www.lionsdailynews.com friday, june 24 , 2011

j The 2010 shoot in Jordan for Indian telco Micro Max, produced by Curious Films for Lintas Lowe
f
Annabelle Aronis,
executive producer,
Avion Films: “Greece
offers sound stages from
1,200m2 to 200m2 with
excellent set builders
and support”
FILM COMMISSIONS 59
plate,” SaskFilm’s Tobi Lampard says. “The open prairie to the
north, forests, the endless horizon is the calling card of
Saskatchewan. The climate offers long sunny days in the summer
and crystal clear skies over pristine snowy winter landscapes
days. Over recent years ad agencies have achieved beautiful
looks for variety of clients that include the provincial power,
energy, telephone and cable companies.”
She adds that SaskFilm’s goal is to help find the location
that works for creatives, regularly emailing links to photos from
its location library for quick review. The film office also boasts a
film-friendly attitude in the sate.
Indonesia also uses the variety and availability of its locations
to lure commercials producers to the area. The Bali Film
Center’s Deborah Gabinetti cites “the diverse range of locations,
varied architecture, abundant crops (coffee, cocoa, coconut
and tea plantations), unique flora and fauna, vast water-based
areas and the number of different ethnic groups,” as her region’s
main attractions. She also echoes Nevada’s Geocaris with her
estimation that commercials represent some 20% of all international
filming in the region, at around 20 per year. A recent
shoot was for Netherlands-based Indonesian food brand Conimex.
Balsa Films from Amsterdam ran the shoot for the spot
with director Othmar Freder Sweers and producer John Langeveld.
“Our office facilitated the national and provincial permits,
local permissions, provided research, locations and casting
services,” Gabinetti says, adding: “We also have an extremely
gifted pool of craftspeople able to recreate almost anything.”
The Conimex shoot called for locations to represent a contemporary
Dutch kitchen and Balinese traditional market, and mimic
a Thai floating market.
According to Elliot Au from The Hong Kong Film Services
Office (FSO), the city state was the first place in Asia to establish
a film services office (FSO), opening in April 1998 to promote
Hong Kong’s film industry. “The FSO provides one-stop
services on location filming for film crews, including sourcing
suitable locations, assisting in obtaining filming permits, securing
location venues for filming, as well as regulating the use of
pyrotechnic special effects materials, Au says, adding: “Since
2009, the FSO came under Create Hong Kong, a dedicated agency
to champion and drive the development of the creative economy
in Hong Kong.
FRIDAY, JUNE 24,2011