The Tie-In

Zena Harris and Mark Rabin

Behind the scenes, sustainability in action. Entrepreneurs Zena Harris and Mark Rabin talk shop with filmmakers, event producers, and entertainment professionals from around the world in a quest to amplify the voices of people who are innovating, leveraging their influence, connecting ideas, and inspiring crews to make the entertainment we love more sustainable.

  1. 2d ago

    Year-Round E-Waste Drop-Offs, Free Camera Gear & 3,000 Trees a Year in Memory of Union Members — Alex Coyle & Allison Elvolve| Best of The Tie-In

    In this Best Of excerpt, Alex and Allison, co-chairs of IATSE Local 600's Sustainability Committee, break down how the camera department is tackling waste before it becomes waste — from a year-round e-waste drop-off in Chicago to a free camera-expendables exchange with EcoSet in Los Angeles. They also share the story behind One Tree Planted, the committee's tradition of planting a tree for every year of life of union members who've passed away — roughly 3,000 trees a year. This is an abridged excerpt of a previously released episode. 🌱 WHAT YOU'LL LEARN: — How a volunteer committee grew into a five-city national network — Why the committee's focus shifted from recycling to reduction — How EcoSet keeps camera expendables out of the landfill and gets them free to film students and indie filmmakers — What it took to turn a union office into a year-round e-waste drop-off — The story behind One Tree Planted and why the committee plants in honor of members who've passed — How partnerships with Everyday Action LA and the Labor Network for Sustainability connect camera work to climate action This is an abridged excerpt of a previously released episode. Listen/watch the full episode! YouTube: https://youtu.be/qajDOOxNtQQ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3T3ssRqVK8KiuicbftOSHC?si=NSw7nK1IQuGpvcONrZmdXg Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s2-e3-focusing-all-film-departments-on-waste-reduction/id1753867919?i=1000684829515 🌱 Connect with Alex & Allison and the Local 600 Sustainability Committee: 📸 @life_according_to_allison 📸 @accoyle 📸 @600sustainability 🎙️ Connect with your hosts: Zena Harris on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zenaharris/ Mark Rabin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rabinmark/ 👉 SUBSCRIBE for more sustainability and clean energy content from inside the entertainment industry. #Local600 #IATSE #Sustainability #EWaste #CircularEconomy #FilmProduction #GreenProduction #CameraDepartment #OneTreePlanted #SustainableEntertainment #TheTieIn 🎬 TIMESTAMPS 0:00 Intro & welcome 1:10 How the Local 600 Sustainability Committee started 2:06 Going regional — five cities, one mission 2:57 Building a year-round e-waste program 3:54 The EcoSet partnership — free camera expendables for film students 5:25 Why "reduce" beats "recycle" 6:32 Trade show panels & tailoring the message city by city 7:43 Earth Day: tree planting, river cleanups & an adopted highway 9:07 Connecting camera work to climate change 9:54 Partnering with Everyday Action LA 10:51 One Tree Planted: honoring members who've passed 12:17 Credits

  2. Aug 11

    How Reverb Took Luck Reunion From Diesel to Full Battery Power — Then Built a Blueprint for the Industry | Tanner Watt

