Tom Herbert
Tom is an emerging designer with a deep passion for building imaginative worlds on screen and a commitment to sustainable design. He holds a Bachelor of Film and Screen Media Production from Griffith University, and will be graduating with a Master of Production Design for Screen from the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA). During his time at the VCA, Tom has garnered many useful and practical skills, including prop and model making, set dressing/buying and scenic art. In 2019 he interned on the major feature production 'The Whistleblower' and has extensive experience working on short films.
What is sustainable design?
Art departments generate A LOT of waste and use A LOT of energy. But it doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Here are some ways I am designing sustainability.
RRRRRRR
Refuse. Reduce. Re-use. Repair. Re-gift. Recover. Recycle. At every stage of production, whether that be refusing single-use plastic on set, reducing the amount of travel, re-using set dressings, repairing broken props, re-gifting set pieces, recovering scrap materials for construction or recycling responsibly.
Sourcing
One of the joys of designing an on-screen world is getting to make everything that brings the world to life. This takes a lot of different materials. I am committed to using materials that will have the least impact on the environment. Ethically sourced timber and fabrics, non-toxic glues and paints to name a few.
The future
I am planning for a significantly more sustainable future as I enter the industry. I am imagining new ways of building sets, using renewable energy supplies, electric vehicles to transport goods around and growing a community of designers dedicated to building a sustainable industry.
