in English and focuses on the importance of sustainability in film production. Maros discusses her experience in producing documentaries and branded content, as well as her efforts to incorporate sustainability into her projects. She emphasizes the power of visual storytelling in driving the message of sustainability and shares examples of impact campaigns that have successfully brought about change. Maros also talks about the process of creating a documentary or photo series with sustainability at its core, highlighting the need to consider sustainability from the initial idea stage and make conscious choices throughout the production process. She mentions practices such as using authentic locations, sourcing local talent, and minimizing waste on set. Overall, the talk highlights the importance of sustainability in the film industry and provides insights into incorpor Happy Friday. Happy Friday, everyone. Good morning or good afternoon, everybody. And thanks for joining today's LinkedIn Sustainability Talk that we're doing over here every Friday. A short but sweet 30 minutes. We are very, very happy today to have an international guest. So we are doing the session today in English language. And go and have a coffee. Go and have an orange juice. Have a great time. And we will wait a couple of more minutes now for everybody to join the talk today. And then we will start for the ones who haven't been in the talk today. Maybe something about the procedure today. We will have this LinkedIn audio talk now for the next half an hour. So we do 30 minutes of having the interview with our beautiful guest Maros Velovac from Estonia. Afterwards, we will move on and jump to the oceanlaunch.xyz. In case you have any questions, you want to connect using SynergyFX, everything afterwards happens in the oceanlaunch.xyz. So we are more than happy to welcome you over there. And then we will have the opportunity to plan a beautiful poll app for the ones who are selecting poll apps, which is the proof of attendance protocol. We will have that later on as well in the metaverse, in the oceanlaunch. And so whenever you have time afterwards, looking forward to see you there. Yes. And so I think we are almost ready to go. And as I already said, I'm very, very happy and very excited for today's session in English language with our lovely guest Maros Velovac. A warm welcome from our end today. Hi, everyone. Really excited to be here. Thank you for having me. Our pleasure. Absolutely. And for the target audience, maybe a couple of words about Maros. Maros studied audiovisual media in Baalbek Film and Media School. And she has finished her studies in the FAMU in Prague. Then Maros moved to London in 2012. She has had the opportunity to produce various award-winning documentary films and branded content over there. And Maros' main focus has been on creative producing. And this has allowed her to work with massive and major production houses such as VICE, Discovery Channel, Channel 4, BBC and Arte. Maros is currently working on several independent projects and is a frequent visitor on all major film markets, additional. And on top of that, she just opened a new service, which is called Client Creative. And this is for commercial projects, projects that help clients match creatives around the world while curating specific hybrid networks for all of their project needs. Yes, Maros, again, a very warm welcome. And I'm pretty sure that I have forgot something. Maybe you can say something about yourself and how you get in touch of the topic of sustainability. Hi, everyone, one more time. I think I've said pretty much everything. My main focus has been mainly in film work for documentaries. And I've done a lot of commercial work as well, which after a couple of years, I really started to appreciate how we do things as well. It's important what we do, but it's also how we do it and how we evaluate the processes. And in the last couple of years, I've been really pushing for most of the projects where I've been working that we need to keep an eye on sustainability as well. Because, you know, our planet is just one planet and I don't think we can move anytime soon. So we do need to take care of this. So this is my act and my platform. Thank you. Thank you so much, Maros. And I couldn't agree more. And as we are driving off now, maybe you can share a particular image or film that first opened your eyes to the importance of sustainability in your work. I think the one film I personally was affected, it's actually a theory. It's Blue Planet, a David Attenborough. And it was the first time when I saw it. And it made me realize how my own actions actually can affect and benefit our world, a more sustainable world. And they have such a great impact campaign. So starting from there, I decided to have all the impact campaigns added to my own project. So it's not only that you're trying to create a great film, but it's also you make sure that the topics you cover can reach the people to think and evaluate how they do things. For example, is it women's rights? Or is it, you know, sustainable environment? You can make topics about that, but impact campaigns always give an extra effort for people to apply these changes as well. So I would say Blue Planet to me personally has been always, always kind of like a project that motivated me the most. I couldn't agree more, Maros. Absolutely. Absolutely. And when we're thinking about, let's say, storytelling for change, I mean, in your experience, which