3 Versatile Film Production Destinations

One of the top requirements for a good film production destination is versatility. A wide variety of very different locations and landscapes gives much more creative scope to a production. It also reduces production costs if one destination can provide a large percentage of the locations needed for a production, saving on travelling time and costs and simplifying logistics.

Here are three countries where there are established and professional film production companies offering an endless supply of versatile locations - South Africa, Portugal and Mauritius.

Locations in South Africa
South Africa has become increasingly popular as a destination for all sorts of film productions, from advertising to full length movies, music videos and stills photography. A large part of its attraction is the sheer range of different locations available, especially around Cape Town, where you can go from lush wine estate, to beach to mountain landscape all within a day's work. The weather is another huge draw card: summer sunshine and clear blue skies for months at a time, when the Northern hemisphere shivers in the grips of winter. South Africa is a year-round film production destination, as the winters are mild in many parts of the country.

Locations in Mauritius
Mauritius is another exceptional location for a film production. Beaches are the first thing that spring to mind, and it is true that there are a huge variety of stunning ones, tropical palms and all, but more than that there are lush green vistas of farmland, mountain wilderness, towering forests, rivers and waterfalls and scenic roads. There are South African production companies that operate here, ensuring the best of professional crews and equipment flown in for each production.

Locations in Portugal
When the South African summer season draws to a close, Portugal takes over, as summer comes to the Northern hemisphere. Lisbon is a vibrant city with plenty of historic streets and squares, and a fascinating mix of old and new. Out of the city there are endless beaches, picturesque farmland, forest and mountain, gleaming modern cafes and charming old ones. Lisbon-based production companies also operate in Madeira and the Azores, adding another wide range of possibilities to the Portugal locations list.

So when choosing a base for your next film production, look first at one of these versatile countries and give yourself the benefit of an endless choice of locations in South Africa, Portugal or Mauritius.

Prinz Productions offers premier stills and film production services based in Cape Town, South Africa and Portugal. Browse through their Locations South Africa and Locations Portugal galleries for more inspiration.

Original article

Cape Town - Film Production's Most Versatile Location

What do you do when you're producing a movie on a strict budget that requires multiple, very different locations in the script. Moving cast and crew about continuously is an easy way of using up much needed funds far too quickly. Many savvy producers over the years have solved this problem by choosing Cape Town as a production base.

South Africa's 'Mother City' with its incredibly varied landscapes, including beach, mountain and vineyard before you even leave the city itself, is endlessly versatile. Not only that but its Mediterranean climate and cosmopolitan history, with varied styles of architecture old and new, allows it to double for a wide selection of destinations around the world.

The History Channel filmed many of its historical re-enactments of their epic America The Story of Us around Cape Town in 2009. The city's surrounds yielded locations doubling for the Sierra Nevada mountains, the Great Plains, Utah, the Rocky Mountains and even the bombing of Pearl Harbour. A few hours' drive from the city, the Karoo offers endlessly varied dry landscapes that double excellently for desert landscapes anywhere in the world.

In Lord of War, starring Nicholas Cage, Cape Town managed to act the part of more than 50 different locations around the world, from Bolivia to the Middle East and Afghanistan. There are numerous other productions that come to Cape Town, perhaps needing a cityscape with the feel of San Francisco, or New Orleans, or perhaps a simple European fishing village, a busy port or endless beaches, mountains and vineyards.

Local film production companies have a huge portfolio of filming locations at their disposal. So if a production requires dry, desert landscape one day, cool leafy forest the next and slick urban glamour the next, in Cape Town it can be done. As far as urban landscapes go, Cape Town encompasses historical Victorian architecture, the colourful Malay quarter, modern slick glamour, industrial cityscapes and then the grim poverty of the townships, so whether a production needs glitz or grit the right location is only a few streets away.

With the film industry playing a significant role in the South African economy, permits for filming within the city can be processed swiftly and the local production companies have a skilled pool of local crew and technicians to draw upon, as well as first world infrastructure, making productions filmed on location in and around Cape Town run smoothly and professionally. So it's no wonder that Cape Town hosts a multitude of film productions every year, all year round, as more and more producers discover its versatility.

Prinz Productions offers premier stills and film production services based in Cape Town, South Africa. Specialising in South Africa, Portugal and Mauritius, they also offer production services worldwide. Find out more about their film production service in South Africa and check out a few of their locations in South Africa.

Original article