Spain
Film Locations. For a relatively small country, Spain offers a great depth of locations and looks in close proximity to each other. In the winter, you can film beach scenes in Costa del Sol, then drive for two hours and shoot in the snow, drive another hour and a half and shoot in the desert where the Spaghetti Westerns were shot in the 70´s.
Locations of interest include: Pyrenees mountains. Madrid. Basque city of San Sebastián. Catalan city of Barcelona - Gaudi architecture, Gothic quarter. Canary Islands. Balearic Islands - Party island of Ibiza, beautiful Majorca and Menorca. The Costa del Sol. Seville. Salamanca. Cordoba. Alhambra in Granada. Port Aventura and Terra Mítica theme parks. Santiago de Compostela. Great car roads. High speed trains. Surfing. Beaches. Ski resorts. National parks. Farms. Palaces. Castles. Cathedrals. Modern architecture including the City of the Arts and the Sciences, MUSAC Museum, Bilbao Guggenheim and Torre Agbar skyscraper. World renowned festivals such as Pamplona's Running of the Bulls and Valencia's Tomatina. And so much more...
Madrid, Barcelona and Malaga are the major production centres.
Permits vary for each city and location. In Barcelona, regular permits require about about 4 days. Complex permits about 7 days. Permits involving children are about 15 business days. In Madrid the standard amount of time needed is 15 days for permits.
Some notes on often requested locations:
For permission to film at the Guggenheim Bilbao, before the museum considers the project, the client is required to become a sponsor which is a minimum fee of 20,000 EUROS, more if the museum deems it. The process can take up to 2 weeks. The membership is valid for 5 years.
Permission for filming at the City of the Arts and Sciences is possible but depends on which buildings are chosen. The standard fee for image rights is 15,000 EUROS plus a 3,000 EUROS daily fee.
When to shoot? Spain offers filming opportunities all year round. Spain's climate varies from temperate in the north to dry and hot in the south. The best months are from April to October, although July and August can be excessively hot throughout the country except the coastal regions. Madrid is best in late spring or autumn. The central plateau can be very cold in winter. On the whole, Spain is a great place to shoot when the rest of Europe is already experiencing the colder months.
For monthly weather statistics please see here.
Please contact us for more specific weather and sun path information.
Costs. Spain trades in the Euro. It is generally one of the less expensive western European countries to shoot in.
Talent is non-union and buyouts are very negotiable. Spain is a multicultural country - mostly Mediterranean looks with some Latin American, European, African, Middle Eastern and Asian looks also available. Lead roles of non-Mediterranean talent may need to be brought in from abroad. Spain is also home to several celebrities including many of the world's best footballers including names such as Messi, Ronaldo and Henri.
Please see here for examples of locally available talent:
Group Model Management
Salvador Model Agency
SS&M Models
Traffic Models
Trend Model Management
Creative talent. Spain has a good local pool of directors, directors of photography and stills photographers. Its close proximity to 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. Good depth of very experienced and professional English speaking crews.
Fringes. No hidden extras.
Premiums. 11 hours is the standard shooting day but our producer typically packages a deal that works for your budget. There are no weekend premiums. Other premiums are worked out on a case by case basis. On Saturdays overtime begins at 2:00 PM no matter what time the call-time was and Sunday/Holidays are double pay at the start and overtime after 12 hours.
Equipment. Spain has all of the standard equipment and much of the specialized equipment. Some equipment is still missing in Spain such as the Russian arm which needs to be brought in from abroad. Examples of locally available equipment include:
Camera Service
Sercivi
Service Vision
Alcicam S.A
Art department and set construction is of a very high standard for many years now. To give you an idea of the standard of work, A Fistful of Dollars, Lawrence of Arabia and Vicky Cristina Barcelona were shot in Spain. Not to mention the many films shot locally by internationally renowned Spanish directors from Luis Buñuel to Pedro Almodovar.
Studios. Spain has many impressive studios. Some examples include:
Parc Audiovisual
Backlots. Parc Audiovisual has backlots. There is also a Spaghetti Western backlot in Almeria called Mini Hollywood.
Tax Incentives. The Community of Valencia has text incentives for Feature Films and TV Programs. There are no tax incentives for commercial shoots.
Film Stock. Both Kodak and Fuji available locally.
Post Production. Very good facilities. See here for examples:
Serena Post
Infinia
Molinare
Visas and Work Permits. Spain is a member of the EU. Entry is subject to regulations from country of origin. Contact your local Spanish embassy or representative for more information.
Transportation Infrastructure. Main roads are up to international standards. Several international and budget regional airlines service flights to Spain.
Accommodation. Recommended options in Spain include:
Madrid:
Hospes Madrid
Hotel Urban
Hotel de las Letras
Barcelona:
Grand Hotel Central
Casa Camper
Hotel Cram
Hotel Omm
Please contact us for corporate rates.
For longer stays we can also organize serviced apartments.
Communication. Web posted casting, scouting and videoconferencing.
Safety. Spain is a very safe and fun place for foreign productions to visit.
Projects. For an example of TV commercials, online advertising, corporate videos, stills campaigns, feature films, TV series and documentaries shot in Spain, 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 Spain, please contact us.
We are able to provide you with answers, references and bids quickly.
