Dirty Looks pioneers eco-friendly film rendering with Deep Green

Dirty Looks, a post-production company based in London, has announced a groundbreaking partnership with Deep Green. This marks the first instance in the UK of high-quality film being rendered using the novel heat-reuse data centre technology. This innovative data centre technology plays a key role in reducing environmental impact by reusing the heat generated by computing services. Dirty Looks plans to transition all its computing, including rendering and storage, to Deep Green's servers within the next 18 months.

Deep Green's pioneering technology offers an inventive solution in the fight against climate change. By placing data centres in community facilities like public swimming pools, they can utilise the heat produced during server operation. This heat is then repurposed to warm swimming pools without any additional cost. This process significantly reduces the energy usage of attached facilities and decreases their reliance on fossil-fuel boilers.

In a significant UK-first achievement, Dirty Looks rendered a high-quality film at Deep Green's data centre in Exmouth, Devon. Deep Green's servers deliver around 60% of the required swimming pool heating, saving over GBP £20,000 and reducing yearly carbon emissions by around 25.8 tonnes.

Traditionally, video rendering is an energy-intensive process, with data centres often being inefficient due to the necessary cooling to counteract the vast amount of heat generated. Approximately 40% of the energy consumption of data centres is used merely for cooling purposes.

Deep Green's re-deployment of heat for free results in more efficient cooling and affordable high-end computing. The more work is run on Deep Green's units; the greater potential energy and carbon savings can be passed onto community facilities such as public swimming pools or homes as part of district heating networks.

Tom Balkwill, the Founder and Managing Director of Dirty Looks, expressed excitement about pioneering the integration of high-end computing and sustainability in the industry. They have showcased that rendering films in data centres, which capture and reuse heat, not only advances their field but also brings benefits to local communities.

Balkwill commented, "We are delighted to have led the industry and demonstrated that high-end computing can co-exist with sustainability. Rendering films in data centres that re-capture heat presents a huge opportunity for our sector to benefit the communities we are part of. By cutting the energy bills of swimming pools and lowering fossil-fuel consumption, we are contributing to a healthier and greener local community."

Mark Bjornsgaard, Founder and CEO of Deep Green, said: "We are delighted to have partnered with Dirty Looks to facilitate this groundbreaking ethical rendering project. The UK's film industry currently relies on inefficient and energy-hungry data centres. Virtually all the heat they produce is wasted, ejected into the atmosphere, providing no social or environmental good to local communities. If the industry is serious about sustainability, this has to change."