    Tanner Watt, Director of Partnerships at Reverb, breaks down the Music Decarbonization Project — the campaign that took Luck Reunion from diesel generators to full battery power in three years, and the model Reverb now uses to green tours across the industry. We get into how Reverb builds sustainability into a show without ever asking an artist to say a word from stage: backstage food donation and hotel toiletry recycling programs, front-of-house causes matched to each artist (Tyler Childers and Appalachian addiction recovery, Billie Eilish and plant-based meal pledges through Support + Feed), and why keeping it positive and solutions-focused — not preachy — is what actually moves fans to act. Perfect for touring professionals, festival organizers, sustainability coordinators, artist managers, and anyone curious how the live music industry is quietly cutting its carbon footprint one show at a time. ⚡ WHAT YOU'LL LEARN: — Why Luck Reunion became Reverb's model for how the campaign is supposed to work — How that model scales into a "replicable blueprint" for events of any size — Why visible signage and fan education matter as much as the tech itself — The backstage programs most fans never see — food donation, hotel toiletry recycling — How Reverb tailors front-of-house causes to each artist (Tyler Childers/Appalachia, Billie Eilish/plant-based pledges) — Why keeping the message positive and nonpartisan is the strategy, not an accident This is an abridged excerpt of a previously released episode. Listen/watch the full episode! 🎥 YouTube - https://youtu.be/7ddN4R-pu1w 🎧 Apple Podcasts - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s2-e26-vibing-with-tanner-watt-director-of/id1753867919?i=1000714332881 🟢 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/episode/4UJLON6wsYlwq2M07QzGLA?si=iolon-diQfKf1K7YwSKAgQ 🔗 Learn more: reverb.org 🎙️ Connect with your hosts: 💼 Zena Harris on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/zenaharris 💼 Mark Rabin on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/rabinmark 👉 SUBSCRIBE for more sustainability and clean energy content from inside the entertainment industry. #Reverb #MusicDecarbonization #SustainableTouring #CleanEnergy #BatteryPower #LuckReunion #WillieNelson #FestivalSustainability #LiveMusic #GreenTouring #TheTieIn #DieselFree #MusicIndustry #SustainableEntertainment #ClimateAction #TylerChilders #BillieEilish #ConcertSustainability #FanEngagement Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 00:34 Music Decarbonization Project & the Luck Reunion origin story 01:55 Scaling clean power year over year 02:47 Signage, community support & festival banquets 03:36 Live music's carbon slice — and its outsized reach 03:57 The emotional power of live music 04:52 Shifting culture at festivals 05:19 "It's a replicable blueprint" 05:40 Industry momentum — clean power showing up on other tours 06:28 Why visibility matters even when it's seamless 07:15 Backstage: food donation & hotel toiletry recycling 08:02 Front of house: letting the artist choose the cause 08:23 Tyler Childers & Appalachian recovery 08:43 Billie Eilish & Support + Feed's plant-based pledge 09:45 Keeping it positive, not preachy 10:35 Solutions over blame 10:53 Why it has to stay nonpolitical

  3. Aug 4

    99.9% Uptime, One Burning Man Failure & Why Backup Diesel Is Already Obsolete | Neel Vasavada | Best of The Tie-In

    In this Best Of excerpt, Neel Vasavada, founder and CEO of Overdrive Energy Solutions, gets honest about the one real failure in 50+ events, the 99.9% uptime record that followed it, and why he thinks backing up a battery system with a diesel generator is already outdated thinking. He also breaks down why power budgets almost never predict what actually happens on site — from an electric kettle taking down a DJ booth at Burning Man to a lighting designer flipping an LED wall to full white without warning — and walks through how Overdrive builds its power plan backward from the event layout instead. This is an abridged excerpt of a previously released episode. ⚡ WHAT YOU'LL LEARN: — The one failure in 50+ events, and the 99.9% uptime record that came out of it — Why "always carry a backup generator" is a diesel-era habit, not a battery-era necessity — The Burning Man kettle story that's stuck with Neel since before Overdrive existed — Why load prediction fails — LED walls, subs, and the "electric outlets as faucets" mindset — How Overdrive builds power plans backward from site layout instead of guessing loads upfront — Why the goal isn't to be the biggest live-events power provider — it's to become a portable power utility This is an abridged excerpt of a previously released episode. Listen/watch the full episode! YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dQijxj2GZ0 Spotify:https://open.spotify.com/episode/1pN6CL8de3sOKMaY4LGKzX?si=jimgAQigTbuWl9RQKidikw Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s1-e6-switching-to-sustainability-overdrive-with/id1753867919?i=1000664465199 🎙️ Connect with Neel Vasavada & Overdrive: 🌐 www.overdrive.rocks 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/overdrive_energy_solutions/ 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/overdrive-energy-solutions/ 🎙️ Connect with your hosts: 💼 LiinkedIn: Zena Harris: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zenaharris/ 💼 LinkedIn: Mark Rabin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rabinmark/ 👉 SUBSCRIBE for more sustainability and clean energy content from inside the entertainment industry. #OverdriveEnergy #BatteryPower #DieselGeneratorAlternative #SustainableEvents #TheTieIn

  4. Jul 28

    How Hans Dayal Builds the Business Case That Gets Production Executives to Say Yes to Clean Power | The Best of The Tie In

