Shooting Overseas
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by Michael Goldman
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For nearly 20 years, I have had the privilege of shooting overseas in every type of country-from first world to third world. As a filmmaker, shooting overseas is one of the greatest experiences you can encounter, and it is one of the reasons why my partners and I got into filmmaking.
Last fall, Jerry Blumenthal, Gordon Quinn, and I had the opportunity to shoot a documentary in Vietnam with just three weeks to prepare for two months on location. Thanks to the combined experience of our group-between us we have over 60 years of experience shooting overseas-we met the challenge and made the Vietnam shoot a success.
The documentary is about a cross-country journey of American and Vietnamese Vets, abled and disabled, who travel 1,200 miles across Vietnam by bicycle. In the course of the trip, the group comes together in a spirit of reconciliation and healing that humanizes former enemies and changes their lives forever.
The project reinforced some of the lessons we have learned over the years. Drawing on the recent experience in Vietnam, I thought I might offer suggestions for those preparing to shoot in a foreign country where the only thing you can expect is the unexpected. Peter Gilbert, co-producer/director, Kartemquin Films, Chicago, July, 1998
Before You Leave 1 Accept that it’s going to be an adventure. As Americans, we are used to having total control, but when traveling and working abroad, we do not have nearly the level of control we are used to. For example, I was once detained by local officials in Egypt for shooting something as benign as a fruit market. And during a shoot in the Soviet Union before the end of the Cold War, we were restricted to traveling between cities only at night.
So how do you handle the limitations that will inevitably come up? The better organized and informed you are before you leave the States, the better prepared you will be for the unexpected. Here are tips for preparing before you leave.
2 Think in terms of the host country. Raise your awareness. Learn something about the past and present political history of the countries you are visiting. Do not travel through the country with what I call “film immunity.” Understand the impact your visit has on the people you are visiting-it is their country, and they may take your visit more seriously than you think.
For example, our crew, together with the all the American participants and the many officials from sponsor and organizer World Team Sports, was part of the largest delegation of Americans to visit Vietnam since the opening of the country. A lot of people watched us. Newscasts, newspapers, and Vietnamese television reported on us daily.
From the Vietnamese perspective, our experience could influence world opinion of Vietnam and affect things like financial aid and relief efforts. So our hosts did not want to take any risks that might show their country in a bad light. Therefore, they handled us very carefully and were cautious about letting us have access to certain places.
3 If possible, make an advance trip. Include an advance trip in your budget and timetable. It is a great opportunity to ask questions and learn about the ground rules before your crew arrives and you start to attract attention. A critical benefit is establishing relationships with people who may strongly influence your shoot such as ministers of information and press officers. Also, remember to connect with U.S. officials and other Americans who are living and working abroad. They can be very helpful in your dealings with people in the host country. They speak English, know a lot about the local scene and officials, and can provide you with a tremendous amount of support.
4 A lot will be riding on your equipment. Get it right. Work with a knowledgeable and trusted equipment supplier. With less than a month to pull our equipment packages together, we were fortunate to have the advice and service of our long-standing equipment rental house and supplier, Fletcher Chicago. They showed a strong commitment to our project by having staff members meet with our crew twice a week for three weeks to help define our camera and sound needs.
These preproduction meetings focused on the reality of shooting in Vietnam-including the equipment demands of acquiring the variety of shots we wanted. We were candid with Fletcher’s staff about our problems and our budget. They helped us determine how we could utilize equipment we already had, supplement what we needed with rental, and purchase new equipment where it made sense. They helped us get the most for our money and made sure we had exactly what we needed. Fletcher also proved invaluable because they were familiar with the customs requirements and helped us generate the needed paperwork. In addition, they prepped, packed, and delivered the equipment to the airport.
There are so many uncertainties you face shooting overseas; it helps when you can approach each situation confident with your equipment.
5 Consider production formats carefully. Like everyone else, I always try to shoot on the highest quality format possible. So we explored the option of using a digital format. However, when you travel overseas you have to make tough decisions. When it came to the considering high definition or digital, I had to ask myself: What if it breaks? Has it been tested in these conditions? In an emergency, will we be able to get tape, repairs, or a replacement camera?
In the end, we made the decision to shoot in Beta SP. It is a world standard. We knew we could always get tape or back up from news agencies (based in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi) like CNN and Reuters. If a camera crapped out, we figured we could get one in 48 hours from Sony out of Hong Kong.
6 Learn medical requirements as soon as possible. Try to stay current on the basic immunizations. Because I was not up-to-date on my shots, I missed the opportunity to join my colleague and co-producer Gordon Quinn on an advance trip to Vietnam. Contact the Center for Disease Control, Atlanta, for information about shots and other preventative treatments you might need. Also, contact the consulate of the countries you will be traveling to for their guidelines on immunizations. Compare the information from both places. Some treatments will be mandatory and others are suggestions. Once you have all the information, discuss options with your doctor.
Be sure to ask you doctor about side affects, treatment options, and possible interactions with other medications. For example, there are two malaria pills available. One you take once a day for 60 days starting the day before you leave the U.S. The other you take once a week while you are in the country. People react differently to these different treatments, I have a strong side effect with the once-a-week pills, so I take the others.
To find out more, I recommend contacting a major hospital in your area. Teaching or university hospitals have departments devoted to immunization and can answer all of your questions as well as get you the shots.
