South Africa

[Backfocus92]

I know that I have seen posted in the past that some of you have shot in Africa. Well, I will be going to South Africa for a corporate video early next year and was wondering if anyone from here in the States has gone to South Africa and what kind, if any, documents and or permits I might need. I will be bringing in a camera, not sure if it will be the F3 or what at this point, but I will be hiring a crew, light gear, and camera, there to do most of the shooting and I will be mostly directing and shooting stills. Unfortunately it has to be that way, it is a union thing with the company that I am working with wants to use locals as much as possible.


I have got different answers from different people. The Consulate for South Africa here told me that I don't need anything, but my passport, but I have shot in Canada several times and always get hassled there unless I have a bunch of paperwork, just wondering what your experiences are.


Thanks for the help.

 

[scocklin]

I've shot in Africa many times, if your leaving from the states find out if South Africa is on the carnet list if so get one it is easy to do look it up on line. If they are not on the carnet list you could take your gear to the U.S. customs with a list of gear, serial numbers and what country the gear was manufactured in. Customs will stamp the paperwork and you will have proof your gear was exported out of the U.S. , so you can bring it home without problems. Check to see if you need shots, most of the time for Africa you need a yellow fever shot. I lived overseas for 9 years and never had much luck with Consulates, call the embassy in D.C. ask them what you need to go there, if your bringing camera gear in tell them. Get a good travel agent, we had a 4 country trip to Africa a few years ago that involved 11 flights. Our travel agent set us up with paper tickets all the way through. The client had e tickets and wasn't allowed on the flight home from Senegal to D.C. Our travel agent books various groups to Africa all the time and knows what is needed. Also check the excess baggage cost, per bag or kilo, a good travel agent will get that info for you so there are no surprises at airport check in on the way home. Do your homework be meticulous with your plans, if you do your shoot will go smoothly, good luck and have a great trip!

 

[bruceallen]

I'm from South Africa - I live in LA and go back and forth for the last 9 years.

Due to the large number of high-end commercials shot in SA (as well as smaller movies and TV show stuff), the equipment, support and crew available is pretty high end.

Think of it kinda like a trip to Europe. E-tickets are fine, cellphones work well, etc.

RE: diseases, South Africa doesn't really have Malaria, but our neighboring countries do - so if you are filming up near the border at a nature reserve, you want to take precautions.

In terms of customs duties, I haven't had to deal with that much as I always mostly use local gear. Never had any problem with low-end equipment being brought over.

However, once I got my Sound Devices 702T sent to me from Japan (it was on loan there) - I had to pay like 20% import duties to get the South African post office to release the damn thing. In theory you can recover these fees, but it is a bit of a nightmare in practice. Definitely do some research if you're bringing over an F3.

PM me if you want me to put you in touch with some of the locals. Where are you shooting?

Bruce Allen
www.boacinema.com

 

[Backfocus92]

Thanks guys. Bruce I will be shooting in Johannesburg or just outside of there. I work with a agency here in the states that has several industrial clients and one of those clients has a plant down there. According to the carnet site South Africa is an accepting country, I have not used a carnet before, but heard it is pretty easy. Most of the time I have went the route of having customs check everything, but that is a pain.

Bruce do you know any good crews in Johannesburg you would recommend. I cannot use a setup, everything has to be semi small and has to be very portable, as it is a big plant and usually tight spaces. In the past we used a couple of LED panels on battery power for lights and have shot with a couple of 7Ds. Although according to the 2 companies I have talked with the the 7Ds they have in South Africa are PAL, which I though odd, because I thought that with HD there was no real PAL or NTSC, it is just 25fps versus 24 or 30? So a few of the companies down there have suggested to use the EX1 or EX3 since they would be NTSC capable. Have not found anyone with the F3 down there yet. As I stated I will be using there camera gear, but will probably be bringing mine as well, maybe the F3, but will defiantly bring the 7D for stills. I miss spoke I do realize there is 50I for cameras, just didn't realize they were doing that on the Canon stuff.

Also Bruce, I will be looking for a English speaking young make Voice for the VO, but they need to have that South African accent. Anyone come to mind, or a place you have used before.

Thanks for the insight.