Information about film, video and photo productions on Caribbean Islands

Information about conditions for media productions in the Caribbean

We are a full service production and location company for the entire Caribbean region.

Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Jamaica, Martinique, Montserrat, Saba, St. Barts (St. Barthelemy), St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Martin/Sint Maarten, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago, Turks & Caicos, US Virgin Islands as well as the Bahamas and Bermuda

Information overview of conditions for media productions in the Caribbean

We provide a wide variety of locations in the entire Caribbean region.

We have the background and the know how to make your film production or photo shooting on Caribbean Islands cost efficient and comfortable.

We make detailed estimates and we stay within budget, costs for additional requests will be approved beforehand.

We suggest the best production place for your project, and we inform about local production conditions, permits, customs, and anything you need to know.

We will manage your film or photo production with expertise and focus on detail.

We have an on-set production coordinator who will monitor all activities and timing - from breakfast to set transportation, catering, crew, equipment ...

We communicate in English German and French. For all other languages we hire translators.

10 good reasons to produce in the Caribbean:

good production conditions
various locations on a very small territory
year round shooting
daily direct flights from major US, Canadian and European Cities
a wide variety of accommodations
professional international and local crews
cast - models, extras and actors
a good selection of props
reasonable production costs
we will organize all for you

PRODUCTION COSTS

The Caribbean Production Service Company accommodates film, video and photo productions for big and not so big budgets. We offer full or partial service. Support with equipment rental, customs, permits and visa, we provide only if hired for full production service.

Our clients benefit from our many years of working with vendors in the community. Many vendors offer generous discounts on accommodations and transportation. (Up to 50% discount on 4-Star Hotels) English speaking Islands accept US$, French Islands accept US$ and Euros, apart from their local currencies.

Further advantages:

We are a locally registered production company and therefore, on most of the Islands,we

are freed of taxes and duties for temporary imports on photo and film equipment, clothes collections, props or anything else that is required for the completion of the shoot.

On some islands we

pay minimal customs broker fees
pay minimal or no location fees for public places and beaches
our international clients don't need work permits
pay minimal or no shooting permit fees

GENERAL PRODUCTION INFORMATION on Locations, Weather, Flights, Accommodations, Equipment, Permits, Crew, Cast…

Tropical Locations

We know the Caribbean Islands for many years, so we are able to suggest the Island that best suits your project.
For time and cost reasons we usually complete a production on just one island.

Most of the Islands have streets in excellent condition and a good mix of the numerous luxury mansions of the international Jet Set and the traditional colorful Caribbean wood houses, gourmet restaurants and local rum shops, elegant golf resorts and fishing villages, bicycles and luxury limousines.

Tropical Landscapes:

beaches, cliffs, jungle, flower gardens, mountain and hills, flat grassland, rivers, mangroves, waterfalls, sugar cane fields, lily ponds

Buildings/Towns:

plantation houses, colorful wood houses, colonial mansions, luxury villas in modern and classic Caribbean design, beach bars, rum shops, elegant restaurants and resorts, farms, small villages, marinas, piers and jetties, bridges, market stands, concert halls, office buildings, factories, universities, churches, horse race tracks, stables, soccer, tennis, polo fields and many golf courses, olympic swimming size pools and fitness centers, photo studios

Weather Report

We are producing the whole year round.
As a result of the global weather change there isn't a real Rainy Season anymore. Officially the Rainy Season is from beginning of June to beginning of November, but in the last years there was hardly any rain during this period.

Hurricanes occur mostly in the Northern part of the Caribbean on the islands closer to Florida and Mexico.
Occasional rain showers are usually very short.

The temperatures stay comfortably in the range between:
25 degrees Celsius/77 Fahrenheit in the Winter (November - April) and
28 degrees Celsius/82 Fahrenheit in the Summer (May - October).
The water is nice and warm all year round.
Average hours of sunlight: 12 hours in summer, 10 hours in winter.

The highest season is between 15th of December and 3. of January, those 2 weeks should be avoided for cost reasons. High season is from 3rd of January to 15th of April, low season from 16th of April to 14th of December.