    Hans Dayal is a local fixture in the Vancouver film production scene, and one of the earliest voices building the actual business case for sustainable power on set. In this Best Of The Tie-In episode, he breaks down what it takes to get production executives on board: the real labor and cabling costs a single battery eliminates, how to build a one-sheet that makes the savings undeniable, and why renewable diesel became a near-effortless sell once crews understood what it actually was. He also walks through the biggest proof point yet: a one-megawatt battery borrowed straight from the oil patch that ran an entire 500-person Alberta backlot and replaced five diesel generators outright. Also included, the story of how Virgin River went from a crew that didn't understand what he was talking about in season one to running entire weeks without burning fuel by season two. This is an abridged excerpt of a previously released episode. Listen/watch the full episode! YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ohv44dO7uOg] Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2fuTOlsHmOSD7AvQnleSlB?si=RPDEI4fQReevAxN7Amnu5Q Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s1-e22-solving-problems-in-a-collective-way/id1753867919?i=1000676628383 Connect with Hans Dayal 🎙️ Linkedin: : https://www.linkedin.com/in/hansdayal/ 📸 Instagram:: https://www.instagram.com/tremblinglamb/ 🎙️ Connect with your hosts: Zena Harris on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zenaharris/ Mark Rabin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rabinmark/ 👉 SUBSCRIBE for more sustainability and clean energy content from inside the entertainment industry.

  5. Jul 21

    How Emmy-Winning Production Designer Adam Rowe Reused the Same Sets Across Two CBS Shows and a Netflix Series| The Best of The Tie In

    What if you could build one set — and use it for three different shows? Emmy Award-winning production designer Adam Rowe did exactly that. In this Best Of clip from The Tie In, Adam walks through the real-world case study behind "Good Glam Lock" — how a CBS medical drama set he designed in Toronto became a Netflix makeup headquarters, then a CBS law firm, traveled by semi-truck across the border, and now lives permanently at Paramount in Los Angeles.This isn't theory. It's a working blueprint for how the entertainment industry can reduce waste, cut costs, and build bigger, better-looking sets by reusing what already exists. What you'll learn: — Why designing for modularity from day one unlocks reuse down the line — How the same set looked completely different across Good Sam, Glamorous, and Matlock — Why audiences "forgive and forget" — and what that means for production design — The RGB lighting trick that worked across all three shows — How reuse let Matlock afford a set it never could have built from scratch Perfect for production designers, art directors, set decorators, producers, UPMs, sustainability coordinators, and anyone responsible for art department budgets in film and TV. Topics: sustainable production design, set reuse, circular economy film, art department sustainability, production efficiency, CBS network television, Netflix production, Matlock, Glamorous, Good Sam, Emmy Award production design, entertainment sustainability, green production, film set design, cost-effective production 🎙️ FEATURED GUEST: Adam Rowe — Emmy Award-winning Production Designer & Art Director Credits include: Matlock (CBS), Glamorous (Netflix), Good Sam (CBS), Mad Men, Parks and Recreation, Rent: Live (Fox) Perfect for production designers, art directors, set decorators, scenic artists, producers, UPMs, sustainability coordinators, and anyone in the art department who wants to do more with less. Topics Covered: set reuse, sustainable production design, circular economy film, art department sustainability, production efficiency, CBS television, Netflix production, Matlock, Glamorous, Good Sam, Emmy Award production design, entertainment sustainability, green production design, film set design, cost-effective production, scenery reuse This is an abridged excerpt of a previosly recorded episode. 🔗 Listen/Watch to the full episode: YouTube: https://youtu.be/73iYlRcEXZQ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7HLZ0BC9qc9PXSc7GGogZl?si=qHdf0d3CQRqh8Yqv9VbIpw Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s2-e27-crafting-climate-action-with-production/id1753867919?i=1000715272047 Watch these videos for more inside details about the set reuse on these projects: If You’re Not Re-Using It Your Losing It: https://youtu.be/EIZU2yX38_U The Modern Medieval Catapult Master, Set Construction Coordinator Joe Madziak: https://youtu.be/E36ZaTVyDbI 🎙️ Connect with Adam: 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rowdy.rowe/ 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adam-rowe-703608264/ 🎙️ Connect with your hosts: Zena Harris on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/zenaharris Mark Rabin on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/rabinmark 👉 SUBSCRIBE for more sustainability and clean energy content from inside the entertainment industry. #ProductionDesign #SustainableEntertainment #SetDesign #GreenProduction #FilmProduction #TVProduction #ArtDepartment #SetReuse #CircularEconomy #SustainableFilm #CBS #Netflix #Matlock #Glamorous #GoodSam #MadMen #EmmyAward #TheTieIn #BestOf #EntertainmentSustainability #ProductionDesigner #ArtDirector #FilmSet #GreenFilmmaking #SustainableProduction #SetDecorator #FilmIndustry #TVIndustry #GreenSet #ProductionEfficiency #CircularDesign

