Production services: what they are and when you need them

When a foreign brand, agency, or production company wants to shoot somewhere it doesn't usually operate, it runs into a wall of invisible details: municipal permits, parking rules for technical vans, which supplier rents the crane the director needs, where to eat decently near the set, how to clear equipment through customs, what insurance the city hall requires. Each of those details can ruin a shoot day, and a lost day in production costs between five and forty thousand euros depending on the size of the project.

Production services —in more colloquial terms the "fixer" or "local service production company"— are the mechanism that resolves that invisible wall. They are what allow a London production company to shoot in Almería without knowing Spanish, a German brand to film its global spot in the Canary Islands taking advantage of tax incentives, or a New York agency to make its corporate piece in Madrid without having a local team.

This article explains exactly what they are, where they come from, what they include, why Spain has become an especially competitive market, and how to choose them without ending up paying for services you don't need.

The "fixer" as a precursor

The concept has history. Since the mid-twentieth century, Hollywood production companies shooting outside the U.S. relied on local fixers: professionals who knew the geography, the administration, the labor culture, and the suppliers of the shooting country, and who were hired to "fix" everything that couldn't be handled from the head office.

British and European cinema developed parallel trades. When Sergio Leone shot A Fistful of Dollars (1964), For a Few Dollars More (1965), and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) in Almería —the famous "spaghetti westerns" in the Tabernas desert— he relied on local coordinators who organized locations, extras, and logistics. Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean, 1962) was shot in Almería with massive support from local crews and Spanish military. That service industry built a technical and human capacity that would later be repurposed.

The name production services became popular in the 1980s and 1990s with the globalization of advertising shoots. Brands and agencies from mature markets (U.S., UK, Germany, Japan) discovered that shooting abroad was cheaper, offered better light or scenery, and allowed tax optimization. Companies dedicated exclusively to servicing foreign productions emerged: no longer individual fixers but service production companies with structure, contracts, and established suppliers.

What's included, specifically

The scope varies by project, but a complete production service usually covers:

Locations (location scouting). Searching for, proposing, and negotiating locations that fit the script: natural landscapes, buildings, interiors, streets. In Spain, the geographic diversity makes it possible to "double" for everything from desert to snow-capped mountains within a few kilometers.

Permits. Processing with city halls, autonomous regions, natural parks, private owners, and port or airport authorities. Each location has its own bureaucratic tangle and its own timelines.

Local crew. Hiring technical crew (camera, lighting, sound, art, makeup, wardrobe), assistants, and specialists. Crew quality is one of the factors that most distinguishes a competitive country from one that isn't.

Gear. Renting cameras, lenses, lighting, grip (stabilization, dollies, cranes), sound, drone, and special vehicles. In Spain, houses like Camara Rental, Welab, and Ovide cover practically all the usual cinematic gear.

Casting. Searching for and selecting lead actors, supporting actors, and extras. For international spots, casting is frequently sought that can "pass" as the client's market —ethnic features, age, range of types.

Transport. Vehicles for the crew, airport-hotel-set transfers, motorhomes for talent, equipment trucks, and picture cars (vehicles that appear on camera).

Accommodation. Hotel blocks for international crews (typically 30-100 rooms for a week of international shooting).

Catering and set services. Crew meals, all-day service (an international crew doesn't organize its own lunch), runners, and specific assistants.

Customs and ATA carnets. Audiovisual equipment crossing borders requires specific procedures. The ATA carnet (managed in Spain by the Chambers of Commerce) is the international document that allows the temporary import of professional equipment without paying tariffs, valid in more than 80 countries.

Insurance. Civil liability, equipment insurance, and completion bonds for large productions.

Local executive production (line producer). The most critical role: the person who executes the shooting plan day by day, manages the budget, solves problems in real time, and is accountable to the foreign production.

The tax incentive factor: why Spain matters

Spain has gone from being an attractive destination for scenery and crew to being one of the most competitive markets in Europe thanks to tax incentives, a decisive factor in international productions.

