Waste Hater: AIR Productions
When two professional producers had the opportunity to launch their own company, they also saw it as a chance to make an impact…and do something good for the community.
AIR Productions, an agency specializing in fashion and commercial photography, operates from an eco-conscious lens, melding a passion for the environment with a professional creative atmosphere.
Founded in 2019 by Arielle Viny and Joey Battaglia, the goal was to achieve high quality, unique imagery through a sustainable, local approach to production.
“We both worked for other production companies for a while and saw so much waste in the industry,” Viny tells Replate. “There’s a million plastic water bottles used, everybody's driving themselves to set, all these individual bags of chips and food that just get thrown away…We wanted to produce things with a different take. We always say you get more bees with honey than with vinegar.”
Frustrated with the rigor and egos of the business, Viny and Battaglia aimed to create a more positive atmosphere when they started AIR, and to keep in mind environmental responsibility.
Regardless of budget, they’ve incorporated clean practices into all facets of productions. This means partnering with companies that do composting and recycling on set, using trailers with solar panels, and working with vendors supplying products with reusable or compostable packaging.
Additionally, they audit waste, and work with Replate to donate surplus food from craft services.
Best part is it doesn’t hurt their budget.
“We've been grateful to a lot of our partners to get wholesale pricing, and buy in bulk,” explains Viny. “So, it really doesn't end up being that much more than it would be if we were buying Doritos, for example. There is a cost for offsetting our carbon footprint. We take into account how many people are on set, how many meals we're serving, where they're coming from, all the transportation, things like that, and that cost is built into the estimate and it's actually pretty minimal, all things considered.”
She adds, “To be honest, in the four years we've been around, none of our clients even care. And some are super into it.”
At the end of the day, doing the right thing matters most at AIR.
“When we decided we should do it ourselves, we started considering what we were passionate about and what motivated us,” explains Viny. “After working in the industry for so long, we realized we could do things our way, exactly how we wanted to do them. We wanted to make this ours, make it special and also make a difference at the same time.”
To learn more about AIR Productions, visit their website.
And find out everything about Replate here!