Age of Stupid makes history

The premier of the long awaited eco movie ‘The Age of Stupid’ became a Guinness World Record holder this weekend as it was screened simultaneously in more than 60 cinemas nationwide, making it the biggest simultaneous premiere in the history of film. And it wasn’t just the ‘People’s Premier’ making waves; the flagship screening was held in the middle of Leicester Square and powered entirely on renewable power, courtesy of Firefly Solar.

The film is set in 2050 and stars Pete Postlethwaite as the last man alive on Earth. Postlethwaite lives alone in a post-apocalyptic world torn apart by the effects of climate change. He plays Earth’s archivist, looking back on ‘archive’ footage of 2008 and asking why nothing was done to curb the disastrous effects of climate change when there was a chance.

An independent environmental audit was carried out to monitor all CO2 emissions caused by the flagship premier and it totaled a mere1% of the usual carbon emissions seen at an average Hollywood premier. A huge part of their emissions were saved thanks to Firefly Solar, who completed the technical production for the whole event.

“Obviously the solar power was the main feature,’ explains Andy Mead, Firefly’s MD, ‘but we also used a number of other methods to ensure the event had the lowest carbon footprint possible. The OB unit used for the satellite link-up was powered on bio-diesel, and all lighting on site was the very latest in LED technology.”

Within the cinema (a Saddlespan S2000), all the house lighting, 15000 lumin HD projector and PA was powered entirely on solar. “This is the first time we’ve done a cinema setup, but thanks to the experienced team at Brightonart supplying our AV, the show went completely smoothly. Ultimately, producing a solar powered cinema shows the versatility of our equipment,” says Mead. “We’re very happy to add this event to our portfolio.”

Over the winter months Firefly has spent a considerable amount of time upgrading their solar generators, making the system more efficient as well as easier and lighter to transport. “Thanks to the upgrades we’ve made over the last few weeks, the Orion system had absolutely no trouble during the premier, and in fact we had the capacity to power a lot more on top of what we were contracted to,” says Paul Brain, Firefly’s technical director.

The secret to Firefly Solar’s success lies in detailed, considered technical production prior to the event. “You often see massive generator sets being used to power a relatively small amount of equipment,” Andy explains. “What we do is strip back any kit that is inefficient and replace it with state of the art, low energy alternatives. It’s not rocket science; it’s simply taking what is available and putting it to the best use possible.”

In this way, it is very possible to produce an event which maintains its front of house performance but requires a minimum of power. And with more and more event producers understanding exactly what is possible with intelligent technical planning, Firefly are at the crest of the renewable wave set to break over the entire industry.