The current scheme:

• Foreign productions filmed on the Iberian peninsula benefit from the incentive regulated in Article 36.2 of the Corporate Income Tax Law: a deduction/refund equivalent to 30% of the first million euros of eligible spending and 25% on the rest, with a maximum cap of around 20 million euros per production (the figures have been adjusted upward since the initial 2014 version; the 2020-2021 reform raised the cap and percentages).

• The Canary Islands have an even more favorable regime —tax benefits that can reach 50% of admissible spending with a higher cap, thanks to the Canary Islands Economic and Fiscal Regime —, which makes them one of the most attractive destinations in the world for large productions that can adapt part of their shoot to the archipelago.

• The Basque Country and Navarre have their own provincial (foral) regimes, with specific incentives.

The result is visible: over the past ten years, Spain has hosted shoots of Game of Thrones (HBO, several seasons in Seville, Almería, Girona, and the Basque Country between 2014-2019), The Crown (Netflix, exteriors), The Witcher (Netflix, Canary Islands among others), Foundation (Apple TV+), Patria (HBO), The Mandalorian, and many other international productions. Netflix opened its production hub in Tres Cantos (Madrid) in 2019, with several soundstages and offices, marking a structural bet on Spanish production. Platforms like Movistar Plus+, Atresmedia, Mediaset, and Disney+ have added their own commissions that keep the industry active.

For an international brand or agency, the calculation is direct: shooting in Spain usually costs 25-30% less than shooting in the UK or Germany, with a technically comparable crew and a real tax credit at the end. Local production services are what make that saving real because they know how the incentive is administered —the eligible expenses, the certifications from the ICAA (Institute of Cinematography and Audiovisual Arts), the filing deadlines.

Other competitive markets

Spain is not the only option. The European and Atlantic production services market has several hubs:

The Czech Republic, especially Prague with Barrandov Studios, historically one of the great centers of international production. Mission: Impossible, Casino Royale, and Amadeus were shot there.

Hungary, with Origo Studios (Budapest) and a generous tax scheme. Dune, The Witcher, and Blade Runner 2049 shot in Hungary.

The United Kingdom, a traditional home with Pinewood, Shepperton, and Leavesden. More expensive, but a very mature industry.

Morocco, especially Ouarzazate, "the African Hollywood." Lawrence of Arabia, Gladiator, Game of Thrones (scenes), and many pieces that require desert landscape, Arab culture, or a fortified set.

Mexico, especially Mexico City, with federal and state incentives.

Colombia, Cartagena de Indias specifically, with generous incentives for international productions.

Each market has its profile. The choice depends on the desired landscape, the operating language, the budget, the available crew, and the tax regime applicable to the client.

When you really need them

Not every audiovisual production requires production services. It's worth knowing when you do and when you don't.

They are clearly needed for:

• Shoots outside the main team's usual city/country.
• International productions with foreign crew and direction.
• Advertising spots with complex logistics: multiple locations, special vehicles, drone, extensive technical equipment.
• Shoots in heavily regulated locations: natural parks, protected public spaces, heritage buildings.
• Projects that take advantage of tax incentives (which require execution by a certified local entity).
• Multi-camera coverage of events with distributed crew.

They may not be needed for:

• Entirely local productions with a stable in-house crew.
• Simple corporate videos at the client's office.
• Social media content with light production.
• One-day shoots in a known private location.

The operating rule: if the cost and complexity of the shoot exceed a certain threshold, hiring local production services usually saves net money even when it looks like an extra cost. The friction they prevent is worth more than their commission.

How to choose a production service

Three practical criteria:

Specialization by type of production. Service production companies tend to specialize in long-form fiction (film, series), advertising, or documentary. Their network of suppliers and their administrative experience vary. A film service company may not be the ideal option for a 30-second spot with four shoot days, and vice versa.

Crew and suppliers. A production company with a solid Rolodex and repeated experience with the same suppliers saves on negotiation and solves problems faster. A company with a known team is preferable to a new one with attractive rates but no established network.

