By Robert Goldrich

While SHOOT has chronicled the Gulf Coast’s bid to bring back filming business to Louisiana and Mississippi in order to help aid in the economic recovery from the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, often overlooked is somewhat of a parallel situation in Cancun, which was hit hard by Hurricane Wilma last October.

Earlier this month at the Association of Film Commissioners International’s (AFCI) annual Locations Trade Show in Santa Monica, Rene Blanco Lara of Mexico’s Quintana Roo Film Commission said that lensing is regaining momentum in Cancun, with about 80 percent of infrastructure back to being fully up and running. He noted that several commercials are currently being produced in the Cancun region and that he’s hopeful that contacts made at the Locations Trade Show will serve as a catalyst for more production business.

Domestic flights connect Mexico City with all the regions of the country, including Quintana Roo (Cancun), Yucatan (Merida), Baja California (La Paz) and Oaxaca. Locations like San Miguel de Allende, Acapulco, Veracruz and Cuernavaca are within driving distance of Mexico City.

Margarita Martinez Figueroa of the Oaxaca Film Commission said that filming is up in her region as compared to the previous year. She cited a Chicken of the Sea tuna commercial, as well as a feature film, Nacho Libre, starring Jack Black. The latter, reported Figueroa, generated $6 million in direct spending in the region.

Mexico’s national film commissioner Sergio Molina noted that feature film production in particular was on the rise in the country, spurred in part by a 15 percent tax credit available for those who produce through a Mexican company. He said that Mexico is not only benefiting from homegrown business but also has been able to draw more from the U.S., Canada and Europe.

 

SPOT PROSPECTS

In the commercialmaking arena, prospects are bright for 2006, according to Flor Vega, executive producer of Mia Films, Mexico City. “The main reason is that we have two big events next summer which have increased the number of projects–the Football World Cup and the Mexican presidential elections,” said Vega. “Every brand is producing spots with soccer themes and all the political parties are investing great sums in TV spots.”

Vega added that industry infrastructure and support services in Mexico are of high caliber. She contends that Mexico “is second only to the U.S.” on this front. “We have almost every conceivable piece of equipment,” said Vega. “And if we need any additional technology, we can always import it from L.A. or Miami. Mia Films Mexico belongs to the Mia Films Network that has offices in Miami, Buenos Aires and Costa Rica–This makes things easier.”

Mia also has its own in-house casting department. The shop has shot in Mexico deploying local actors and models for commercials airing in the U.S. and several European countries.

Among the recent projects produced by Mia Films Mexico are spots for such clients as MasterCard, Marinela cookies, Nissan, Nestle, Kellogg’s and Honda. The latter job was from La Agencia de Orci y Asociados, Los Angeles, and came to Mexico via Mia Films, Miami.

Lemon Films in Polanco, Mexico, recently wrapped a Pepsi commercial for BBDO Mexico City, as well as a feature film titled Killing Cabos. According to Lemon producer Marisa Lozano, workflow is steady in the country spanning both short and long-form fare.

At press time, Mexico City-based production services house Panagea had booked a Tang spot shoot, to be directed by Chace Strickland of Backyard, Venice, Calif., for Ogilvy & Mather, New York. Panagea is a production services liaison of the Global Production Network, the Los Angeles-headquartered company headed by Harry Tracosas that specializes in handling representation for production service shops from all over the world.

According to Panagea executive producer Pepe Homs, the company has facilitated such ad assignments as Corona and Expedia directed by Alan White of bicoastal Bob Industries, and Kellogg’s helmed by Jake Schreier of Plum Productions, Santa Monica, and Rice-a-Roni directed by Plum’s Eric Saarinen. The Rice-a-Roni job also entailed filming in China and Italy.

Carlos Iturriaga, director of production at Ollin Studio, a Mexico City-based compositing/animation/telecine/audio house, related that support services and infrastructure for filming in the country are “very good. The quality of the crew in every aspect is top notch, as they work a lot of days per year in different situations, from small short films, commercials and video clips to huge Hollywood features. Mexico also has good equipment from cameras to lights to motion control rigs. Postproduction in terms of audio and image is really good but we are not as well equipped with laboratories. The lack of complete lab facilities is a challenge when trying to win foreign projects.”

Ollin is one of the first adopters of Massive’s virtual crowd software in Latin America. That technology was recently deployed by Ollin on a couple of Corona spots for Leo Burnett, Mexico City: “China,” in which a crowd of mariachis was created to serenade the Great Wall; and “Himno,” featuring a large group of Mexican national soccer team fans who run along Mexico City’s famed Paseo de la Reforma thoroughfare.

Ollin also turned out a Telmex TV spot for the children’s charity Teleton, and is finishing work on KM31, a horror movie with more than 320 visual effects shots and which has opted for a 2K digital intermediate process. Ollin took on the assignment from clients Filmax in Spain and the aforementioned Lemon Films.

While some 95 percent of Ollin’s work is from Mexico, the company plans to extend its reach to U.S. business spanning both commercials and features.

 

DIVERSITY

Mexico has a wide range of locations: deserts, beaches, jungles, volcanoes, cities and villages. The country offers a variety of archeological sites and architectural styles. Several villages and cities (San Miguel de Allende, Queretaro, San Luis Potosi) have well-preserved colonial architecture, while other locales boast villas, hotels and structures of contemporary design.

Deserts are in the north of the country (i.e., Sonora Desert) and in the Baja California peninsula. Jungles are in the eastern and southern parts of the country. Beaches are on the Pacific Coast (Acapulco, Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, Huatulco, Cabo san Lucas, La Paz) and on the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico (Cancun, Cozumel).

Companies in Mexico are also reaching out to the American market on behalf of their directors. Established in ’78, Mexico City-based production house Cineconcepto maintains Cineconcepto America in Miami. Cineconcepto America has taken on Maria Botta of Reel Reps, Los Angeles, to handle exclusive U.S. representation of its directorial roster, which includes Fred Clapp, Christian Murguia, Pepe Castro and Fernando Azarte.

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