is a lot of experience, whether this is in footage or still productions, I mean, how can the power of visual storytelling in photography and film drive the message of sustainability, given the fact that it's such a massive topic? I think that we have to understand what content taps into our consciousness. And this is a very important thing to do when you're thinking of a project. If it's a commercial, if it's a photo curation, if it's a film, that's what will tap into the viewer or consumer consciousness. And this needs to be something that is, you know, it's almost like you take an arrow and you hit to this one point and you let go. And once you have this one strong image or one, you know, this image that matters, it will hit people deeper inside. And they will start to eventually evaluate. They will evaluate themselves. They evaluate how they do things, how they process. And it comes from, you know, moving from personal to professional work, as well. And I feel like now we live in a society where change is celebrated. How, you know, there's a very good example. I would just give a very quick case that is a UK documentary about it. And it's all about the use of plastic and how we should decrease it. But they have this crazy impact campaign where they targeted to decrease the use of plastic packs in stores. And they did. It's significant that initially they presented the impact campaign with the photography that was launched after they got into that kind of consciousness. And I don't remember the statistics significantly, but I think it was something like 20-30% of reduction of plastic bags in stores in UK was achievement of this campaign. So I feel like, you know, people in our industries should go and look for case studies like this and what actually works before. Absolutely. And I mean, if we're talking about 20 or 30% plastic reduction, yeah, that's a massive amount. And as you said, change is needed. And now in these days, the change is celebrated even more than ever. So, yeah, absolutely, absolutely worth that. For the people that are listening right now, I think it would be very interesting to take a look behind the scenes. So maybe you could walk us through your process of creating a documentary or photo series with sustainability at its core. Maybe you can share some of your insights from the behind-the-scenes stuff. I feel that the world has changed a lot, especially with COVID. And I think, you know, COVID made us think already from the very beginning what do we want to do and how do we achieve it. And what kind of steps we all take in the process. For example, and I think it's very good to understand, it has to be, it's not later in the process, but it's already from the very beginning. It's from the idea. For example, like now, I don't think it goes really well anymore to build studios with these kind of fake settings and use it for a couple of days and then throw everything away. Like, you know, it creates a lot of garbage in the process. So when you think of, like, hey, if we're going to build, like, I don't know, like I said in the medieval times, maybe I should build a craft. They already have it in very expensive environments. You know, they have the housing over there. They have the storage rooms. Maybe I can work over there somehow. And also when you're doing it, you're thinking, like, hey, do I have to buy my own room from the UK or Germany, or I can work with local investors or with local creators, you know. And now I think it's from the very, you know, who can invest, like, who is under, replaceable. Let's say you have a director or key actors, but if you can source everyone else locally, you will decrease significantly. If you travel, you decrease, like, set buildings, you know. Like I said, I was the full strength to leave behind would be much more accessible by environmental enthusiasm as well. So, and I think that matters. But that starts already from very beginning. And it starts with the idea. And here I would like to emphasize that it's also very cost effective. That, you know, having these large studios, large, you know, sets and juggles, it all costs money. So having actually this kind of international network, using authentic locations, is eventually you can have cheaper costs for production and have much more authentic outcomes. Absolutely. And I think, I mean, this is how sustainability starts when you are going for such a production. I mean, back in the day, a team of 20 people jumping on a plane, flying to South Africa, staying there for two weeks. Yeah, massive, massive footprint, massive intense travel, not to mention the costs that are allocated to this one. So I think, yeah, absolutely, times have changed. I mean, you are giving a massive, massive chance to the local people, yeah, that they can work, that they can impact, that they can contribute. And I think this all pays off in terms of sustainability. And when we are talking about sustainability, maybe you can share some practices while being on set. How do you ensure that projects adhere to sustainable practices, especially during on-location shoots? I would, like, one thing, you know, what you already covered is, like, you should go to Google and to Google Travel. However, you know, there's many other things, you know, don't print out things. And this is something, you know, I wanted to also give an example. When I first started working in commercial and film work, there was a common practice, people were printing out e-mails. That was, like, 