Filming in Moscow for Pepsico
Lindsay Walsh - 8/24/2007
“How do you feel about going to Moscow?” is not a question most people have to answer in life, so when asked, my initial response was an immediate yes, followed by, “I don’t know anything about Moscow!” and “how are we going to get all the kit there?”
DVA are now in the post-production stage of producing online video content for Pepsico International about career moves to Russia. It’s part of a microsite designed to offer inspiring career choices abroad.
So, how does one go about filming in Russia? After some Internet research, it appeared information was scarce, so much of the pre-production work was relatively undocumented territory. Location maps, local fixers, carnets and filming permits in Russian all had to be sourced.
Back in June, my first task was to fly out to Moscow to recce the locations, filming restrictions and participants. This element of pre-production was absolutely key to the smooth running of the production and was a fascinating experience.
The images of Moscow I had conjured up in my head prior to the recce included bread lines, tanks rolling across the bridge towards the White House, Red Square, 3 feet of snow and large fur hats. When I touched down in Domodedovo, it was a modern and vibrant airport, filled with international business travellers and a scorching 28 degrees, another thing I didn’t expect in Moscow!
As part of the recce, I spent the next 2 days meeting with participants to scope out the content of each interview and the locations for filming. I took a Digital Stills camera and a PD170 to record some test material, neither of which were a problem passing through customs. Taking some kit with me also gave me a sense of what possible bureaucracy I would encounter when filming or photographing in some of the different areas of Moscow with a full broadcast crew.
The thing that struck me about my first visit to Moscow was just how colourful and beautiful a city it is. As my cab drove across the main bridge into the centre, I could see the tops of the Kremlin and further down the river, the magnificent statue of Peter the Great. Despite huge traffic jams and pollution, the buildings were immaculate and grand. Traffic was 6 lanes wide and drivers paid no attention to lane discipline. The mixture of Mercedes, Hummers and Lada’s was a real indication of the enormous gap there is between the fortunes of Muscovites and those living on the outskirts of Moscow.
I knew straight away, just driving through the centre of town to my hotel, that we weren’t going to be short of potentially stunning filming locations, it would be a case of where we were allowed to film.
As the extent of my Russian was limited to ‘Da’, ‘Nyet’ and ‘Vodka’, my first priority was to source a local Production Manager to arrange any local kit and assist with filming permissions. I was able to secure the involvement of a Production Manger from a local TV station and his local knowledge, experience of permits and dealing with local police was invaluable. He was also able to act as our translator for the Production and source local assistants and runners.
Doing a location recce affords you the opportunity to foresee any possible problems prior to shooting, giving you the advantage of preparing your shot list and locations with this added knowledge. On my return I was able to storyboard the shooting schedule in detail. Having travelled many of the routes around the city by metro and car, I was also aware of what time it would take to get from location to location. The process of applying for permits and our carnet for the equipment took roughly 4 weeks from the recce.