  6. Jul 14

    Solar Energy Innovation, Off-Grid Power & Renewable Energy Systems for Film, Events & Festivals: Dragon Wings Solar Generator, Energy Budgeting & the Future of Clean Power | Dr. Ryan Wartena

    Dr. Ryan Wartena — PhD electrochemical engineer and battery innovator — joins Mark and Zena on The Tie-In to break down the clean energy framework any production can use today. This Best Of episode covers Ryan's two-question energy-budgeting framework, the difference between power and energy, the "magic trick" strategy for converting renewable-energy skeptics, and why he believes we'll reach 500% renewable energy in our lifetime. Perfect for sustainability professionals, event producers, film production managers, facility directors, energy managers, and anyone trying to move their operation off diesel. Topics: clean energy framework, energy budgeting, power vs energy explained, battery storage, Burning Man carbon inventory, renewable energy film production, sustainable events, energy awareness, solar power, carbon accounting, clean energy transition, electrochemical engineering, virtual power plants, diesel generator alternative ⚡ WHAT YOU'LL LEARN: — The two questions that right-size any clean energy system from scratch — The difference between power and energy — and why it matters for every production — Why solar + battery has reached cost parity with diesel — The "magic trick" strategy for converting skeptics on set or at an event — Why everyone is already at energy awareness level one — Why Ryan believes 500% renewable energy is achievable in our lifetime This is an abridged excerpt of a previously released episode. Listen/watch the full episode! YouTube: https://youtu.be/tx5BjLBs1XE Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2t6kdYHWv1FLRo6W5emBJK?si=XgOfkauATiS4EEIDV0O2vQ Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s1-e7-taking-sustainability-to-new-heights-with-dragon/id1753867919?i=1000665130133 🎙️ Connect with Dr. Ryan Wartena: 📸 Instagram: @southernbeams, @theryanwartena 🌐 southernbeams.com 🎙️ Connect with your hosts: 💼 Zena Harris on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zenaharris/ 💼 Mark Rabin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rabinmark/ 👉 SUBSCRIBE for more sustainability and clean energy content from inside the entertainment industry. #SolarEnergy #OffGridPower #RenewableEnergy #DragonWings #SolarGenerator #CleanEnergy #EnergyStorage #BatteryStorage #BurningMan #SustainableEvents #FilmProduction #EventProduction #GreenProduction #Microgrid #EnergyBudgeting #CleanTech #SustainableEntertainment #TheTieIn #EVCharging #CarbonAccounting #EnergyTransition #GreenEnergy #SolarPower #OffGrid #VirtualPowerPlant #SustainableFuture #ClimateAction #GreenTech #EnergyAwareness #NetZero #DieselFree #GreenFestival #LiveEvents #FestivalSustainability #PortableSolar #DeployableSolar #ThreePhasepower

  7. Jul 7

    How Coachella Cut Diesel by Going Battery-Solar: Ken Deans on Sustainable Power for Large-Scale Live Events & Festivals

    What does it actually take to eliminate diesel generators from one of the world's largest music festivals — not as a statement, but as a business decision that saves money? Ken Deans has been the power and production infrastructure mind behind Coachella, Stagecoach, and dozens of other large-scale events for over 30 years. In this episode he breaks down how a 2004 rider from Jack Johnson's management started a sustainability journey that led to eliminating diesel light towers, powering environmental monitoring stations on solar-battery, and running air-conditioned work trailers off a cargo van battery for a full month. Ken walks through the proof-of-concept that changed how the industry thinks about portable power, how he built the economic case that got buy-in from AEG/Goldenvoice, and why he believes more battery-solar than diesel at major festivals is coming within 3 to 5 years. A practical, numbers-driven conversation for anyone responsible for power, operations, or sustainability at live events, festivals, or large-scale productions. Topics: festival sustainability, diesel generator alternative, battery power live events, solar power festivals, Coachella sustainability, event power infrastructure, portable electric, large-scale event production, clean energy entertainment, event operations, ESG live events, green events ⚡ WHAT YOU'LL LEARN: — How a Jack Johnson sustainability rider in 2004 launched a 20-year clean energy journey — Why powering pollution monitors with diesel was the oxymoron that broke the dam — How a battery and two solar panels replaced 28 gallons of diesel a day — Why the crew tipping point was two chop saws running at once without blowing a fuse — How to build the economic and sustainability case that gets leadership buy-in every time — How one proof-of-concept at Coachella moved an entire equipment rental industry This is an abridged excerpt of a previously released episode. Listen/watch the full episode! YouTube: https://youtu.be/MrMAhw0G2Bc Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1trjEAHNG8GmizzCdCcZMK?si=LfepvqCET4Kxo7vZYx12Jw Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s1-e3-the-coachella-awesome-ken-deans/id1753867919?i=1000660138257 Connect with Ken Deans: 🎙️ Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kendeans/ 🌐 https://kdpservices.com/ 🎙️ Connect with your hosts: 💼 Zena Harris on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zenaharris/ 💼 Mark Rabin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rabinmark/ 👉 SUBSCRIBE for more sustainability and clean energy content from inside the entertainment industry.