10 years ago. And that changed really quickly. People, there was an initiative, people started to put underneath e-mails things you do not print out. And, you know, within years, it changed drastically. I remember first going to offices, and there was, like, strange, it sounds really strange now. And I think people here listening can resonate with that. You know, if somebody today would print out a lot of, like, almost every e-mail, it sounds ridiculous. However, like, it was a common practice in London, a common practice in Estonia, a common practice in Finland. And that shows how quickly it changes. Therefore, I think here it's important to also evaluate your own processes and the changes in the industry. For example, in Estonia, there's, well, not just in Estonia, it's everywhere. But, you know, in commercial work, it's cold sheets and, you know, deliverables. And you can think of a way how to, like, you know, now even printing out cold sheets is not an option anymore. And here I would also say that it's okay to call out people in a very polite way. For example, if you're working with somebody like your colleagues, you ask them, like, hey, do you think we really need to print it out? Or do you really need to, like, you know, travel all the time? Or is there, like, you know, core needs? So I feel like, you know, I don't, I think my answer doesn't give you, like, a general guidebook. But I think it's good to keep researching how people are doing things. There's no, like, ABCs, you know, innovation happens always. And I think it's good to keep out research, you know, there's new technologies now. Yeah. Can you use somehow the same platforms? Maybe, you know, make sure that nothing you buy is something that you like. For example, you know, costumes. Like, in commercial work, return them. You know, don't create huge piles of clothes that's worn only once. Like, you know, recycle. Use people with their own workshops, I think, instead of going to buy a lot from the shops, you know. And there's, like, many ways how you can, like, tap into the key core of the crew and these people who are thinking about that and who are creating ways, how, like, you know, this kind of sustainable practice in all of their fields and choose these people and advocate for them, you know. Make sure, I think it's a very good thing to understand that having now advocating for the global good is actually a good thing and it can also be a very good selling point. It will sell for clients as well. You know, hey, we have totally clean crew who is, like, you know, basically not throwing anything away and everything we do is recyclable, reusable. That, I think, matches very well with the current climate. Absolutely. Absolutely. And I think it's a massive learning hour and day. It's a journey. We learn every time while being on set what you can do, what can be reused, what can be recycled. You mentioned the closures, everything that relates to the set, props, anything and everything. I mean, I can recall back in the day when we had these massive folders with everything in paper. It's not sustainable to print out everything. Where do you store all that stuff? And some of the folders, you never ever see them in 10 years. So the question is, is that really needed? So I think that's a massive change and speaking about the change, I mean, in these days with the technical changes, maybe something about the technological footprint. I should add one more thing in the last comment. You said also, like, for example, use of home objects. Like, everybody has a house, but should everyone work in the office? And this is, again, I think, you know, because that's extra cost, that's extra efficiency, that's extra weight, eventually. And I feel that even having this kind of hybrid setting, having, you know, maybe a small space and people moving around, walking, encourage people to work in the office or if it's possible, take a bicycle. There's like, you know, there's ways how you can, people benefit from, like, you know, having flexibility. It's proven also gives better results to work. And I think that managers should take this into consideration, what kind of working environment they offer. Absolutely, and think about the commute, yeah, this commuting. I mean, I was more than 10 years jumping in the car every morning, more than one hour and a half, stuck in traffic jam on my way to the office, yeah. Back in the day, everybody was taking that for granted and back in the day, that was quite normal. But I couldn't agree more, yeah. If you work remote, if you work hybrid, if you work from home, you have no more commute, no more that much task, stuck in traffic jam, absolutely. And, yeah, while talking about that one, I mean, with the environmental impact of digital storage, yeah, and all the tech equipment, how do you mitigate your carbon footprint in the production and post-production phases? Maybe you can tell us a bit about this aspect. So, very common practice would be to calculate every project's carbon footprint and then offset it with investments, using money from the production to offset the carbon footprint that is created. However, like, for example, there's been, you know, investing into organizations in Africa that deals with water shortages, to, you know, organizations that are, like, rebuilding forests or, like, you know, something that maybe you individually or company-wide cannot do, but you can just calculate into the budget that every project needs to have that. I think