We Shot in Switzerland!
We’ve just returned from the biggest project we’ve ever taken on — a corporate shoot overseas. The shoot itself wasn’t anything too wild: we filmed three speakers using three different two-camera setups at the offices of SOPHiA GENETICS in Rolle, Switzerland.
Naturally, the complexity came from organising logistics in a different country. Here are a few takeaways from prepping an overseas production:
Kit Rental
Find a good, communicative, reliable kit rental company. We rented all of the kit locally, and everything went smoothly thanks to the company we used. Aside from a couple of minor language barriers, the prep was a success and both pickup and return went ahead without a hitch. Shoutout to Visuals in Geneva — highly recommend them if you ever need a solid Swiss rental house.
As an aside: if you’re bringing any of your own kit, make sure you’ve got all the necessary carnets and paperwork to avoid any issues during travel. It’s one of those things that’s easy to forget but can cause big headaches if missed.
Insurance
We’ve got a great relationship with our insurance company, and it was super straightforward to adjust our policy to cover the overseas kit hire for the duration of the trip. This is definitely something that could be overlooked when there are so many moving parts. Whether you’re tweaking your blanket business insurance to cover the shoot, or taking out a separate production policy, it’s crucial to check that you’ve selected the correct region to ensure proper coverage.
A key point: Switzerland may be in Europe, but it’s not part of the EU — so we needed Worldwide cover, not just Europe. Make sure you clarify this with your specific provider.
Location!
It’s tempting, when booking accommodation, to find the best-looking hotel within budget and call it a day. Try to resist that urge. Spend a little extra time checking out where all your key locations are.
We filmed in Rolle, about a 30-minute drive from Geneva. Our travel days were either side of the shoot day, so we found accommodation in a spot where the airport, kit rental, supermarket, and restaurants were all within about a five-mile radius. Efficiency on your travel days is crucial. You’ll likely be exhausted after the shoot — make life easier for yourself by planning those location logistics well in advance.
Bonus takeaway:
Plug sockets.
We brought a few of our own battery chargers as a precaution. Don’t make the same mistake we almost did — double check the plug type your destination country uses!