  8. Jun 30

    He Predicted the Clean Energy Tipping Point for Film Production — Then Proved It: Autonomous Base Camp Power, Vehicle-to-Grid & the Future of Film Sets | Andre Champagne | Sustainable Production Forum | Best of The Tie In

    Before Hollywood Trucks announced their multi-year deal with NBCUniversal, before the Ecoluxe trailers were deployed on Amazon and Universal productions, Andre Champagne sat down with The Tie In live at the Sustainable Production Forum and laid out what was possible. This is that conversation. Andre Champagne, founder and CEO of Hollywood Trucks, breaks down how autonomous power actually works on a real film set: solar trailers that generate, store, and distribute free clean energy across an entire base camp — including EV charging for cast and crew — with no generator, no plug, no fuel cost. He walks through the technology roadmap that got him there: seven years of rebuilding trailers from the ground up, patenting a system that kept James Cameron's base camp running for 2.6 years without burning an ounce of fuel, and surviving the years when no one in the industry was ready to listen. Then he maps out what's next — solid-state batteries, vehicle-to-grid energy distribution, carbon credits as a studio revenue stream — and makes the case that the clean energy tipping point for entertainment has already arrived. One year later, it has. Perfect for sustainability professionals, production managers, UPMs, transportation coordinators, facility directors, corporate ESG officers, and anyone responsible for on-set power decisions. Topics: autonomous base camp power, solar trailers, vehicle-to-grid, EV charging on set, carbon credits film production, clean energy trailers, diesel generator alternative, off-grid film production, sustainable transportation, Hollywood Trucks, Ecoluxe, lithium ion batteries, solid-state battery, film production sustainability, NBCUniversal, Sustainable Production Forum, entertainment ESG This is an abridged excerpt of a previously released episode. Listen/watch the full episode! YouTube: https://youtu.be/nZncKFN2GAo Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/43wO5lg8rCLEuMu0Bw1GHS?si=FtRwlzXvQpihh91rLnb3sQ Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/s1-e18-live-at-spf-with-andre-champagne-ceo-of/id1753867919?i=1000673977479 ⚡ WHAT YOU'LL LEARN: — Why throwing solar panels on a trailer is not the same as building an energy-autonomous vehicle — How 30 trailers + 5 electric semis can generate 8 megawatts of storage at base camp — Why vehicle-to-grid turns a film fleet into a revenue center for studios — How carbon credits are becoming a second income stream for production vendors — What solid-state batteries and higher-efficiency solar will change in the next 3–5 years — Why studio mandates — not market forces alone — will accelerate the transition — How James Cameron's base camp ran for 2.6 years without a drop of fuel 🎙️ Connect with Andre: 🌐 hollywoodtrucks.com 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hollywoodtrucks/ 💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/hollywood-trucks/ 🎙️ Connect with Sustainable Production Forum: 🌐 https://www.sustainableproductionforum.com/ 📸 https://www.instagram.com/sustainableproductionforum 💼 https://www.linkedin.com/company/sustainable-entertainment-society 📺 https://www.youtube.com/@sustainableentertainment_ca 🙂 https:/www.facebook.comSustainableProductionForum 🎙️ Connect with your hosts: Zena Harris on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zenaharris/ 💼 Mark Rabin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rabinmark/ 👉 SUBSCRIBE for more sustainability and clean energy content from inside the entertainment industry.

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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
5 Ratings

About

Behind the scenes, sustainability in action. Entrepreneurs Zena Harris and Mark Rabin talk shop with filmmakers, event producers, and entertainment professionals from around the world in a quest to amplify the voices of people who are innovating, leveraging their influence, connecting ideas, and inspiring crews to make the entertainment we love more sustainable.

Information

  • Creator
    Zena Harris and Mark Rabin
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    115
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026 Zena Harris and Mark Rabin
  • Show Website
    The Tie-In