United Arab Emirates
Film Locations. Cutting edge modern architecture such as the world's tallest building; The Burj, and the world's only 7-star hotel; The Burj al Arab. New roads and infrastructure perfect for car commercials, desert looks and rocky mountain scapes, white sand beaches and coastal looks, indoor snow skiing facility. The Emirates are a short flight from Europe and offer warm weather looks as Europe enters the colder months.
Dubai is the main production centre and all needs to travel from there.
Permits. Foreigners must apply for permits through a local production house who take responsibility for the visiting production. Permits for commercials are quick and easy typically requiring up to two weeks of lead time to be processed, pending the specific location. Nudity may not be filmed in the Emirates. Filming with bikinis is permitted.
When to shoot? Most of the Emirates has a desert climate characterized by extreme heat during the day, an abrupt drop in temperature at night, and slight, erratic rainfall. Filming during Ramadan is doable but can be a testing process due to the lack of open services.
For monthly weather statistics please see here.
Please contact us for more specific weather and sun path information.
Costs. Standard shoot day costs are comparable with South Africa. The Emirates are one of the more expensive countries in the Middle East. Budget hotels in peak season can cost around $300 per night with luxury hotels at $600 per night.
Talent is non-union and buyouts are negotiable. Talent costs are by western standards quite competitive.
The Emirates has a very good variety of locally based multicultural talent. Many are foreigners who have relocated to Dubai. There is a shortage of good talent over the age of 50.
To view an example of some of the local talent looks please visit the following:
Bareface
The Emirates has a small 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. The Emirates has a good depth of impressive locally based crews. Many are experienced foreign crew who have relocated to Dubai. Both key and supporting crews speak fluent English and understand international production standards.
Fringes. No hidden extras.
Premiums. The Emirates works on a 12 hour shooting day including breakfast and lunch breaks. Overtime is pro rata. There are no premiums for weekends, nights or holidays.
Equipment. Both Arri and Panavision equipment is available locally. All standard equipment is available including more specialist equipment such as technocrane and various heads. Please see the below for local equipment companies. Both are well connected internationally and can fly in any other equipment from more established production centres usually within 4-6 days.
Filmquip (Arri)
Cinequip (Panavision)
Art department and set construction. The Emirates has reasonably good set design, dressing and spfx crews. There are two good locally based production designers. Depending on their availability you may need to bring in from abroad. As an example of local art department capabilities the Emirates has hosted films such as Syriana and Kingdom.
Studios. The Emirates has some good studios.
Backlots. None exist at present.
Tax Incentives. There are no tax incentives for foreign
commercials shooting in the Emirates. Incentives for feature films are negotiable.
Film Stock. Both Kodak and Fuji available locally.
Post Production. Good standard of local post facilities. Please see:
Chimney Pot
Clockworks
Visas and Work Permits. Some passport holders can collect visas at the port of entry. There is no need for work permits. Contact your local Emirates embassy / representative for more information.
Transportation Infrastructure is all up to known and expected world standards. The Emirates have a very new and modern transportation infrastructure. Many airlines service the Emirates internationally.
Accommodation. Peak season from November to May can be very expensive for hotels. It is more cost efficient to book hotels online then to book through the Emirates. Recommended options include:
Dubai:
Burj al Arab
Dar Al Masyaf at Madinat Jumeirah
Grosvenor House
Burj Khalifa
Abu Dhabi:
Fairmont Bab Al Bahr
Qasr Al Sarab Desert Resort
Grand Millennium Al Wahda
Vision Hotel Apartments
Please feel free to contact us for our comparative corporate rates.
For longer stays we can also organize serviced apartments.
Communication. Web posted casting, scouting and videoconferencing.
Safety. The Emirates is a very safe and reliable filming centre.
Projects. For an example of TV commercials, online advertising, corporate videos, stills campaigns, feature films, TV series and documentaries shot in the Emirates, 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 the Emirates, please contact us.
We are able to provide you with answers, references and bids quickly.
