"Over the past 10 years certain countries have been fast-tracked as production centers," asserts Matthew Stillman, the British co-founder of Prague-based production services company Stillking Films. "That wave included South Africa, Australia, Canada and Prague."

The reason these destinations became so popular says Stillman was price, location (in terms of doubling for particular looks), infrastructure (including studios, equipment companies), and most important, good crews and production companies. But a new wave is building, pushed by the overflow of the first generation and by the search for even cheaper production.

"Producers in the US and UK are now pursuing production into places like Argentina, Romania, Ukraine and Peru. With a depreciated currency they're cheaper," says Stillman. "But the risk in the new markets is higher. The question is whether the infrastructure and support are there."

Bill Bowling, an LA-based supervising location manager who has scouted in 71 countries, concurs on Stillman's point. "Aging down sets for instance; making paint look old is a talent of master scenic artists that can take decades to learn. It's a central issue if you're doing a production where that authenticity is needed."

Bowling recalls that director Franco Zefferelli brought painters, artists and craftsmen from Rome to build the sets for the feature film Callas Forever, which was shot in Romania. "You can't go there and expect to have the resources of major film centers."

Romania has taken the market for a certain type of film [$500K US and under] away from Prague says Bowling. "Because Prague is so busy there's overflow. Plus if you want to save money you go to Bucharest. And if you want to save even more, then go to Albania."

Adam Bloom, head of production for A Band Apart in Los Angeles says Prague's rising prices are pushing producers to look farther afield. "They're asking 'where else can we go to get the best production for our dollar'.

"We shot a Budweiser spot [for Ornelas and Associates, LA] in Argentina with Wayne Isham and it was fantastic," he says. "The locations were great, and with the dollar at three to one, the budget went a long way. And they have good crews and production support down there."

For the Budweiser spot, an extension of the Neighbors campaign, Bloom used Buenos Aries production services company Altana Films. He also quoted companies from Australia and South Africa but says he was swayed by Altana's references, the exchange rate and the lesser time difference.

"We shot more than 15 locations," says Bloom, "I stretched $400,000 US into $700,000 and was able to shoot an extra day and a half. Talent buy-outs were good as well." Bloom also found the local talent was "very good looking, and they speak English".

Mick Ratman, chair of the UK's Guild of Location Managers, and a freelance location manager, touts India and Moscow as part of the new generation.

"India has a large film industry with good technicians," explains Ratman, "And it's cheap for the UK in the way Argentina is for America, because the exchange is so great. The problems are the time difference and finding extras."

Ratman feels that Moscow could also soon be in the running but finds some players there are pushing prices faster than demand.

Roland Caine, a UK-based location manager, counters that Moscow is a viable alternative, pointing out that London-based Academy Films has opened a satellite office there. "If Prague saves you a third, Moscow saves you two-thirds."

The problem with Prague says Caine is, "Prices have doubled since the mid-90s. And, like Cape Town, you are lucky to get a good crew, unless you have a reputation or the best budget, since the most talented crews are busy."

Caine also lists Albania as a location to watch, "Tirana [Albania's capital] is incredibly hungry for dollars and euro. They are aggressively after business."

Simon Cooper, a producer at Academy Films in London has narrowed down his favorite location. "We shoot in Budapest a lot. It's cheaper than Prague, better equipped and has better service."

Academy has been shooting spots, like Levi's "Freedom" (with Jonathan Glazer for BBH, London), and Vauxhall "Hide and Seek" (for DLKW & Partners, London), in Hungary for the last nine years with Budapest-based Pioneer Productions. Cooper says he saves one-third to one-half the cost of shooting in London.

He also rates the infrastructure of the Hungarian capital higher than other emerging destinations. "Commercials are shooting in Argentina because it's insanely cheap. But there are associated production difficulties - like not having the expertise or the equipment that jobs require; a lot has to be flown in."

Stillking's Matthew Stillman, whose recent credits include Ugly Americans for Dreamworks, agrees that apparent savings can be deceiving. "Romania and Lithuania are cheaper if you look only at the rates. But the crews are not quite as good, so you have to bring in more people. So on paper it looks cheaper, but in reality it may not be," he says.

But the early adopters in the frontier territories are dictated by the lack of money says Stillman. "You start off with the lower budget stuff and you work up. So in Prague it was music videos, then commercials, then TV movies, then medium budget features and then large budget features."

He senses the emerging countries in the production services game will have a harder time than the first wave because, "It will be difficult to catch up in terms of infrastructure. They have to build studios and crews."

Stillman says he did have opportunities to start a company in Romania but decided against it. "We have to guarantee the production will go smoothly. And, at the end of the day, I'm not convinced that other countries provide better production values. But in a year's time they may be better than Prague."

The simple truth underlying the growth of emerging production service locations is summed up by Simon Cooper: "All commercials are budgetarily challenged. We're always looking for sensible places to shoot them."

WEBFILES:
A Band Apart> http://www.abandapart.com
Stillking> http://www.stillking.com
Academy Films> http://www.academyfilms.com
Pioneer Productions> http://www.pioneer.hu
Altana Films> http://www.altana.com.ar