Internationally Recognized Advertising Studio Calls for Industry Reform as UN Climate Change Conference Convenes

“As an industry, it is imperative that we look for ways to reduce our carbon footprint if we want to reduce carbon emissions by 55% by 2030 in line with the Paris Agreement.”

NEW YORK, Dec. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Pier59 Studios today urged its peers in the television, film, and advertising production industries to join them in adopting virtual production technology to substantially reduce carbon emissions. The Manhattan-based studio’s call comes as world leaders gather in Dubai for the 2023 UN Climate Change Conference (COP28), where they will consider global progress on the 2015 Paris Agreement and other pressing environmental issues.

“As an industry, it is imperative that we look for ways to reduce our carbon footprint if we want to decrease carbon emissions by 55% by 2030 in-line with the Paris Agreement,” said Federico Pignatelli, Founder and Chairman of Pier59 Studios. “While filming in a traditional studio is more environmentally friendly than shooting on-location, virtual production technology is a game-changer—it empowers productions to cover many locations in a single day, substantially reducing costs and dramatically lessening the overall carbon footprint of a production.”

At the forefront of this growing movement to make the advertising production industry more environmentally friendly, Pier59 Studios’ cutting-edge virtual production studio—launched this past February—features a state-of-the-art LED volume with 25 million pixels, offering more than 25 billion colors. The studio is powered by leading virtual production software and hardware, offering an array of 2D, 2.5D, and 3D digitally created environments with photorealistic lighting and shadows. This approach provides unparalleled creative flexibility and a cost-effective, resource-efficient alternative to traditional green screen methods.

“The advertising campaign industry is more than ten times larger than feature movies and way more prolific with over 10,000 video campaigns a year,” continued Pignatelli. “Virtual production studios can reduce production time, travel expenses, and shooting costs by over 70%, which—given the scale of our industry—would have a massive positive impact on carbon emissions.”

Over the past few months, since opening the Advertising world’s largest Virtual Production Stage in February of 2023, Pier59 Studios has produced Virtual shoots for HBO, Fendi, BravoTV, Neiman Marcus, DKNY, Tom Ford, MSG, The Rockettes, Smartwater, along with several other prominent brands.

“Virtual production mitigates much of the traditional environmental cost of filmmaking by eliminating transportation and on-site waste. It is about time that advertisers, producers, and industry insiders pay attention to Climate Change and promote the sustainable production of ad campaigns. The environmental benefits of virtual studios—coupled with the immense creative opportunities they offer—will help revolutionize the advertising industry and ensure we play our part in helping to contain this global existential crisis,” concluded Pignatelli.

About Pier59 Studios:
Founded in 1995 by Federico Pignatelli and his Art and Fashion Group Corporation, Pier59 Studios is a 110,000-square-foot premier photography and multimedia Studios located at Chelsea Piers in New York City. As the largest production facility complex in the world for the production of media advertising, with over 60,000 advertising productions in its 28 years of activity, Pier59 Studios is equipped with state-of-the-art technology to accommodate the needs of photographers, videographers, designers, advertising agencies, and television spot production companies. The facility features eleven column-free studio spaces, including a 6,000 square-foot Virtual Production sound stage designed for all type of advertising productions, as well as live performances and corporate special events, and nine studios are optimized for both natural and artificial lighting and feature movable retractable walls, offering unparalleled modular flexibility in space for a wide range of production needs and special events.

Media contact: Casey Poore, info@pier59.com

SOURCE Pier59 Studios