Welcome to the UAE
We have been producing shoots for over a decade, but still get excited when we have the chance to share our home with people from abroad. We love facilitating international teams who haven’t yet experienced the UAE as a world-class production hub.
We aren’t afraid of big ideas, complicated projects, or taking on difficult briefs. The most daunting shoots are the ones that get us out of bed in the morning.
Our film and photography production capabilities are getting stronger every year. With feature films like War Machine, Fast and the Furious, Mission Impossible and Star Wars shooting in our back yard, the quality of locally based talent is growing all the time. If you haven’t been to the UAE before, here’s some info we hope gets you to send us your next brief.
What to expect…
The UAE has an incredible variety of locations for us to shoot — from futuristic space age skyscrapers, to beautiful rolling red sand dunes, to historical districts and glitzy beach clubs — we have it all, and it’s all out of this world. We have experience shooting in every Emirate, and love discovering new places. We have well established contacts with many locations across the UAE, and are happy to arrange a scout specific to your project.
Oh, and we have studios, too.
Our producers are noted for their positive attitude and ability to creatively look at every brief that hits our desk. We are supported by an incredibly talented local community of photographers, videographers, technical crew, hair & makeup artists, wardrobe stylists, art directors, set designers, casting agents, unit managers, location scouts, precision drivers, aerial specialists, editors, caterers… you name it. We have rock star talent right in our back yard, and would love to show you what they’re made of!
And some other things you might wonder about…
Weather
Dubai enjoys an arid subtropical climate, with blue skies and sunshine almost all year. November is the start of our shooting season, with daytime temperatures in the low to mid 30s, and in the low 20s in the evening. We experience few rainy days year round — perfect for outdoor shoots! Things start to steam up around May when temperatures and humidity start to soar into the 40s for the summer season, but our teams are experienced in working around it in the safest and most productive way possible. Or it’s really a great reason to shoot indoors!
Language
Though Arabic is the official language, English is widely used due to the massive size of the expat community. Other commonly spoken languages are Hindi, Urdu, Farsi and Tagalog. Our production team is fluent in English, Arabic, Hindi and Portuguese!
Culture
Dubai is an incredibly cosmopolitan city that welcomes visitors from around the world. The UAE is an Islamic country, but is open to people from all religious and cultural backgrounds to live and work here. Visitors should remember that a more modest code of behavior is required, however we feel that this rarely differs as to how you would behave in front of a client professionally on set. The same goes for dress code.
Safety
According to the World Economic Forum, the UAE is the second safest country in the world — just behind Finland! With the fewest number of crimes related to assault and theft globally, 98.6% of UAE residents feel a sense of safety and security, even at night!
Visas
If you are a passport holder of the below country or territory, no advance visa arrangements are required to visit the UAE. Simply disembark your flight at Dubai International Airport and proceed to Immigration, where your passport will be stamped with a visit visa free of charge:
Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Hong Kong, Ireland, Japan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Mauritius, Monaco, New Zealand, China, Russia, San Marino, Singapore, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States of America, Vatican City, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Seychelles, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Uruguay.
If you need assistance for visa application for any crew member that is not from any of the countries that enjoy visa on arrival, please let us know! And please keep in mind that this list changes frequently, so do check with your airline ahead of departure.
Hotels
The UAE has an incredible amount of hotels for international teams to choose from — from 3 star simplicity to 5 star OTT luxury, we can recommend production-friendly hotels within a short distance of your shooting location, wherever it may be.