that's a very good way to keep a track as well. Now, it's common to actually keep a track of the carbon footprint that you create. And I feel the company, there should be a level of awareness, because, you know, when you're totally blind, you kind of also don't admit to the problem. But I want to also say that you need to be, you know, make sure that your money and the budget goes to the right place. So, that means that you are maybe, like, screening and making research and, you know, even larger companies that are having, you know, multiple projects at the same time, or, like, you know, maybe 10s or 100s even, it's good to even hire a carbon footprint officer, someone who is looking for a partner, someone to make sure money goes to the right place, make sure, you know, all the companies have, you know, values and they're trying to advocate them. However, our busy lives, very often, we put it to the back side, you know, just to get, okay, we have about 10 projects right now, let's get them over the finish line, and you try to get the best results, and unfortunately, these things are always left to death. You don't prioritize them, but I think, I do encourage people, like, if you ever have resources, take carbon footprint officers or environmental officers to your team who can then coordinate all of this. Make sure that the money moves to the right place. And I feel that it's also very important for companies to make sure that they invest in innovation. Yeah, yeah, absolutely, I second that. That would be massive, and I think if you consider all that, then the production would be a completely different scenario and a much more sustainable production scenario in the end. Exactly, but it also makes you, because not, like, people are doing this, but it's not industry standard, so you would still take it, it can still be a very good selling point as well. So it's not that just money will, like, throw away, we are actually, you know, we live in a time where our, how we present ourselves, you know, we cannot, you know, we cannot anymore fly around to those types of papers and say that, yeah, the climate change is not really a thing anymore, or like, it's just like, it's not happening, it's very much a thing, and we need to advocate for that. So I do feel that you can benefit. Yeah. It's not, the companies can benefit from it. Yeah. Investing into global networks, investing into innovative tools, investing into, you know, just many things that people, small or big, can do, and we will all really, you know, benefit. And it will definitely pay off in the end, absolutely, in the long run. As I always say, it's a marathon, it's not a sprint, I couldn't agree more. Absolutely. And given the fact that we have a couple of creative people in the talk today, whether these are photographers or people working in virtual galleries, maybe you can give some advice for these creative people. So what guidance would you offer to fellow photographers or filmmakers who want to pivot towards more sustainable practices in their craft? So I would say, you know, advocacy. Like, if you are a person who has been looking for photographers, and who's working for a project, or collaborate, you know, partners to collaborate with, I would also, what do they advocate for? And, you know, and being very brave in getting your message across is something I would definitely look into. So I do feel, you know, if you are into sustainable practices, make it really clear how and how hiring you will benefit us for our sustainable craft. No. So, and I feel like this is, like I've mentioned that many times, I feel people, like, maybe like, yeah, put the tag on your stuff that, hey, I'm an environmental intuitive and musician. How I practice. So, unfortunately, I'm not keen on, like, I've seen, but then not so much, especially on portfolio, or case studies to put forward how people are doing it. So I would be, that's my main advice. Just keep advocating very clearly. Yeah. And also, you know, if you are stumbled into some innovative solution, just make it very obvious that, you know, hiring you is somehow, again, beneficial for all the projects to be much more sustainable in practice. Absolutely. Yeah. We cannot, like, I'm a creative producer. I have to research everything that's happening in the portfolio. Therefore, I rather the photographers are using the most up-to-date tools, or let's say that, you know, I'm not maybe so at home in the gallery world, so let's use, let's partner up with somebody who's using the most up-to-date tools and have done the research. So I can teach them what I'm good at and, you know, build upon that. Okay. Yeah. Yeah, and talking about that one, I mean, we've been, when we've been in preparation for this talk, we already spoke about the opportunity in using Web3 and Metaverse, and, I mean, we are encouraging everybody to jump on later on in the OceanLaunch.xyz to be there in a virtual room, yeah, to meet there, to exchange, to use synergy effects without intense travels, without jumping on a plane, jumping on a train, flying in from Spain or Switzerland or Germany or Estonia or whatever. I mean, we now have the spaces where we can meet, where we can exchange in a sustainable way because we have the opportunity to use the Metaverse, for example. And moving on to some ethical considerations, I mean, what do you think, Marla, what ethical considerations do you take into account when capturing and sharing stories related to environmental issues? What do you think