Capacity to manage the tax incentive. If the project is going to take advantage of the Spanish or Canary Islands tax credit, the company must have experience in ICAA certification, eligible expenses, and correct documentation. Administrative errors can invalidate the credit.

Budget transparency. Good production services deliver a detailed budget broken down by line item, not aggregate totals. An aggregate budget hides where the margins are and makes it harder to compare suppliers.

Verifiable references. Productions similar in scale and type, ideally from the client's home market. Asking for direct contact with previous clients is a healthy practice.

Mistakes you see on international productions

Underestimating the prepro phase. Arriving in the shooting country with prepro half done and expecting to resolve it in a week on the ground. International preproduction usually requires 4-8 weeks minimum, depending on size.

Not verifying permits. Assuming the local company "already handles it" without verifying dates and conditions. If a permit doesn't arrive on shoot day, no crew or equipment can fix the problem.

Incompatible gear. Lenses that don't fit the camera, different sound systems, different storage types. Request a complete tech sheet and verify compatibility before shipping.

Poorly managed customs. Gear stuck in customs because the ATA carnet wasn't complete or because undeclared items were included. Solution: work with a customs specialist, don't improvise.

Cultural differences in schedules. Spanish crew eat at a different time than the British, and the usual shooting schedule also differs. Negotiating and communicating the daily plan explicitly saves friction.

Confusing operating language. If the director is German and the crew is Spanish, you need a reliable human bridge —typically the bilingual line producer— who ensures the instructions get across correctly.

Not reserving a contingency. A contingency of 10-15% of the budget is not a luxury, it's realism. Unexpected rain, equipment breaking, a sick actor: contingencies always materialize as something.

Dismissing the local crew without a debrief. A good shoot ends with a final team meeting, not just the last take. The debrief lets you close out accounts, receive the material, and maintain the relationship for future productions.

How to fit production services into the flow

When a brand or production company works repeatedly with production services, the workflows change: it's no longer a one-off supplier but part of a stable network. And the role of creative operations becomes critical for that network to work.

Creative operations is what allows you to manage the time dependencies, the resulting assets (raw footage, masters, versions), and the coordination between central creative direction and local execution. At Polimake, Studio defines the script, concept, and creative direction that is passed to the local company; Media coordinates material delivery, master archiving, and versions by channel; Studio manages the shoot's milestones, intermediate approvals, and postproduction deadlines.

This relates to the video production process in general, to the typical delays that a good production service anticipates, and to shooting spots when that format is the destination. When direction follows the shoot remotely, it's also worth understanding what remote production is and how it's coordinated.

To wrap up

Production services are the infrastructure that turns the idea of shooting in another country into a finished, delivered piece. Underestimating their role is what makes foreign productions burn budget and timelines on problems a local team would have solved in a phone call. Overestimating their autonomy —hiring and walking away— is what produces surprises on set.

The practice that ages best: treating production services as a strategic partner, not a commodity supplier. Investment in preproduction, clear communication, a transparent budget, a realistic contingency. When that relationship works, a brand can shoot in five countries in a year with the same quality and the same creative discipline as in its own city.

Quick reference

• Production services = professionalized fixer: locations, permits, crew, gear, logistics, casting.
• ATA carnet for the international movement of audiovisual equipment.
• Spain incentive: 30% first million / 25% rest, cap ~€20M (peninsular territory).
• Canary Islands: up to 50% of admissible spending, REF regime.
• Basque Country and Navarre: their own provincial regimes.
• Other competitive markets: Czech Republic, Hungary, UK, Morocco, Mexico, Colombia.
• International prepro: 4-8 weeks minimum.
• A contingency of 10-15% of the budget is not a luxury, it's realism.
• Supplier specialization matters: film ≠ advertising ≠ documentary.
• Capacity to manage the tax credit is key if the project takes advantage of it.
• Detailed budget by line item, not aggregate.