Mexico
Film Locations Copper Canyon. Magnificent cave systems. Beautiful beaches. Spanish colonial architecture. Desert dunes. Salt plains. Rainforests. Rivers. Waterfalls. Stunning car roads. Surfing. Arid mountain scapes. Sport stadiums. Unique villages. Vineyards. Volcano. Modern Mexico City. Bullfighting.
For Mayan ruins, Chichen Itza is 127 km from Mérida and 219 km from Cancún and everything must travel from Mexico City. The Sun and Moon Pyramid is only 45mins drive from Mexico City.
Permits. Most locations take roughly a week to permit but can be rushed through in a couple of days in emergencies.
Filming Mayan ruins may be possible but you need to go through the approval process with the board that governs all these protected areas. The process can take up to 16-20 working days. There is no fee to submit the permit application. Permission to film at Mayan ruins is typically not granted for commercial productions. Permission is more likely to be granted if the film is for the promotion or benefit of Mexico tourism or culture.
Guatemala and Belize offer easier access to filming ruins however everything else must come from abroad, which can considerably add to the costs of filming.
When to shoot? The climate of Mexico varies considerably depending on the region and time of the year.
For monthly weather statistics please see here.
Please contact us for more specific weather and sun path information.
Costs. Mexico City is the main service centre so costs will depend on how far you need to travel from there. Mexico is a large country and many locations require extensive travel. Mexico City itself is also a very large sprawled city. Leaving the city limits can take several hours. In general shooting in Mexico comes in around 20% less than the costs of shooting in the US.
Talent. Both union and non-union options are available. Must use union talent for feature films and TV shows. Can use non-union talent for all other media. Mexico offers mainly Mestizo (mixed Caucasian and Amerindian) and International-Latin looks. All other talent looks need to be brought in from abroad. For examples of locally available talent looks see:
Contempo
Higher Model Management
Look Models Model Management
Queta Rojas Models
Mexico has a small but good pool of directors, directors of photography and stills
photographers. Its close proximity to major US 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. Both union and non-union options are available. Must use union talent for feature films. Can use non-union talent for all other media. Crews are very experienced in servicing international
productions. They are hard working, resourceful and speak fluent English.
Fringes. No hidden extras for non-union.
Premiums. Mexico works on a 10 hour day. Non-union premiums are 10% extra after 10 hours. Union premiums are 10% extra for the next 2 hours, 20% for the next 2 hours and 30% extra after that. Night shoots are set on a 8 hour day with the above premiums applying. Shoots on weekends and holidays are subject to negotiable premiums. Mexico requires a 12 hour turn around.
Equipment. Mexico offers both Arri and Panavision equipment as well as a variety of specialist equipment houses. Good depth of standard and technical equipment - heads, technocranes, dollies, 35mm and HD cameras, underwater filming equipment. For examples of local equipment houses see:
Renta Imagen
CTT Rentals
Art department and set construction. Art department heads are of an international standard. Construction is inexpensive and of a high quality. To give you an example of the standard of local art department the films Beverly Hills Chihuahua, Resident Evil and Titanic were shot in Mexico.
Studios and backlots. Some good options exist but they are considerable travel from Mexico City. Please see here for examples:
Baja Studios
Studio 5 de Mayo
Durango offers a Western backlot.
Tax Incentives. At present there are tax incentives only for feature films. Contact us for more information.
Film Stock. Both Kodak and Fuji are available locally but stock is actually less expensive to bring in from abroad.
Post Production. All facilities exist in Mexico City. See here for examples:
Cluster Studio
Zenlab
Visas and Work Permits. Entry is subject to regulations from country of origin. Contact your local Mexican embassy or representative for more information.
Transportation Infrastructure. Main roads are up to international standards. Several international airlines service flights to Mexico.
Accommodation. Recommended options in two of Mexico's most popular filming destinations include:
Mexico City:
Four Seasons Mexico City
Habitat
Distro Capital
Nikko Hotel
Playa del Carmen (Mayan Riviera):
Banyan Tree Mayakoba
The Royal Playa del Carmen
Hotel Basico
Hotel Deseo
Please contact us for corporate rates.
For longer stays we can also organize serviced apartments.
Communication. Web posted casting, scouting and videoconferencing.
Safety. On the whole Mexico is a relatively safe place for foreign productions to visit. Exercise caution if entering cities near the US border. If you must shoot in this area then appropriate personal security measures are recommended.
Projects. For an example of TV commercials, online advertising, corporate videos, stills campaigns, feature films, TV series and documentaries shot in Mexico, please see below:
Our production service companies, line producers and fixers have serviced TV commercials, online advertising, corporate videos, stills campaigns, feature films, TV series and documentaries for:
AXA Belgium, BBC UK, Canon Singapore, Coca Cola Indonesia, Concord Canada, Dove Malaysia, Deutche Bank Germany, Dressman Sweden, Evian France, HBO USA, Heineken Ireland, Hyundai Korea, Intercontinental Hotels Global, ITC India, Kirin Japan, Kraft USA, Landrover UK, LG Korea, Meunil China, McDonalds Australia, MUFG Japan, Nikon Hong Kong, Nokia China, Orange Moblie Slovakia, Philips Netherlands, Proctor & Gamble USA, Chery Riich China, Rimowa Germany, Samsung Korea, Sinoland Hong Kong, Skipper Italy, Smirnoff USA, Sony United Arab Emirates, Stella Russia, Telefonica Spain, Vidal Sassoon China, Virgin Media UK, and much more.
If you are looking for a film or photographic production service company, line producer or fixer in Mexico, please contact us.
We are able to provide you with answers, references and bids quickly.
