Celebrating Green Crew Heroes! Production Designer & Photographer, Sarah Sloane.
Green The Bid Crew Heroes is a series that highlights individuals who bring sustainable practices to any area of the production process, and seek to inspire others to do the same. Production can’t happen without all crew-members (both on set and off), and the same is true of their support of Green The Bid.
Green The Bid’s Jessie Nagel spoke with Sarah Sloane about how to design beautiful sets with more sustainable materials, and the joy of joining a Buy Nothing group.
J.N. Where did you grow up and how did it inform how you do your job today?
S.S. I grew up, for the most part, on a farm in central South Dakota, though I did spend a year of high school in Santa Clara, CA and some time in Phoenix, AZ. When I was young, we lived surrounded by rivers and prairie grasses. There were no stores I could walk to, no neighbor's doors to knock on. My experiences living in an isolated place as a child made me incredibly resourceful, especially when shooting on locations.
J.N. What are some things you do to be more sustainable at work, and what things would you love more post companies and individuals to adopt?
S.S. I spend a lot of time exploring more sustainable substrates for constructing sets and trying to make sure everything I purchase can be reused or repurposed by someone. One thing I would love to see adopted are conversations between companies or agencies and the art department regarding how a desired aesthetic could be achieved more sustainably, during pre-production.
J.N. What are the things you have changed in your own life to be more environmentally conscious?
S.S. I feel like I learn new things all the time. At the beginning of the pandemic, I learned about the Buy Nothing Facebook groups and joining the Highland Park group has been great! I recycle, I compost and I try to be aware of little decisions; selecting non-packaged items at the grocery store, walking or biking to as many destinations as I can, reusing and repurposing whatever I can.
J.N. Who most influences you and inspires you when it comes to being socially and environmentally responsible in your work life and your personal life?
S.S. There are so many people who are doing a lot of great work out there. I teach environmental set design once or twice a year at FIDM, in downtown Los Angeles, and have the great pleasure of attending a lot of lectures and panels about sustainability in the fashion and beauty industries. Last month, I listened to a discussion on efforts to make fabric from algae. I hadn't known anything about the topic so it was fascinating to learn about.
As for specific individuals, there are three generations of women who've dedicated their lives to ocean conservancy that I find especially inspiring; Euginie Clark, Sylvia Earle and Ocean Ramsey.
J.N. If you could do any other job - in the industry or otherwise - what would it be and why?
S.S. This is a tough question; I have so many interests. I would probably do something research based in either a marine or botany field because I enjoy creative problem solving, working on a team and I'm endlessly fascinated with finding answers to puzzles.
----- Are you a crew hero or do you know one? We want to hear from you!
