Drying For Freedom

2010-01-14T15:03:00.001Z

http://ping.fm/wez09

Drying For Freedom featured on TIME MAGAZINE blog.

The constant quandary of documentary film making and attacking mother nature with a carbon baseball bat

2009-12-05T10:58:00.001Z

This blog is based on 40 minutes of research, so do forgive, I’m still ironing out the details.

A few months ago our film came under criticism by some folks dubbing us 'Dryer Nazi's'...

http://tammybruce.com/2009/10/crossing-the-clothesline.html

In the article and comments its suggested that in making our film we are in fact destroying the planet anyway, Their opinions were somewhat uninformed to the point where I got the feeling they believed we had our own nuclear reactor on shoots to run the camera off, but despite them missing the point there is some merit in what they say.

So I’ve worked out (roughly) that if I ran my dryer for 1 hour a week I would clock up 104kilograms (228 pounds) of carbon a year.

So far a generous estimation for our carbon output for this film is something like 2 tons.

I am not an environmentalist, if I had not spent the last year and a half working on this project my dryer usage would most likely have carried on at roughly 1hr per week.

Plans are in place to offset our carbon emissions, probably by planting a tree or growing a banana in the sea, but it’s not really enough is it? We could very easily be dubbed hypocrites being an environmentally aware documentary that is destroying the planet in doing so.

Carbon offsets seem like a grand idea really, giving you the chance to give back to the planet that we are apparently screwing up (according to what I read) but I think a much more fun idea is to lead by example, To my mind paying off your carbon footprint is like paying your neighbour not to tell the police what you’re doing in your basement, your still doing it, but you've just found a way to cover your tracks so you can continue your weird basement experiments trying to cross a biscuit with a dog.

So I came up with a novel idea to help us 'cover our tracks' even more. I declare that I and my producer will from this point onwards go on a 10 year ban of the dryer, to basically offset the carbon we are creating in making our monster film.

At 228 pounds a year this means we must go without the dryer for at least 10 years on the assumption that our film could clock up a whopping 4tons of Carbon output from conception to completion. I have a sneaky suspicion it could go above depending on circumstances. On top of that what about all the people that drive there cars to come see our lovely film screening? Or a million other facts that could add to our polluting the atmosphere with the documentary.

well we could go on forever working out this stuff but best be safe and loose the dryer altogether. It won’t save the planet, and offsetting carbon footprints seems a bit odd anyway, since we have already polluted the planet with our flights and driving but it’s nice to give a good impression.

1. Off set our carbon footprint at the completion of this film (no matter how penniless we are)

2. 10 year dryer ban (with potential for a lifetime ban) just for good merit. Adam spent his life without a dryer and I haven’t touched the thing in 6 months so it’s really not going to be a culture shock. It just means in the future I might turn up to a meeting or two with a slightly damp shirt. I’ve still got to run this by my producer and make sure he’s willing to commit.

However if anyone sees our film and changes their own dryer habits then even better. In the words of some British super market 'every little helps'.

Steve

2009-10-20T16:44:00.001+01:00

DFF returns from the U.S after a sucessful 7 week shoot, including one 4000 mile tour around the country with Alexander Lee of PLL, A published article on the subject in the New York Times and some great press as an off shoot of that.
This whole trip has been an experience like no other, the people and the places made it what it is.
Watch this space for updates.

2009-10-16T18:24:00.001+01:00

Another article on the recent clothesline controversy from the Las Vegas Sun.

http://ping.fm/EFKtQ

2009-10-13T20:18:00.001+01:00

http://ping.fm/MCxLP

Steven Lake talks about Drying For Freedom on 600KCOL Fox News Radio. The interview is featured just after the introducing song.

2009-10-13T20:16:00.001+01:00

http://ping.fm/NUhTE

Steven Lake talks about his movie 'Drying For Freedom'. The interview is in the first section of this podcast after the introduction song.