on this point? I think that there are many talking points. Like, you know, for example, the stories you tell, it's very important that they are accurate and you are giving people, you know, who will later advocate for the project. Let's say, again, like a photographer, if you will be doing a sustainable project that has environmental message, you will not pick a photographer who is not being in that kind of mental state, even, or who keeps only traveling and does nothing to actually push the practices further. And, like, you know, you will not, if you want to have a campaign that goes on women's rights, you will not use a man who's been, like, I don't know, so-and-so might have been accused of any of the Me Too agitations, you know. So, like, you make sure that you write, you choose to write advocates and write partners, and I feel like that goes beyond that, because, you know, there has been, you know, even, like, you know, charity works that has been scandals of money being used for something that looks okay, it turns out to be corrupt. So, therefore, I think it's very important to choose who we give voice to, and also, you know, where you spend, like, where to invest. And I think we need to be quite honest and very careful around that. Yeah, yeah. The message that comes across is not going to work against you at some point. Do your homework, choose wisely, do research, and then choose carefully the right people who are fitting into the project. Absolutely, absolutely. I mean, talking about some future topics and the future of sustainable storytelling, I mean, if we are looking forward, Marlis, what do you think will be the next big thing in sustainable documentary filmmaking and photography? Do you think there's something which is up and coming and that what might be the next big thing or, let's say, the next big trend in terms of sustainable documentary filmmaking and photography? I think there's... Later this month, I'm attending a big event in London on democratic crises, and that also focuses on the stories we tell in the time of the crisis. And I feel that here with the commercial work and documentary, a lot of the time when we are focusing on stories, already something has happened. You know, like, something, you know, some laws have been accepted, or, you know, we've already been using a lot of practical facts. And my thinking is that a lot of focus will be now on prevention, like, preventing things to happen. And that's also, like, you don't anymore... And I feel a lot of... With the environment, we're trying to undo, but how to get people, how to create campaigns, how to tell stories about something that's not happening, which is somewhat everything is happening now. Like, very much into looking into the prevention rather than dealing with action. Yeah, yeah, being mindful, yeah, being mindful. Exactly, so instead of trying to... Yes, like what they said, it's not trying to undo, but, you know, let's not go there at first. Yeah. And I feel like when keeping, selecting stories, innovation, you know, but to be honest, I just cannot even keep track myself, you know, so that's why we need partners to rely on, but in, like, you know, the making of things, but all things wise, I think that a lot of emphasis should be on prevention. Yeah, yeah, and there's so much we can do. Absolutely, and couldn't agree more on this. And as we are slowly but surely coming to an end, and we are jumping now once we are done over here on LinkedIn, in theoceanlaunch.xyz, Mariss, the last word is always for our guests, so is there anything that you would love to share or kind of hack up or any advice you would love to give to all our guests today? I think it's very important that we all start to evaluate how we do things, from the very smallest steps for the, you know, projects to be trained, and I think that kind of if we can get enough people to start with these steps, the change will happen really quickly, so I think if everyone from Good Spirits Italy takes away, like, how, like, you know, can there be enough people around them that emphasize, you know, how we do things matters, then I think eventually we will be all having different conversations a little bit, which is a very cool thing in my opinion. Yeah, yeah, and sometimes it's the tiny things, and sometimes it's where you start on a daily basis with your own environment, with your own family, with your own surrounding, with your own workplace, and, yeah, thank you very, very much for all of your insight, for sharing all your knowledge and expertise in this field, that was truly amazing to have you today as a guest, and, yeah, I cherish the time, I cherish that you could share anything and everything in terms of documentary filmmaking and photography today with us, so thank you a million, and, yeah, to everybody who has been attending today via our LinkedIn talk, thank you so much for being our guest, this is very much appreciated. You all have now a wonderful and lovely weekend. We are jumping now instantly after we have closed the LinkedIn talk to the Autolounge.xyz exchange, network, euthanasia effects, anything and everything, and thank you so much for being our guest, and see you then next week. Thank you so much for having me, and thank you so much for doing the work you do, all of, you know, it's like, you know, obviously you're surrounded here by people who care, and I think it's very good to acknowledge that. Thank you so much, and happy Friday, all. See you next week. Bye, bye, bye.