The Future of Overseas Ad Shoots

The future of overseas ad

shoots

IN THE AGE OF COVID-19 AND HEIGHTENED CONCERN ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT, ARE OVERSEAS COMMERCIALS SHOOTS LIKELY TO BE AS POPULAR AS THEY WERE PRE-PANDEMIC? MAkERS INVESTIGATES Nearly two years since Covid-19 started sweeping the globe, its impact on the commercials industry remains acute.

Ad spend has, of course, bounced back and is estimated to grow by 12.6% this year, according to WARC global advertising trends data. Further growth of 8.2% is forecast for 2022.

This has translated into more work for commercials producers as advertisers launch new campaigns to tap into a post-lockdown consumer spending splurge.

Still, the nature of commercials production remains different. For obvious reasons, far fewer ads have been shot abroad during Covid.

Overseas ad shoots have returned this year, but are still not at the level they were pre-Covid. Mike Day, CEO of Mallorca-based production services firm Palma Pictures, says advertising shooting volumes were down by 75% in 2020 compared to 2019.

Business has picked up in 2021, but lockdowns and complex Covid-related travel rules which could change at the last minute mean that Palma Pictures’ shooting volumes have remained 50% down this year compared to pre-Covid levels.

Looking ahead, though, there is real confidence that overseas ad shoots will return in the year to come.

“There has been much less shooting abroad, but I think it will return significantly because clients always want to save money and there are locations they want to use,” says Steve Davies, chief executive of the Advertising Producers Association.

The easing of travel restrictions amid successful vaccination campaigns has already given the confidence to many clients and agencies to greenlight overseas shoots.

“We have been doing a lot of work abroad this year,” says Rogue Films founder and executive producer Charlie Crompton, estimating that the commercials producers’ overseas shoots are now at about 60% of their pre-Covid level. Crompton thinks the demand for overseas shoots will only grow next year. The main reason, he says, is that although there is a lot of advertising work around, a lot of it isn’t very well funded. “People are constantly trying to get better bang for their buck. So, like many companies, our shooting lives have been going further east in search of a deal. First it was Prague, then Budapest and Bucharest, and then Sofia. Kiev, more than anywhere, has been absolutely crazy this year.”

Palma Pictures’ Mike also predicts a “little bit of a bounce back effect next year.” He thinks this will partly be driven by creative factors. Having shot so much at home in recent years, there is a creative urge to expand horizons once again.

He agrees that clients are looking for cost savings too. “Spain is a much cheaper alternative to shooting in the UK, France or the United States,” he points out. The better weather has cost implications too, allowing clients to rely on sunnier skies and more predictable shooting days.

Already this year, Palma has hosted shoots for Doritos through Object & Animal, Renault through Paris-based Wanda, Tui via Forever Pictures and Hyundai through Stink Berlin.

Day notes that many stakeholders in a commercial have to feel confident about shooting abroad before it can actually take place – from the client and its marketing team through to agency account managers, creative directors and copywriters, and on to directors, producers, DoPs, actors and actresses. “That group of people all need to be confident in their entirety to get on a plane and go somewhere.”

But he thinks confidence is now growing as more people are vaccinated and entry requirements ease. “Corporately, people are gaining confidence again, quicker than they are personally. That is my sense of it.”

“there has beeN much less shootiNg abroad, but i thiNk it will returN sigNificaNtly because clieNts always waNt to save moNey aNd there are locatioNs they waNt to use.”

EVEN THOUGH OVERSEAS SHOOTING WILL PICK UP NExT YEAR, FEWER PEOPLE ARE LIKELY TO TRAVEL TO LOCATIONS THAN THEY HAVE IN THE PAST, BOTH FOR ENVIRONMENTAL AND COST REASONS – AND BECAUSE REMOTE TECHNOLOGY MEANS THEY NO LONGER NEED TO. This has translated into greater board flow. “It tends to come in patches,” says Day. “You’ll suddenly start to see the United States wake up a bit, or you’ll see the French market wake up.”

Rogue Films’ Crompton says that as winter approaches he thinks South Africa will be an interesting market to watch. Until recently, many European producers haven’t dared think about travelling as far as the Southern Hemisphere due to Covid restrictions. But commercials searching for a summer look may now be tempted to travel south as South Africa opens up.

“The economics of going to South Africa are pretty good right now – the exchange rate is very, very advantageous to us at the moment. And none of us have gone out there for almost two years. This could be a big winter for them to see if they can get their crown back as the premier summer place to shoot our winter.”

A decade ago, it felt like there was a film crew on almost every street corner of Cape Town until Latin American locations such as Buenos Aires, Mexico City or Santiago started gaining traction as rival places to shoot during the European winter. However, Crompton thinks it might take a while before crews start travelling in large numbers to Latin America again, even though most of its countries have brought Covid under control compared to the worst affected territories. “I think South Africa is going to be a big temperature check on where we are as an industry.”

Although there is widespread agreement that overseas shoots will bounce back next year, many say that considerations around the environment and diversity may limit the number of people travelling.

Growing concern about the environmental impact of travelling internationally will cause clients to monitor their supply chains more closely, and to question the need for overseas shoots.

Additionally, the fact that many clients are striving to improve diversity both in front of and behind the camera could mean more shooting at home.

“If you take all your production to Eastern Europe, it is going to be more damaging to the environment and you’re going to find it impossible to hit your diversity targets,” says the APA’s Steve Davies.

Davies says there will be a tension between traditional client objectives of trying to make the best commercial they can at the best price possible versus new environmental and diversity objectives. “This is a good thing as it shows the world is moving forwards, but it also makes decisions for clients, agencies and production companies more complex.” Davies adds: “I think it will result in more production staying here than it probably would in the past. But a significant amount will still go abroad.”

Even though overseas shooting will pick up next year, fewer people are likely to travel to locations than they have in the past, both for environmental and cost reasons – and because remote technology means they no longer need there.

On many international shoots, it used to be that several client and agency execs would fly out to attend the production.

“That is a lot harder to justify now,” says Crompton. “If you don’t need to be there you probably shouldn’t because we’ve now got very used to remote shooting.”

Day echoes this point. “Historically, commercials shoots have perhaps been populated with too many stakeholders who don’t necessarily need to be in the country to execute the project. But the remote technology we’ve been using over the past year and half works very well.”

It’s not just clients and agency execs who may be flying less. Many production service companies have kept local crews busy on remote shoots during the pandemic, allowing them to improve their skills and take on more responsibilities. It means production companies may no longer need to fly out as many crew as they used to – saving both money and cutting the carbon footprint of a shoot.

Crompton cites South Africa. “Traditionally, in pre-pandemic days, we'd go out there and take as many of our heads of department as we could, because that was the way to get the quality we needed. While the pandemic has been going on, they've been doing a lot of shooting remotely. So you are now getting really good production designers, first ADs and DoPs out there.

“That's very interesting for us –if you're not having to take a lot of crew with you and you’ve got a good exchange rate, suddenly that does become an economically good place to go and shoot during our winter months.”

Looking ahead to 2022, it does seem that international shoots will pick up significantly –albeit with fewer people travelling.

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INTERNATIONAL PRODUCTION

“overseas ad shoots have returNed this year, but are still Not at the level they were pre-covid.”