Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/65909
GreenInitiatives Post studios are finding their way. By Randi Altman No one says it's easy, and no one says it's not initially costly, but little by little, post houses are starting to see the light — hopefully through environmentally-friendly bulbs. Green practices are starting to take hold at post production companies around the country. Some are making sure everything they bring into their facility is then recycled properly or donated, others are going paperless or installing solar panels, others are using almost all reclaimed building materials and air conditioning their space efficiently. Regardless of their efforts, their action is key and hopefully inspires others. CHOP HOUSE POST Chop House Post (www.chophouse- post.com), a full-service post house that takes projects from conception through delivery, has opened a new office in Santa Monica, one that reflects the owner's belief that with a little hard work, research and ingenuity, a company can significantly reduce its carbon footprint. And in doing so accomplished exactly what owner/creative director Stephen Hens wanted in terms of the design: a big, open area where everyone could work together — only the edit bays are enclosed. Another goal was to build and fill the space with reclaimed materials "from local artisans using local materials or, even better, local reclaimed materials." Hens recognizes that the initial cost of going green is high. "Some things are very difficult to do green from a cost and execution standpoint, but after I did a little research, and working with my architect, Brian Mullinix of Forma Design Build, it's amazing what you can find if you do your legwork." One of the "basic" things Chop House tackled, according to Hens, was air conditioning. Stephen Hens of Chop House Post made sure to use reclaimed materials when designing his new studio. All work surfaces are made of 100-year-old Douglas fir. "We started with an open floor plan and zoned air conditioning so less-trafficked areas don't have to be on all the time — bathrooms, kitchens and open areas are on their own thermostats and only cooled up to 10 feet, even though we have almost 26-foot ceilings. We let that heat rise. A lot of the open areas are fed by bypass valves, so when the edit bays, which have to be quiet, dark and cold for the equipment, reach a certain tempera- ture that extra cold air blows out to the main room. You don't even have to turn on the thermostats in 50 percent of the building because it's just being fed by bypassed cold air. We have over 4,000 square feet, and our utility bills are shockingly low." Next on the list was lighting, which takes up tremendous amount of heat. They decided to go with either CFL or LED lighting throughout the building; almost all the light fixtures, except for track lighting and recessed lighting, are reclaimed materials. "Our 20 Post • May 2012 www.postmagazine.com