Small File Workshop kicks off aiming to reduce carbon footprint
The BRAC University ENH Department hosted the first in a series of workshops on small file filmmaking on 17 October 2024 conducted by Senior Lecturer Mohammad Zaki Rezwan and Dr. Laura Marks, the founder of the Small File Film Festival in Canada. In the coming weeks, participants will collaborate to create their eco-media films, gearing up for the Small File Media Festival Bangladesh.
The Small File Media Festival began in 2020 as a means of creating films that would leave the smallest carbon footprints. The Small File Media Festival celebrates Small-File Ecomedia—films compressed to just 1 MB per minute—proving that powerful storytelling doesn’t require massive file sizes. Over the next few weeks, the participants will be guided so they can create pieces that will fulfill this goal of creating environment-friendly films. These practices draw from both do-it-yourself (DiY) movements and computer-based animations.
The workshop included screenings of various small file films from across the globe as well as various pre and post-production techniques incorporating small file practices such as Framerate conversion, and color contrast. Mostly the workshop stressed how significant it is to visualize these environmental problems Dr. Laura spoke to the participants about how she looked to see the representation of local art and media forms that inspire the diverse culture.
The workshop was a profound experience for students from across departments as they learned environment-conscious filmmaking practices. Participants explored how their creative efforts can contribute to lowering the media industry’s carbon footprint, which currently accounts for 4% of global emissions.
