Cardboard sets, real change: Chris Gilmour’s sustainable revolution in film production

In episode 45 of The Decarbonisation Dialogue, we talk to the British sculptor and co-founder of Vectar Sets, who is turning engineered materials into indistinguishable film sets - cutting waste, costs and carbon across the industry

British sculptor Chris Gilmour has spent decades turning an unlikely material into something extraordinary. Known for crafting life-sized, hyper-realistic objects entirely from cardboard, the Manchester-based artist is now applying that same meticulous skill to a new challenge: transforming the environmental impact of film and television production.

Speaking on episode 45 of The Decarbonisation Dialogue podcast, Chris shared how his artistic journey - rooted in accessibility, curiosity and environmental awareness – has evolved into a practical solution for one of the industry’s least visible problems: set waste.

Chris is the co-founder of Vectar Sets, a company launched in 2022 alongside producer Tom Henderson. Their mission is simple but ambitious: to replace traditional wooden film sets with engineered paper alternatives that are virtually indistinguishable on screen. 

Drawing on Chris’s PhD research and Tom’s production experience, the company has developed “Vectorboard,” a durable, lightweight material made from engineered paper fibres.

These sets are reportedly up to 90% lighter than MDF and have a 90% lower carbon footprint. In our conversation, Chris explains how they are quicker to assemble, easier to transport and fully recyclable. Over the past year, their work has already featured in productions for major broadcasters including BBC, ITV and Channel 4, as well as in advertising campaigns.

For Chris, however, the story begins long before sustainability became an industry buzzword. Initially considering a career in illustration, he discovered sculpture during a foundation course and went on to study “Art in Social Context” in Bristol, a programme focused on public engagement and collaborative creativity.

Chris says: “I ended up doing a lot of workshops with community groups and young people. That meant finding materials that were cheap, easy to use and ideally ecological.”

Cardboard emerged not from ideology, but practicality. It was free, widely available and unintimidating - qualities that made it ideal for inclusive creative work. Over time, however, Chris became fascinated by its deeper meaning: a material tied to global commerce, packaging and waste.

His breakthrough came during his time in Italy, where he created a Vespa entirely from cardboard in just a few days. That piece led to gallery opportunities and ultimately a nearly 30-year career based in Italy, producing intricate sculptures of everyday objects, from cars to typewriters.

Despite their realism, his works follow strict rules: only cardboard and glue. 

Chris says: “They’re not moulded like papier-mâché. It’s just cardboard boxes cut up and assembled.”

The material’s flexibility allows for remarkable detail, while visible labels, tape and markings preserve the history of each piece. That philosophy - of reuse rather than recycling - continues to shape his thinking. 

“Recycling turns something back into raw material. This is an interruption. It’s transforming something into something else.”

It was during the COVID-19 lockdown, while pursuing his PhD, that Chris began exploring how cardboard could be applied beyond sculpture. A chance commission to build a set for an advert, amid shortages of wood and skilled labour, was pivotal.

In our podcast, Chris explained the thinking. Traditional sets, often built from MDF, timber and mixed materials, are typically used for just a few days before being dismantled and sent to landfill. 

Vectar Sets offers a different model. Their sets can be reused, repurposed, donated or fully recycled through partnerships with local organisations. In some cases, they are even produced locally in international markets to avoid unnecessary shipping - an approach the company adopted when working on projects linked to Australia.

Chris is clearly challenging perceptions as much as materials. Paper-based sets are often assumed to be fragile or impractical, but his work demonstrates otherwise. 

“People think they’ll be wobbly or fall over. But the technology is there, it just needs rethinking.”

Influenced by artists such as Anish Kapoor, Andy Goldsworthy and Bill Woodrow, Chris’s practice has always balanced aesthetics with ideas. Now, through Vectar Sets, that balance extends into industry-wide change.

His work suggests that sustainability in film is not just about reducing impact - it’s about reimagining what’s possible. It shows that even something as ordinary as cardboard can help reshape an entire sector, and audiences don’t even notice the difference.