Filming abroad in a post-Brexit world: Things to consider
Over the past 2 years, we’ve navigated Britain leaving the EU and the global pandemic whilst continuing to offer professional video production services in countries such as France, Germany, Sweden, Italy, Ireland and Norway.
Although we’re Manchester based we have nationwide clients that, due to the reach of their brands, require us to get the passports out and fulfil international productions. In doing so there’s a few logistical things you need to know and we thought we’d share a handful of them here…
Carnet
An ATA carnet is an international customs document that permits the temporary export and import of professional equipment for up to 1 year. For a film production company that’s essentially a list of all our equipment including value, serial numbers and country of origin listed out in a document. This must be presented at customs offices when exporting from the UK, importing into one of the 87 countries that acknowledge ATA carnet, re-exporting from that country and re-importing into the UK.
It’s a lengthy process and, since leaving the EU, we need to pay for and provide this document every-time we fly with professional equipment. If not, we’re liable to pay duty tax. Understanding this process, the time it takes to get everything approved before a flight and getting the right documents stamped falls with the production company (something we’ve become very proficient at).
Excess Baggage
As film-makers we rarely travel light. The equipment is very specialist and expensive and therefore needs to travel in protective hard cases. A typical limit for a tourist doesn’t go very far when carrying tripods, lenses, cameras and accessories. Depending on the size of the crew we can often have 5+ extras bags with us when travelling. The content of bags are considered ‘tools’ and need to go through special baggage scanners before getting onto a flight.
When landing at the other end they can sometimes be distributed by a different conveyor belt. Look out for the push chairs and you might find a set of tripod legs nearby
Batteries
Airlines vary but generally each person can carry 2 x 98Wh batteries in their carry on. Lithium ion batteries absolutely can’t go in the hold as if treated poorly they can set on fire. The easiest way to mitigate this is by taping the terminals to prevent short circuiting.
If carrying enough batteries is causing an issue then we look into hiring kit locally (see next section).
Local kit
As a way of reducing excess baggage or carrying large amounts of batteries we often source high end production equipment locally and have it couriered to site. This really varies per country and how accessible it is.
For example; one of our recent shoots was touching the artic circle in Sweden, about 7 hrs north of Stockholm. Sourcing professional equipment in such a remote area was pretty impossible so on this occasion we decided to take everything with us.
On the flip side, we recently shot a commercial for a theme park based outside Hamburg, Germany where there was plenty of options for equipment hire. The friendly German staff understood the specifications of the kit required and got it to site just as we arrived in the country. They then sent a van to collect it once we’d finished and the process was seamless.
Transport
Once you land in a local country with up to 10 bags it’s important to have transport pre-arranged. We often hire production vans that can carry all our equipment and team members. We always opt for maximum insurance when booking vehicles abroad. Not every country has the same standards as the UK and we’ve woken up to dings/scratches in our vehicles where people have hit the cars and driven off. This liability lands with the hirer but with extra insurance you can often have the excess wavered.
Using a fixer
A fixer is a film term for someone local on the ground, who speaks the language, knows the area and can support the production team get what they need. They can often book hotels, transport, food, location permits and assist with location scouting
They have an extensive network and can source pretty much anything.
If budget allows then we often book a local fixer to take some of the pressure off the production team.
Understanding the latest health protocols, work permits and local customs can sometimes feel overwhelming but with plenty of planning and research a film shoot abroad should be as easy as filming down the road. If that stills sounds like too much then just get your preferred production partner such as Dead Pixel Films to handle it for you.
Keep a look out for the next country on our list!