You may have noticed on the screen, whether film or TV, a lot of electric vehicles. It isn’t just on the screen that you will EVs. Electric vehicles for film and TV production is very common, particularly behind the scenes, and all for a very good reason.
In this blog post I will look at what electric vehicles you will see on and off the screen, plus why electric vehicles have become so important in the last couple of years.
Where Will You Have Seen Electric Vehicles on TV or in Film
Did you know that the very first electric car shown in a film was back in 1951? The Baker Electric Stanhome was the star of the show in a musical comedy called ‘excuse my dust’. This film followed the trials and tribulations of an inventor in 1895 as he endeavours to build a horseless carriage. Early electric cars were produced around this time, so it is a storyline that isn’t too far fetched. Films like Iron Man, The Kingsman and Fifty Shades of Grey have really brought EVs into the modern era.
On the small screen we have seen electric vehicles in Queer Eye, Love is Blind, Squid Game and Ozark to name a few big names. You will find even more electric vehicles on the big screen. Data from Gridserve shows that there has been a 2,967% increase in the use of EVs on the silver screen since 2010. That’s an impressive number.
Even More EVs Behind the Scenes
A number of major production companies come to EVision to acquire a wide range of vehicles for use behind the scenes. There is a lot of crew and equipment that goes into filming. They need a lot of vehicles to handle logistics, and that is where we come in.
Vans such as the Vauxhall Vivaro-e, the Ford e-Transit and the Vauxhall Combo-e have been popular choices. We can see why too. With a lot of space, great range and brilliant charging capabilities, these are vans that become incredibly useful on and en-route to set.
Commercial Charm
Maybe the place where the public has had the most exposure to electric vehicles is in adverts. Of course, there are the standard adverts for electric cars and vans that we see. However, there are also a large number of TV dramas, on channels such as ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 that are sponsored by electric vehicles. The Cupra Born is one such vehicle that immediately springs to mind.
One of the most insanely brilliant commercial events was the launch of a campaign by MG at the 2022 Super Bowl. In this, the hilarious character, Dr Evil, played brilliantly by Mike Myers, becomes Dr EVil and hatches a plan to make the world a better place through electric cars before he takes over the world for himself. MG saw a huge surge after this advert aired.
Why Are Electric Vehicles for Film and TV Production So Important Now?
This is probably the burning question. Why the urgent need for EVs now? Well, a lot of it has to do with the importance of lowering the carbon footprint of the film and TV industry. Millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide are released every year due to filming. The film industry has taken it upon themselves to lower that figure as much as possible, with electric cars and vans being the principal way of doing so.
A lot of new requirements are being set by broadcasters and studios themselves. The BBC, for example, makes it compulsory for any new commission to be BAFTA Albert certified. Albert, for those who don’t know, is the home of environmental sustainability for the screen industries.
Albert, amongst its other services, provides production companies with a toolkit that includes a carbon calculator and a plan for lowering the carbon footprint. They also provide plans for each individual company on how to meet their environmental responsibilities and targets. To help in this regard, Albert can provide the film industry members with lists of green companies, whether that be electric vehicles, sustainable materials or solar solutions.
In Conclusion
Electric Vehicles will become a common sight on TV and screen. In fact, they already are. Being such a huge producer of carbon dioxide, it was important for film and TV producers to make the necessary changes. I’m very happy to say that they are. Whether it is TV, Film, a music video or something else, EVision is here to support you making that change.
