The WhereNext Guide to Video Production in Colombia
With its remarkable value, cultural and natural diversity, friendly people, and untouched landscapes, Colombia is a dream destination for any brand, agency or production company looking to create a unique visual project. However, the logistics of filming in Colombia can be a challenge at the best of times. At WhereNext, we have over a decade of experience working as a Colombia-based production company. Below are our top tips for film production in Colombia, as told by our fearless Executive Producer, Sandra Eichmann Perret.
Understand Regional Cultural Differences
Colombia is an extremely heterogeneous country, made up of diverse and distinct regions with their own unique cultures and belief systems. Understanding and respecting the particularity of each region goes a long way towards producing a successful project in this country.
For instance, during the production of ‘The Birders’, we filmed in the coastal desert of La Guajira, a region populated by the Indigenous Wayuu people. We needed to shoot on Indigenous resguardos (‘reservations’), so obtaining the trust of the locals was paramount to the success of the shoot. This is a process that requires time and patience. Understanding Wayuu culture was a massive part of that process, and the positive relationships that we forged during that production have since allowed us to return to La Guajira for a production with Autel Robotics.
WhereNext Executive Producer Sandra Eichmann Perret. The photo may be from Antarctica, but Sandra has it covered, from the heat of the tropics to the South Pole!
Support Communities in Which You Film
Building on the previous point, it is equally important to tell people’s stories responsibly and to give back to the communities in which you shoot. “The Birders” is an excellent example of this idea. Rather than solely producing a documentary about birding in Colombia, our Colombia production company partnered with organizations like eBird and The National Audubon Society to help to grow birding tourism in the regions where we filmed. By thinking beyond the project, we bond with local communities and guides, building trust and positive relationships which pave the way for successful future productions.
Confirm All Plans, Schedules, and Commitments
WhereNext’s Executive Producer Sandra Eichmann is adamant about the importance of triple checking everything. After purchasing services in Colombia for a production – whether it is a driver, local guide, catering, etc. – make sure to reconfirm at least twice in the pre-production process and even during the production itself. Make a confirmation call in the week building up to the shoot, the day before, and also on the same day: things can be quite laid-back in Colombia, so it’s always a good idea to reconfirm.
Scout, and Hire Experienced Fixers
Never underestimate the importance of scouting during the pre-production process in Colombia. In many regions of the country, you can’t just Google the name of a good driver or local guide: you need to have done your homework and found reliable local fixers and assistants through proper scouting. As well as finding the right people, scouting is also essential for the logistics of filming in hard-to-access regions of the country, which often have poor infrastructure. In order to execute a successful production in a region like the Pacific coast, thorough scouting is a must.
Our process for ‘The Birders’ led us to several of our main protagonists, who we would never have found if we had just looked up “Colombian bird guides” on the internet. Our research was extensive: we met with all of our potential protagonists and collaborators prior to shooting. This also allowed us to build a more effective strategy when it came to actually filming birds in the field.
File All Required Permits
Filming in Colombia involves a lot of paperwork, so a thorough understanding of what is required to shoot here is the mark of an experienced Colombia-based production company. Bringing international gear and crew into Colombia requires several different permits. There are other permits that are necessary to allow foreign production crews to work here legally. For ‘The Birders,’ our international protagonists Morgan Heim and Keith Ladzinski brought their camera gear to Colombia, and our clients at Autel Robotics traveled with their drones. Our knowledge of these complicated permits meant that they had zero issues when they arrived in the country.
In addition, understanding internal labor laws is paramount. All of your local staff and suppliers need to be fully insured, tax-paying employees, from your local camera crew to all of your drivers, security guards, and even local guides. At WhereNext, we ensure that all of these things are in place in a country where informal employment is common and it can often be hard to find people with the appropriate paperwork.
Keith Ladzinski shooting ‘The Birders’ with WhereNext on the Colombian Caribbean coast. With his own camera, which made it through customs with no issues thanks to our pre-production chops!
Make Multiple Back-Up Plans
Working as a producer in Colombia isn’t just about having a Plan A and B. You need a plan C, D, E, and F in mind! Sandra tells an excellent cautionary tale about planning a shoot in the isolated Amazonian jungle region of Vaupes:
“We had flights booked from Bogota to Mitu [the capital of Vaupes region]. The clients were due to arrive from the US and transfer onto that flight with at least 4 hours to spare. But, of course, their gear didn’t turn up in Bogota on the same flight, and we missed the transfer to Mitu. At that time, there were only two flights a week to Mitu from Bogota, and we didn’t have time to wait. So we arranged a private bus from Bogota to Villavicencio, where we chartered a flight to Mitu. I was prepared for the possibility of delays. So I had already had the bus on stand-by and the phone number of the charter company ready to dial.”
Things rarely go entirely smoothly during a Colombian film production unless you have all of your plans in place, so having multiple back-up plans ready to be executed at the drop of a hat is not only essential, but it’s also the mark of a top Colombian production company. The weather in Colombia can also be extremely inconsistent, and it’s good to have multiple options in place in case of the weather having a negative impact on your production schedule.
Rain or shine, wet or dry, filthy or clean: WhereNext’s team get it done whatever the conditions. And the conditions can change rapidly in Colombia!
Have Foreign Accounting and Payment Systems in Place
Know When and Where Cash is King
In many parts of Colombia, cash is still king, and you cannot pay with a credit card. Understanding when and where to carry cash is vital for the success of a video production in Colombia. At WhereNext, our production and financial departments are experts in cash-flow planning from big cities like Bogota to remote regions like the Pacific jungles of the Choco or the Amazon rainforest.
Budget and Manage Your Project in One Currency
The knowledge to be able to manage a budget effectively during a Colombian production is hard won and specialized. Working with a company that has Colombian and global experience, pays dividends in all of the aforementioned aspects of planning and shooting a Colombian film project. WhereNext offers foreign brands, agencies and producers the option to manage payments through our US-based C Corporation—while we manage all Colombian project distributions by the book through our Bogota-based production company, Bomba Studio SAS.
Prepare in Advance for Bureaucratic Red Tape
There can often be a labyrinth of red-tape to deal with on shoots in Colombia, and having a clear picture of the time scales involved in dealing with different public entities is essential. For instance, if you are planning to shoot in a Colombian National Park, you are required to apply for a filming permit. But try and apply for this permit without the appropriate notice, and you can say goodbye to those spectacular landscape shots on your storyboard! Additionally, every town and city in Colombia asks for different paperwork and permits. Knowing who you need to speak to and which entities to approach will save your production a great deal of time and money.
Understand the Regional Climates and Geography
Colombia’s diverse geography and landscapes are one of the things that make the country so appealing for production: snow-capped Andean peaks, lush cloud forests, dense jungles, two oceans, even deserts, and tundra moorlands; Colombia has it all. However, it can also make filming in Colombia logistically complicated.
Planning a route through Colombia on Google Maps is a recipe for delays and missed deadlines, as a winding road through the Andes mountains becomes a one-lane congestion-fest or the wet season rains causes hours-long delays. A Colombia-based production company with a good understating of the geographic and climatic complexity of the country will be able to plan for all of these eventualities.
At WhereNext we are experts in conducting productions in these harsh and varied conditions. Whether it’s managing a full team in the middle of the jungle, surrounded by mosquitoes and 40-degree (100+ ℉) heat, or shooting in the driving rain for Columbia Sportswear in the Andean moorlands surrounding Bogota, when it comes to filming in Colombia, we’ve got your back.
This shoot in Colombia’s Montes de Maria for Awake Travel and USAID had many logistical challenges, but we smashed it out the ballpark (as usual!)
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