2009-10-11T15:57:00.001+01:00

DFF wouldn't be possible if it was not for the donations provided by individuals who believe in this cause, There is a lot more work to be done and any donations are greatly appreciated. Follow the link for details:
http://ping.fm/29yUr

2009-10-11T04:36:00.001+01:00

"Drying For Freedom" makes it into front page article of the New York Times.
http://ping.fm/pci0s

2009-09-28T13:41:00.001+01:00

Hang those clothes out to dry | CITIZEN-TIMES.com | Asheville Citizen-Times (http://ping.fm/lDUPa)

2009-09-22T00:27:00.001+01:00

"Not toeing the line" - interesting editorial on the clothesline issue (http://ping.fm/8bR9Y)

2009-09-21T22:51:00.001+01:00

SHETLAND MY LOVE: Drying for Freedom Episode 2 (http://ping.fm/O5P0l)

2009-09-18T03:11:00.001+01:00

http://ping.fm/zmMPX

2009-09-17T20:30:00.001+01:00

Drove 3500 Miles, Visited 8 Cities, bailed self out of police custody once. Its time for a break! At least DFF got a chance to ride in the back of a police car, Dont worry no misdemeanors, Just a little driving felony.
Our tour with Alexander Lee has come to an end and DFF is currently in San Francisco doing a little prepping and research. The final leg of the journey made up for almost one third of our total miles. 6 States and 850 miles in the space of 18 hours.

Keep an eye out for some upcoming press on the movie.

Steve

2009-09-13T04:32:00.001+01:00

So its been a while since I updated on DFF's time in America. Philly, NY, DC, Kentucky and now St Louis. Its been an intense trip so far with its fair share of complications but everything is coming together nicely. Tomorrow we head of to Chicago where we have been invited by the Governor of Illinois to watch a baseball game in the city. I guess I had better learn the rules fast.
So far we have met a whole host of people willing to talk about clotheslines and anything and everything else.
Just being in the U.S. you can sense the sheer amount of energy being consumed, everywhere! The British arnt much better i suppose.
Out of everything happening here its the people that make this whole journey what it is, to be honest we never have time to take in the location, just those we are visiting or staying with.
This Thursday DFF fly's out to San Francisco to continue its shoot.

Wish us luck.

Steve
DFF

2009-09-12T21:44:00.001+01:00

"Let it all hang out, apartment dwellers" - news on @Drying4Freedom, the impact of electric drying and the debate over outdoor clothes drying reaches the Sydney Morning Herald http://ow.ly/p7ai

2009-09-06T02:50:00.001+01:00

DFF goes to New York Monday to begin shooting the 'clotheslines across America tour' - New york - Philadelphia - Washington DC - St Louis - Chicago - Toronto - Concord - San Francisco. 11 intense laundry related days.

2009-08-31T21:28:00.001+01:00

DFF is attempting to visit the G20 summit in Pittsburgh on the 24th of September.

2009-08-31T13:29:00.001+01:00

Great debate on reddit.com about Dring For Freedom - post a comment (http://ping.fm/k6HOh)

2009-08-29T18:26:00.001+01:00

The benefits of airing your clean laundry - SalemNews.com (http://ping.fm/2JOX4)

2009-08-27T22:05:00.001+01:00

Line-dried propaganda | MNN - Mother Nature Network (http://ping.fm/Ir4t4)

2009-08-27T12:47:00.001+01:00

Prepping to shoot Alex of Project Laundry List

2009-08-26T23:13:00.001+01:00

Apartment Therapy Boston | New Documentary: Drying for Freedom, A Film About Clotheslines (http://ping.fm/9dDWh)

2009-08-20T13:33:00.001+01:00

Clothes lines boom as we wash our hands of tumble driers | Mail Online (http://ping.fm/YJvlc)

New 1 min tesser launched

2009-08-16T16:02:00.002+01:00

Hi, the new one minute trailer is on the Drying For Freedom youtube channel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MH1UpdHtcgY

Please check it out and send us some comment / feedback. Also, sign up to folow us on Twitter or Facebook, just search for Drying For Freedom.

2009-08-15T17:09:00.002+01:00

In 10 days Steven Lake (Director of DFF) will be heading back over to the States to begin shooting the first little scraps of this mammoth project. Among other things he will be visiting with Alexander Lee of Project Laundry List as he tours the eastern cities of Norther America promoting his cause, visiting the LARGEST laundromat in the world in Chicago as well as heading over to Los Angles to visit the former home of President Ronald Reagen which in the 1950's was kitted out with so many energy zapping applications that the entire house needed modifying to be able to deal with that much power being drawn to it. Over at WL:DOCS we challenged ourselves to complete a 1 minute trailer of the film, The content of the trailer is from the first trip to the States in search of contributors and stories, it gives a nice little overview of things to come and addresses the issues the film deals with. Check it out... http://ping.fm/IdFDG Also don't forget to check out all our social networking clatter... facebook: http://ping.fm/A5QY1 Myspace: http://ping.fm/9dJTT Twitter: http://ping.fm/PcB6Z

First Blog

2009-08-11T22:21:00.000+01:00

Today is the first blog... planning the next filming trip to the US for late August... booked up some hotels and flights... more details soon.