Journal
Budgets and planning6 min read
You bring the idea, the director and the agency. We run everything on the ground in the Netherlands. That is a service production in one sentence.
Below is how it works in practice, step by step, and what we need from you along the way. In a large Dutch city the film permit alone takes at least 10 working days, so the earlier we talk, the more room there is.
Before anything is booked
The first week is mostly questions. Good ones save money later.
- 01
The brief
Send us what you have: a script or treatment, the dates, the number of shoot days and the look you are after. It does not have to be final. A rough idea of the locations and how many people travel with you is enough for a first number.
- 02
A short call
Every quote starts with a short intro video call. It saves a lot of emails. We ask about the things a script never says: who signs off on locations, who flies in, and what absolutely cannot go wrong on the day.
- 03
Estimate and location ideas
Usually within a few working days you get a first estimate and location ideas, often with photos from our own database. If something in the brief will be hard or expensive in the Netherlands, we say so now, not two days before the shoot.
Prep
This is where most of the work happens.
Permits
We apply for film, parking and drone permits with the municipalities. Road closures, drones and shoots on the water can take longer than a standard permit. Dunes, beaches and nature reserves have their own owners, such as Staatsbosbeheer, with their own rules.
Scouting
We scout, send photos and video, and narrow it down with you. When the director arrives, we visit the final locations together, ideally at the same time of day as the shoot.
Crew
Many foreign productions bring their director, DOP and a few heads of department. We fill in the rest with Dutch crew: camera, lighting, grip, art, sound, wardrobe, hair and make up, runners.
Logistics
Casting, equipment and studios, hotels, transport and catering for crew, agency, client and talent.
All of it ends up in a call sheet you can check line by line before anyone gets on a plane.
Across borders
For Mercado Livre's campaign Feat Store with Pabllo Vittar, we worked with our friends at Brazilian production company Dogs Can Fly. The idea came from Brazil, the shoot happened here, and there was an ocean and a time difference in between.
What made it work was not complicated.
One producer on their side, one on ours, and clear agreements on who decides what. We work like that on every service production. You get one producer from the first call to wrap, so nothing gets lost in translation.
Shoot days
Our producer is on set every day and is your single point of contact.
Questions about the location, the neighbours, the parking or the lunch all go to one person.
Some shoots ask for more than one result at once. For Dior Vibe we worked directly with Dior Paris on the ice rink in Hoorn: a commercial with Jutta Leerdam and a photo shoot running alongside it. That means two teams sharing one location, and a schedule that keeps both of them happy.
In the Netherlands it is smart to have a weather plan. The Dutch sky can change within the hour, so a cover set or an interior close by can save the day.
Wrap
We return every location as we found it, settle the permits and deliver the rushes, or hand over to post.
If you want to finish the film in Amsterdam, we can arrange the post production too.
What helps us most
Send your dates early, even if they might still move.
Tell us who travels, so we know which roles to fill locally.
Keep a plan B for every outdoor location.
Share a budget range. Compact one day shoots start around EUR 10,000, and plenty of shoots sit around EUR 50,000 to 70,000. Knowing yours helps us spend it where it shows.
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Next step
Shooting in the Netherlands soon?
Send us the brief, even a rough one. We reply within 24 hours on working days.
Send usyour brief