Portugal is a small yet offering country right near the Atlantic Ocean, at the far South West of the European continent. Here, you will find fairytale castles, incredible old town centers, gorgeous nature, and superb people. Finding the perfect film fixer in Portugal for your movie should be an easy task.
Hiring a film fixer in Portugal
Where do you look for a film fixer in Portugal? Lisbon, obviously! The capital city of the country is minutes away from the ocean and comes with tons of video-producing companies who can get you a fixer right away. If you can’t find your ideal fixer this way, the internet is a great place to continue your searches. Hire a freelance fixer from the web and have them help you with your production. In any case, make sure your fixer will check as many boxes as possible in the experience, communication, and similar past projects categories.
A good film fixer in Portugal has to have at least one or two years of experience, preferably more. They should be familiar with everything having to do with production, including equipment repairs, shots, and framing, editing, actors management, the works. Second, make sure your future fixer can communicate properly with you as a producer, as well as with the rest of the team. English is a must here, and make sure you’re not just skipping that part, as Portuguese is very different from Spanish and of course English. The last thing you want is bad communication between you and your fixer while on the set.
Last, but not least, a great fixer in Portugal can provide a portfolio of past projects that are on the same topic as your own. If they can do this, and you find many similarities between your idea and their past work, it’s a match!
What’s a film fixer’s job
Now that you know how a film fixer in Portugal should look and behave, let’s see what these people should be able to help you with on the set. First, fixers are doing exactly that, fixing the many issues that will come up. From actors going sick and needing replacement to equipment getting broken and needing a repair, locations becoming unavailable last minute, hotels running out of rooms for your crew, and so on. Fixers are there to fix even the craziest possible scenarios, in record time, every time!
Another thing that fixers are great for is keeping an open dialogue between the crew and locals. Say you’re filming in a more remote Portuguese village away from Lisbon. People there might not be as enthusiastic as the people from the big city about your cameras. A fixer’s job is to explain to the people that what you’re doing will bring value, not harm, to their neck of the woods. That’s why above all else, find a fixer who’s great at communicating with your people, as well as with the locals.