Filming in South Africa
Despite the current issues with the cash rebate, salaries and general costs in South Africa remain competitive.
TAXES
VAT is 15% and refundable. Exports carry no VAT.
CREW
Premium days - Sundays & Public Holidays, 7th working day and every consecutive day after day 7. The first night of a night shoot. The premium is 150%. Turnaround time is charged at pro-rata per hour less than 10 hours between shifts. The working day starts from the unit base or location within a 40km radius of the city centre. (Please note crew practices are constantly evolving but crew conditions are generally reasonable and film-friendly.)
Crews are flexible when it comes to working overtime and will do their best to carry out anything within reason. They all speak English and have a great deal of experience of working with international personnel. South Africa has some excellent DOPs.
STUDIOS
Cape Town has a range from small daylight studios to large 'blimped' 400m2 studios in the city centre. Larger structures are available such as aircraft hangars. A large studio, Cape Town Film Studios, boasts the first proper sound stages in Cape Town. There is also a large water tank where the TV series "Black Sails" was filmed.
EQUIPMENT
South Africa has an extensive range of equipment. Alexa, Moviecam, Arriflex and Panavision are supported. There are SuperTechno Cranes and an extensive gripping inventory. (The Giraffe Crane was invented and made by FilmAir in Cape Town!). There are small lighting companies as well as AFM and Arri Media. If it exists then it generally can be found in Cape Town. There is also a large number of Red and Epic cameras available.
POST
There are three leading VFX houses with international credits. Also first-class post houses are available in both Cape Town and South Africa.
WEATHER
The seasons in Cape Town are swapped with Europe and America, meaning Cape Town enjoys lovely summers during the worst of the European winters.
SAFETY
Despite all the news about SA being a violent nation, it is important to note that the majority of crime in Cape Town happens in townships. All filmmakers I know who filmed in South Africa, especially in Cape Town, have fond memories and are eager to return in a heartbeat. About Health & Safety on set, it is always advisable to have a qualified officer on set, especially if filming is not in a simple environment like a sound stage without stunts or SFX.
OTHER
The water crisis in Cape Town which was much publicized locally is no longer a national crisis. Capetownians are managing to be more careful with their water consumption and the weather has in 2018 started to be act favorably. Also the government has initiated infrastructure plans in order to tackle this issue faster should another serious drought hit the city. Cape Town is also on the forefront in terms of sustainability in film, through such initiatives as Greenset. There is also a training organization called F.I.L.M. that is ready to provide enthusiastic trainees on set.
Currently one big downfall is what is called load-shedding, where electricity cuts happen frequently every day due to capacity issues with the national power grid. This should not effect film sets since they are always run on generators, but generators are advised for construction sites and offices/workshops.
More about filming in Cape Town
A taste of locations
TAXES
VAT is 15% and refundable. Exports carry no VAT.
CREW
Premium days - Sundays & Public Holidays, 7th working day and every consecutive day after day 7. The first night of a night shoot. The premium is 150%. Turnaround time is charged at pro-rata per hour less than 10 hours between shifts. The working day starts from the unit base or location within a 40km radius of the city centre. (Please note crew practices are constantly evolving but crew conditions are generally reasonable and film-friendly.)
Crews are flexible when it comes to working overtime and will do their best to carry out anything within reason. They all speak English and have a great deal of experience of working with international personnel. South Africa has some excellent DOPs.
STUDIOS
Cape Town has a range from small daylight studios to large 'blimped' 400m2 studios in the city centre. Larger structures are available such as aircraft hangars. A large studio, Cape Town Film Studios, boasts the first proper sound stages in Cape Town. There is also a large water tank where the TV series "Black Sails" was filmed.
EQUIPMENT
South Africa has an extensive range of equipment. Alexa, Moviecam, Arriflex and Panavision are supported. There are SuperTechno Cranes and an extensive gripping inventory. (The Giraffe Crane was invented and made by FilmAir in Cape Town!). There are small lighting companies as well as AFM and Arri Media. If it exists then it generally can be found in Cape Town. There is also a large number of Red and Epic cameras available.
POST
There are three leading VFX houses with international credits. Also first-class post houses are available in both Cape Town and South Africa.
WEATHER
The seasons in Cape Town are swapped with Europe and America, meaning Cape Town enjoys lovely summers during the worst of the European winters.
SAFETY
Despite all the news about SA being a violent nation, it is important to note that the majority of crime in Cape Town happens in townships. All filmmakers I know who filmed in South Africa, especially in Cape Town, have fond memories and are eager to return in a heartbeat. About Health & Safety on set, it is always advisable to have a qualified officer on set, especially if filming is not in a simple environment like a sound stage without stunts or SFX.
OTHER
The water crisis in Cape Town which was much publicized locally is no longer a national crisis. Capetownians are managing to be more careful with their water consumption and the weather has in 2018 started to be act favorably. Also the government has initiated infrastructure plans in order to tackle this issue faster should another serious drought hit the city. Cape Town is also on the forefront in terms of sustainability in film, through such initiatives as Greenset. There is also a training organization called F.I.L.M. that is ready to provide enthusiastic trainees on set.
Currently one big downfall is what is called load-shedding, where electricity cuts happen frequently every day due to capacity issues with the national power grid. This should not effect film sets since they are always run on generators, but generators are advised for construction sites and offices/workshops.
More about filming in Cape Town
A taste of locations