Direct Flights

The major International airports are on the Islands of Barbados (airport code BGI) in the South and St. Martin (airport code SXM) in the North of the Caribbean Island chain.
There are daily direct flights from most major European and North American cities.

Flights from New York and Miami, American Airlines, Jet Blue, Continental, Delta Air, Caribbean Airlines. Flight time approx. 3.5 - 4 hours.

Flights from Toronto and Montreal

Flights from London (British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, BMI, Caribbean Airlines) Flights from Paris, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, (Air France, Corsair, Air Caraibes, Condor, KLM) approx.7- 8 hours.
There are good flight connections between the Islands with small, affordable private charter planes. The local airlines are Caribbean Airlines for the bigger islands and Liat, that operates like a bus with island hopping, even to the smallest islands. In addition there is the possibility to use ferry boats from St. Martin to the surrounding Islands of St. Barts, Anguilla and Saba.

Great Accommodations

There is a great variety of comfortable accommodations, from

small guest houses
low and middle class hotels
affordable beach resorts
luxury hotels and
private villas with butler and cook.

The rates vary slightly from Island to Island and are depending on the season.
Whatever your choice will be - we have negotiated extremely good conditions for our teams.

Daily rates:

Boutique- and Luxury hotels from
US$ 300
Good middle class hotels from
US$ 180
Guest houses from US$ 85

Luxury Villas for teams/locations (4-6 bedrooms) from approx US$ 1000

All inclusive beach resorts from US$ 220

We are coordinating every detail of your production. Our focus is on providing best shoot locations and comprehensive production support for any international producer, photographer or production company when shooting anywhere in the Caribbean region.

Equipment Selection

Within the last few years the film and photo industry on many Caribbean Islands has developed so rapidly, that there is now a good selection of
film equipment, lighting systems, generators, dolly, cranes, etc. locally available for renting. Whatever we cannot get on the Islands we will rent in Miami.

Film equipment from:

http://cinevideotech.com
http://www.budgetvideo.com
http://www.cameragroup.com

Photo equipment from:

http://www.carouselstudios.com
http://www.aperturepro.com

Production Crew & Transport

With the development of the film industry in the Caribbean, there is now a much bigger pool of qualified local crew available. We work with a professional International (German, English, US, French, Canadian) and local crew:

Producer, Production Coordinator and Assistants, Location Scouts and Location Managers, Art Directors, Set dressers, Construction Crews, Hair/Make-up Artists, Stylists, Props, Casting, Directors, Photography- and Camera assistants, Grip, Electricians, Set-Runners.
If necessary we recruit further crew from either Miami or New York, or from your home country.

Depending on the island, we need to hire drivers with their own big air conditioned team vans or equipment trucks, or we rent small vans (up to 6 passengers) that will be driven by production assistants.

Talents - diverse ethnic Groups

We have experienced talent of various ethnic backgrounds for photo or film shoots.
We can provide professional models, actors, extras, dancers, musicians.
For fashion photography, there are some models on the Islands but we mostly recruit them out of Miami or New York. Our casting directors organize photo and video/audio castings.

Props and Wardrobe

We have a great variety of historical and modern props at our disposal, from luxury cars, chic yachts and planes to bicycles, row boats and ox carts.
In addition, the islands offer both elegant and trendy shops for clothes, accessories, swim or sportswear as well as historical theater props and wardrobe.

Vintage cars
Stretch limousines
Old and new jeeps
Old and new beach buggies
Newest Mercedes and BMW limousines and sports cars
Yachts, catamarans and speed boats in all sizes
Fishing boats, Jet skies, Submarines, Surf boards, etc
Beach accessories like loungers, hammocks, parasols, etc
Underwater wrecks
planes and helicopters
Wide selection of antique and modern furniture and accessories
Excellent constructions in wood, cement, metal and plaster of Paris

Colorful interiors and an original mix of mismatching furniture of the small local Caribbean wood houses are a favorite for many fashion photo shoots. Many luxury villas reflect the traditional style of old Caribbean mansions, but more and more there are super modern villas with interior decoration that can be compared to houses in the Mediterranean or California.