Iceland
Locations. Glaciers, lava fields, black sand beaches, green fields, waterfalls, geothermal activity, geysers, hot springs. Iceland has a great variety of otherworldly locations within a short distance from each other. Please see here for an example of such locations that were all within 100 metres of each other: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jXr01Zj218
Reykjavik is the main production centre and everything must travel from there.
Permits. Most locations only take a few days for permission. Locking city streets and shooting in national parks can take up to 4 days but in urgent cases we can usually resolve permits in 2 days.
When to shoot? Iceland is cold, but not as cold as the name suggests. This is due to the passing warm waters of the Gulf Stream, which regulate the climate. The south is the wettest part of the country, but snow is rare. Coastal areas tend to experience windy weather. During the summer months there is almost continuous daylight; early spring and late autumn feature long twilights. From mid-November until the end of January; Winter experiences only a few hours of daylight each day.
For monthly weather statistics please see here: http://www.gaisma.com/en/dir/is-country.html
Please contact us for more specific weather and sun path information.
Costs. Iceland is the least expensive of the Nordic countries. Iceland's heavily devalued currency has made now a good time to take advantage of all that Iceland has to offer in a filming experience.
Talent. There is an actors union but models are non-union. The minimum day rate for actors is USD1800 plus buyouts which are negotiated on a case by case basis. Main talent for all-media worldwide buyout is typically somewhere in the range of USD10-15K.
To view an example of some of the local talent looks please visit the following:
Eskimo - http://www.eskimo.is/
Reykjavik Casting - http://www.reykjavikcasting.is/
Iceland has a good pool of Nordic looking talent. Most other looks need to be brought in.
Creative talent. Iceland has a small but good pool of local directors, directors of photography and stills photographers. It's close proximity to other major European production centres allows easy access to those pools of creative talent should you ever need to look further.
Please contact us for recommended directors, DoP's and photographers for your project.
Crews are non-union. Icelandic crews are known to be skilled, creative and resourceful. They all speak fluent English.
Fringes are 13.98% and consist of 3 items (pension fund, social security contribution and health and insurance fund).
Premiums. Crews work a
twelve-hour shoot day and time and a half after that. No special night or holiday premiums.
Equipment. Iceland is Arri based. Most standard equipment is available locally. More specialised equipment such as technocrane, motion control, spacecam need to be brought in from London.
Art department and set construction is excellent. Some examples of their work can be seen in the Hollywood features - Die Another Day, Tomb Raider, and Flags of our Fathers.
Studios. Most filming in Iceland is location based. The best local studio is:
Lazytown - http://www.lazytown.com/
Backlots. None exist at present.
Tax Incentives. There is 20% re-imbursement on costs incurred in Iceland on films, TV productions and documentaries. This at present does not apply to TV commercials.
Film Stock. Both Fuji and Kodak are available locally.
Post Production. At present there are no labs in Iceland. Processing is done in London.
Visas and Work Permits. For short form projects tourist visas are sufficient. Contact your local Icelandic embassy / representative for more information.
Transportation Infrastructure is all up to known and expected world standards. Icelandair is the main international carrier.
Accommodation. Film friendly hotels include:
101 Hotel - http://www.101hotel.is/
Hotel Borg - http://hotelborg.is/
Hilton - http://hilton.co.uk/reykjavik
Radisson - http://saga.reykjavik.radissonsas.com/
Center Hotels - http://centerhotels.com/
Please contact us for corporate rates.
For longer stays we can also organise serviced apartments.
Communication. Web posted casting, scouting and videoconferencing.
Safety. Iceland is a very safe and reliable filming centre.
If you are looking for a film or photographic production service company, line producer or fixer in Iceland, please contact us.
We are able to provide you with answers, references and bids quickly.
