Landfill Operations Video
Before producing an award-winning landfill operations video about two local landfills, I thought the town dump was a big stinking pile of garbage far from human view. When Allied Waste Services (Now Republic) called on us to create a video about their landfill operations, I learned how fascinating the topic really is.
Allied Waste’s Johnnie Perkins (L) produced the Landfill Operations show which features and is narrated by Neil Mohrs (R).Land
Excavation and Lining
AWS planned to line a site at their Otay facility, south of San Diego. So they wanted us to document it.
We set up a time-lapse camera in a wooden box the size of an outhouse, perched over the site. For six weeks the camera recorded the excavation and lining process. It even captured smoke from the deadly 2007 San Diego wildfires that scorched the nearby area.
Interview
We interviewed Neil Mohrs, Chief Engineer, about the installation of the liner. He spoke about the environmental awareness that goes into the preparations for a landfill. A crew excavates the site so that it slopes in a way where they can capture methane gases and use them to power at least 3,000 neighboring homes. The crew then hand-plucks rocks from the site so that the liner cannot be pierced. Huge rolls of thick black plastic are rolled out then seamed together with a special machine.
Liner of the Otay landfill
Once workers lay out the liner with proper methane gas collection apparatus, the garbage trucks then start rolling in.
San Diego Digital Video Crew Shoots Landfill Operations Video
Most Interesting Finds
I asked Neil what was the most interesting thing he had ever found at the dump. He said “A diamond ring.” The second most interesting thing, along a similar theme, was a wedding dress. How in the world had they found the ring, I wondered.
Neil said the wife removed her ring before wiping down the kitchen counter. Her husband then somehow swept it into the garbage.
The next day, the panic-stricken wife called the waste service. The crew were able to locate the exact truck which had collected garbage from her neighborhood, and they isolated it on grounds where they could sift through the garbage.
Neil said he was the one who spotted the ring. And as soon as he did, he realized why the woman had been in such a panic. It was a huge diamond surrounded by emeralds a la Elizabeth Taylor. I told Neil, “Wow, I believe you probably saved that marriage!”
And the wedding dress? How could that have possibly happened? A bride took the dress off after her wedding. Consequently, she put it into a plastic bag in her hotel room. The maid thought it was a trash bag. Really?! The waste services crew once again were able to isolate the truck and amazingly enough the dress was still intact.
The Rib of a Rhino, the Jaws of Two Whales and a Yato
One other cool fact I learned about the Otay Mesa Landfill was this: During excavation, crew members found the rib of a rhinoceros, along with the jaws of two whales that swam in the area three million or so years ago. An entire skeleton was also unearthed belonging to an unknown species similar to a dog. The man who found it was invited to name it. He decided to call it a “yato”, which is Otay spelled backwards.
Methane Gas as Energy
During the shoot we learned that the methane gas created by garbage in the landfill is harnessed to provide energy to several hundred homes in the adjoining neighborhoods.
Audio Collection
Outdoor locations can be tricky when shooting and producing video, especially in an environment where crows caw, large garbage trucks bellow and beep, and fireworks go off at regular intervals to scare the scavengers.
But Audio Technician, Patty Mooney, is happy to report that using her “Standard Operating Procedure” of a lavalier pin microphone affixed to the talent’s lapel, along with a boom pole on a C-stand, produced very good quality audio.
Raging Wildfires
During the second week of the timelapse videography, the city of San Diego nearly burned down due to raging wildfires that occurred in multiple locations. At one point, we wondered if the small wooden shed which housed the Sony PD-150 would be somehow affected, but the video footage showed gray smoke plumes for a period of time and then the skies cleared once more.
The timelapse videography turned out to be a strong element in Allied Waste Service’s landfill operations video production.
Award-Winning Video
The Allied Waste Services landfill video won a Pegasus Award and has been used as a demo reel for other waste services around the United States. Not only was our landfill experience amazing, but it was a nice reward when the finished show earned the Pegasus Award of Honor as well as a Gold Ava award.
Nice going, guys!
