Filming in a community is not filming in a studio with worse light. It is a context with its own rules, and ignoring them costs production days and, worse, the trust of the people who live there.

Before leaving Maputo

  • An identified local contact. Someone from the organization or the community who bridges the gap. Without that, you arrive as a stranger.
  • Protocol with local leadership. In many areas, the community leader's authorization is the first step, before any individual permission.
  • A realistic schedule. Agricultural seasons, market days, ceremonies and working hours determine when people are available. Our calendar is not theirs.
  • A power plan. Off-grid, everything depends on batteries, inverters and the vehicle. A shooting day consumes more than you estimate.

Arriving well

The first hour is not for filming. It is for introduction: who we are, what we are going to do, what it is for, and who will see the result. Explained in a language people understand, with time for questions. That hour saves the whole day.

Equipment: less is more

A crew of two or three with a compact kit gets better material than a large production with a truck. Discreet cameras, lavalier mics, natural light whenever possible. The smaller the presence, the faster people go back to being themselves.

Sound: the real challenge

Wind, animals, generators, children, radios. In open terrain, audio is what separates usable material from lost material. Field recorder, lavaliers for interviews, boom for ambience, and the patience to redo a take when a truck goes by.

Permissions at the right moment

Consent is collected before filming, not at the end of the day when everyone is tired. A simple form, explained orally, with a copy available. A record of what was authorized by whom: that is what the organization will need to show later.

Give something back

Bringing printed photographs on the next visit, screening the film in the community, giving people the images they appear in. This is not courtesy: it is what separates a crew that gets welcomed back from one that burned the access for everyone who comes after.

Need to film on a field project? Talk to us: we plan the logistics and the protocol before setting a date.