Iceland – An Ideal Place for Film Production
The entertainment industry has come a long way from what it used to be some decades earlier. Location shooting for films has moved away from the studios to exotic locations. European countries, with their abundance of natural beauty, have identified the opportunity the industry offers by taking a few steps. If you look at Iceland, for example, the country offers many incentives to filmmakers from Hollywood and elsewhere. Films like “Thor: The Dark World” and “Prometheus” have been filmed here apart from the hugely popular television show “The Game of Thrones”. Among the many advantages that film production in Iceland offers is the availability of personnel. There are many activities in film production and you will be able to hire local people easily. Professional staffing companies are also there to help you with this.
Iceland has been one of the Early Movers
As film production companies in Hollywood and other countries started exploring the options for location shooting beyond the traditional venues, countries like Ireland took the initiative. There were tax breaks offered and many facilities were created so that the film crew can come with their equipment and start shooting. Special arrangements for the stay and commuting of the crew with their equipment were also made. A film commission was constituted by the Iceland government to handle this space. One of the mandates of this commission included marketing the country as the ideal destination for film production.
The main attraction is that the government pays back to the film production company a part of the money they spent in the country while producing their films.
Some Advantages Iceland Enjoys are Natural
You have to accept that Iceland can provide certain advantages the film crew would die for in some other spots. There are periods in a year when you have as many as 22 hours of daylight. This helps with completing the shooting schedule faster thereby saving a lot of money.
Another advantage pointed out by experts is the preference for the twilight kind of background usually associated with sunset and sunrise. They call it the “golden hour”. Iceland can offer up to three hours of this low sunlight condition in a day. This is considered a huge advantage for film production. This has to be seen in the light of such a natural setting available for just 15 minutes or less in Hollywood.
Control on Costs and Time Overruns
If you are familiar with the film production business, most of them would be cribbing about how the film’s budget overshot or got delayed. When you choose film production in Iceland, these are practically eliminated as you don’t have to take your entire crew there. The skilled personnel available here would help you with production tasks and there would be hardly anything to do except focus on the work at hand. Finishing the production activities on time will by itself keep your expenses under control.
When you plan the schedule in advance, you can bargain for better rates for the accommodation and food costs as well. With so many films and other programs being made there, the service providers in Iceland are willing to offer discounts to gain business. This way hotels and other travel agencies deal with bulk customers like the film production crew instead of individual tourists and make more money.
You have to consider that Iceland is a popular tourist destination in Europe.
The encouragement by the government to promote film production in Iceland is another ace up the sleeve for the film production companies.
Hire Local Talent for Different Activities
Another spinoff from these developments over the years is a healthy growth of local talent that is familiar with the various aspects of film production. Swapp Agency is a service provider based in Iceland and they can provide the skilled staff for film production activities.
Contact Swapp Agency for further inquiries.