American Cinematographer - September 2023 - 50

ALL THE WORLD'S A SET
qualifications and professionalism are all there. We had everything we
needed, and that included doing miniature work, explosions and action
on Narcos. "
Major rental houses in Colombia include Congo Films and EFD,
both of which offer Arri, Red, Sony and Phantom cameras. Cabana also
praises the country's postproduction supervisors. Notable shops that
provide post and/or on-set workflow include Montreal-headquartered
Folks VFX (which has a Bogotá branch), FilmFlow and Cinecolor. Mexico-based
audio and picture post house Labo has an office in Bogotá.
Congo Films, a rental and sales house, also runs its own film school,
which offers intensive courses covering cinematography, camera crewing,
art direction, sound and post. " They have good resources and teach
the skills of the trade, " says Bernal Martínez, who recently taught a lighting
master class at Congo Films. " We have access to good lights and
cameras to teach.
" Congo Films has done a 'double job' because, in parallel to the creation
of the school, it has trained the technicians from the rental house,
creating a system that guarantees that the people who go out with their
equipment are sufficiently trained, " she continues. " Congo is perhaps
the one high-level rental house in Colombia that has been most committed
to education. "
The Colombian government offers tax benefits to stimulate production
from both local and foreign sources. It offers a 40-percent rebate toward
Colombian audiovisual services for projects at least partially shot
in the country, and 20 percent toward logistics services such as hotel,
catering and transportation. The rebate cap per project is approximately
$779,000.
There is also the CINA tax credit certificate, which can be sold, transferred
or traded in the financial markets with a net value equaling 35
50 / SEPTEMBER 2023
Dilapidated exteriors captured in Colombia helped
convey the deteriorating psyche of drug lord Pablo
Escobar (Moura) in Season 2 of Narcos.
" The local crew in Colombia is used to working
under local conditions - unpredictable
weather, the terrain and the way things
are done culturally. The qualifications and
professionalism are all there. We had everything
we needed. "
percent of the total production spend on audiovisual and logistics services
in the country. There is no cap per project, although the total pot
equals approximately $53 million.
While Colombia has had a reputation as a dangerous country, both
Cabana and Bernal Martínez insist it is a safe place to shoot, especially
when partnering with local service providers such as Jaguar Bite, Dynamo,
Mediapro, AG Studios (which has worked on Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan)
and Screen Columbia (which has worked on projects for Discovery and
BBC) that know the lay of the land. Says Bernal Martínez, " It's important
to know how to approach certain places and maintain appropriate relationships
with different communities, and that is something that production
companies who specialize in services undoubtedly know how
to do. "
PHOTO BY JUAN PABLO GUTIERREZ, COURTESY OF NETFLIX.
American Cinematographer - September 2023

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