Colombia
Locations. Spanish colonial towns, urban looks, modern
cities, football stadiums, roads, tropical beaches, countryside, all
year crops, mountains, easy access rock climbing, lakes, waterfalls,
jungle, desert, flat prairies. Colombia sits on both the Caribbean Sea
and Pacific Ocean allowing for different coastal looks. Colombia has
some extraordinary undiscovered locations.
Permits. No extraordinary restrictions or rules apply. Permitting in
Colombia is a very straightforward process requiring only 48 hours for
most locations.
When to shoot? Colombia has a tropical climate with long sunlight hours
all year around. Crops are in season almost all year around also. For
historic weather patterns and other important information go to the
following link and choose a city: http://www.gaisma.com/en/dir/co-country.html
Please contact us for more specific weather and sunpath information.
Costs. On average Colombia costs about 30% less than Brazil or Mexico and 20% less than Argentina or South Africa. The relative weakness of the
Colombian peso against all major currencies combined with Colombia's status as a relatively undiscovered service centre makes Columbia one of
the most cost efficient options in the world. Shooting away from Bogota you have to travel everything and everyone but even with this taken into account Colombia is still a very cost competitive option.
Talent is non-union and buyouts are always negotiable. Day rates are
very reasonable and negotiated on a personal basis. On average a
one-year worldwide buyout for TV and internet is around 300% of the day
rate.
Colombia has a multicultural mix of looks with only Asian and
Indian looks more difficult to find. Colombia's close proximity to
Miami allows us to access that significant talent pool should you ever
need to look further.
To view an example of the local talent looks
please visit:
Informa Models - http://www.informamodels.com/
La Agencia Models - http://www.laagenciamodels.com/
Lott Models - http://www.lottmodels.com/
Creative talent. Colombia has a rather limited pool of local directors, directors of photography and stills photographers.
Please contact us for recommended directors, DoP's and photographers for your project.
Crews are also non-union. Crews are good, hard working, flexible with
overtime and turn around times. Heads of department all speak fluent
English.
Fringes. No hidden extras. We pay crew the day rate and crew
contribute to their own medical and accident insurance.
Premiums. Colombia works on a twelve-hour shoot day from arrival on set
until wrap time. Time and a half over time after that. Sundays and
public holidays are normal time. Six hours turn around time can be
negotiated if need be.
Equipment. All the standard equipment is available locally in Colombia
and anything additional can be easily brought in from Miami. Colombia's best rental company is Congo Films. Their equipment summary
list can be seen at this link: http://www.congofilms.tv/summary.html
Art department and set construction are up to international standards.
Our local producer has in the past constructed airports, supermarkets,
hospitals, Chinatown exteriors, African villages, old western towns and
Mexican towns for "El Zorro" to give a few examples.
Studios. They do exist but are not Colombia's strong point. Most are
booked up by soap operas and mini series.
Backlots. At present no
backlots exist in Colombia.
Tax Incentives. There are no tax incentives for feature films or
commercials in Colombia. The government is considering implementing a
plan to attract foreign productions with 15% tax return, but these laws
have still to be passed.
Film Stock. Both Fuji and Kodak are available locally.
Post Production. Telecine will be up and running by the end of 2008.
Cinecolor is in the process of setting up shop in Bogota. For now we
develop and transfer in Miami at any of the following labs:
Florida Film Lab - http://www.flfilmlab.com/
Cineworks - http://www.cineworks.com/
Manhattan Transfer Miami - http://www.mtmiami.com/
Visas and Work Permits. Only certain countries need visas and there is
no need for work permits. Contact your local Colombian embassy / representative for more information.
Transportation Infrastructure is all up to known and expected world
standards. Avianca is Colombia’s best domestic airline. Most European and American airlines fly to Bogota at least two times per day.
Accommodation. Film friendly hotels in Bogota include:
104 Art Suites - http://www.104artsuites.com/
Radisson - http://www.radisson.com/bogotaco/
Please contact us for corporate rates.
For longer stays we can also organize serviced apartments.
Communication. All as you would expect to find in any modern country:
national and international roaming mobile coverage, WiFi, broadband,
blackberry, etc.
Safety. Despite occasional sensationalist media reports to the contrary
Colombia is actually quite a safe centre for filming. The political
climate is stable and crime rates have fallen significantly.
Please
refer to the following articles addressing the issue of safety in
Colombia.
Shots - http://www.shots.net/news_detail.asp?id=3876
Boards - http://www.boardsmag.com/articles/magazine/20080301/columbia.html?word=colombia
New York Times - http://travel.nytimes.com/2006/03/19/travel/19goingto.html?fta=y&pagewanted=all
http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/05/20/travel/tmagazine/07well-cartagena-t.html?pagewanted=all
http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/11/11/travel/11Explorer.html
Lonely Planet - http://www.sharedresponsibility.gov.co/index.php?idcategoria=456
Benetton Talk - http://www.benettontalk.com/colombia-your-new-destination/
In a New York Minute - http://sestafford.nomadlife.org/
Is Colombia Safe? - http://www.is-colombia-safe.com/
Our producer on the ground has many years experience servicing
international productions. He has all the necessary connections in
Colombia to ensure a smooth and successful production.
If you are looking for a film or photographic production service company, line producer or fixer in Colombia, please contact us.
We are able to provide you with answers, references and bids quickly.