7 Know the “gift” protocol. Some countries are so difficult to get equipment in and out of that no matter how well-prepared you are, there is always the off chance of running into corrupt officials and finding yourself in a situation where you might have to pay a bribe or have your equipment detained for several days. I can not change these things, but I have learned from experience to talk with other filmmakers who have recently traveled to these places and learn as much as I can about the current climate before I go. No matter what country you are in, it is important to try to find ways to work with officials and build goodwill.
In Vietnam we had ministers from the press office with us at all times. We found that taking them to dinner and giving gifts of hard-to-get items was important in building goodwill. Our co-producer, Gordon Quinn, found out on his initial visit that one of our press minders, a woman, liked a certain brand of make-up that was hard to find in Vietnam. I found time before making the trip to buy some of that make-up and brought it to her as a gift.
8Hire at least one person “in country.” The more people you can hire in country, the better you look. You will find ways to gain greater access, and, in the end, you will get better material.
The best advice I can give you is to get on the phone and talk to people. Network. Find out who recently filmed in Vietnam or wherever you are going. Find out if they can recommend someone for the crew slots you need filled. That is how we found the wonderful cameraman who joined our crew in Vietnam. His name is Tran Le Tien.
A filmmaker friend, who does a lot of work as a stringer for CNN and Reuters in Vietnam, recommended Tran. He had worked with a lot of foreign crews and knew English. But most importantly, she said the magic words: “He’s one of us.” That meant he knew how to shoot and cover documentaries.
After the first day of working with him, we knew she was right. Very soon, we were able to send him on his own, as a one man crew, to capture intimate footage with the Vietnamese in the documentary style we wanted. I consider Tran’s contributions to be priceless.
9Send a small crew in advance to meet you. Even though we had short notice to plan the Vietnam trip. We managed to send a two-person crew with a small amount of equipment ahead of us by three days. It brought us a number of benefits.
Gordon and Jim Fetterly left on Christmas day, and my crew left three days later on the same flight as the race participants and the entourage from World Team Sports. By the time I arrived with the second crew, Gordon and Jim were at the airport to meet us. They had obtained clearance to the tarmac to shoot footage of the team’s arrival. They had also established contact with our government press minders and rented vehicles. The government officials assigned to us were helpful in getting our gear through customs quickly and easily.
When You Are “In Country” 1Work with officials, not against them. The officials in most countries want things to be easy for themselves. Remember this when you are having a hard time. No matter how much you might want to, do not do anything to alienate them. The obvious reason is that they have the power to say “no.”
If they are blocking your progress, holding up your equipment, or stopping you from having access to where you want to be, take a deep breath and try to use your best negotiating skills.
Believe me, I understand that there are some times when you just have to get the shot.
Talk with people, make them understand why it is important to show the kinds of things you are showing to American people and the rest of the world. On a certain level, they may want to help you. Sometimes you can persuade them. Just recognize, however, that you can not push it too far. At a certain point, you jeopardize their jobs and families. You have to realize when that is and try another approach.
2Avoid having tapes confiscated. Depending on the country where you are shooting, you may be afraid that some of your footage will be confiscated. Try keeping a “bogus” tape handy, with footage you can afford to lose. If you find yourself in a situation where you believe your tape may be taken away, pop in the bogus tape and stick the one in question somewhere they will not look. I once asked a woman member of our crew if she would tuck a tape inside her pants. I knew they would not look for it there. It worked. You can also help the wandering eyes of officials from being tempted to view or confiscate some of your tapes by not labeling them.
3Have a sense of adventure; just curb it at mealtime. The reality on this trip was (and it will probably be the same on yours) I simply could not afford to get sick. With the small crew and the grueling schedule we had to maintain, I knew I could not be too adventurous in my eating. I decided to keep my diet strictly vegetarian.
I also recommend you use bottled water at all times, right down to brushing your teeth. I once used Coke rather than tap water to brush my teeth, and depending on the country, I would not hesitate to do it again. Finding yourself in a foreign hospital is an adventure you want to avoid.
4It is a great life experience and a privilege; enjoy it. It is not always easy, but remember that the world does not work on American time and you are not always going to have control. Maybe you are on schedule to film at a house, and before you can start, you are invited to have a meal. Be polite and have the meal. You might be the first American these people have ever met or sat down to dinner with. You might even be able to film the meal. It might be the best footage of the whole trip, but you will never know unless you try.
Find a way to take advantage of opportunities to soak in the culture and make new friends. These are the experiences that you will remember forever. In some ways, it is like you are getting paid to get an education and have an adventure. That is why I describe the opportunity to shoot overseas as a privilege; it brings experiences and rewards that you simply can not get any other way.
Peter Gilbert produced and was the Director of Photography for Hoop Dreams. In 1997, he photographed and produced the feature film Prefontaine. Gilbert also photographed the Academy Award-winning documentaries American Dream and A Long Way Home. Gilbert is a founding member of Kartemquin Films and runs his own company, Long Shot Films. Both companies are based in Chicago where he resides with his wife and two children.
Check the electrical/power environment in advance. Check your equipment insurance and personal liability coverage abroad. Locate sources for equipment and tape before you leave-major cities should not be a problem. Carry on at least a camera, lens, charged battery, and a small sound package-just enough to keep you going in case there is a problem with the gear you have checked.
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