Shooting internationally is a beloved Hollywood pastime. Whether it's A New Hope in Tunsia, Memoirs of a Geisha in Japan, or literally any James Bond film, the world is Hollywood's sound stage.

There are some distinct advantages to shooting outside of America, but there are also different customs, rules, and expectations a production absolutely has to take into account. 

Expectations around things like how the roles of a payroll provider can be vastly different in another country or around sourcing local talent or even accountants. 

So if you’re new to taking a production overseas, here’s some important things to know before you fully commit and if you want to avoid a "Très Mal" (very bad) outcome.

For an expert’s perspective on international filming from the accounting side, we spoke with Alex Lewis of TPH Global. Alex leads the UK-based of TPH Global, a Production Payroll Service for studios, broadcasters, and indie film producers.

Value for money

If you closely follow production news, and we expect that you do, then you're well aware that countries are regularly opening up new avenues and opportunities to attract productions.

It's obvious why. Film and television is a global business. It only makes sense that there would be efforts to both tap more deeply into local audiences and potentially stimulate economies by providing work for locals in the industry.

While China and India are well-known examples of large emerging markets for global cinema, there are more opening up all the time.

The governments of some countries such as Ireland, the UK, and Germany are so serious about nurturing film production that they fund it directly, but they’re hardly the only ones.

Italy for example is currently pushing for Hollywood to tell more Italian stories, but to do it with local Italian talent. 

However, this type of "official" funding is largely only for residents of the country. So non-citizen producers of "foreign" productions shouldn’t expect to be able to apply for UK government funding simply because they’re filming in Manchester.

There’s still advantages to shooting internationally, though, because the dollar goes farther in other countries than in America. The budget may not be larger, but the same money can buy more. How much more can depend on the exchange rate (the dollar is quite strong at the time of publication) and how built up the local infrastructure is.

Shooting in the UK, for example, is only slightly cheaper than shooting in America. The Pound is relatively strong, but more importantly, it’s a hot filming destination with a strong production culture of its own. American producers face stronger competition for crew and equipment than they might find in, say, Egypt.

Union considerations, or the lack thereof 

An important aspect of any film shoot is dealing with unions. It’s a much more straightforward process in other countries than it is in America.

In America, the cast is covered by SAG-AFTRA. The DGA represents directors, assistant directors, and associated crew. The WGA’s Basic Minimum Agreement handles writers hired for TV writer’s rooms or film rewrites.

Everyone else? They’re largely covered by IATSE or the Teamsters. Or both.

None of these union contracts are that difficult in and of themselves. But it does mean that a producer can't apply the same rules to everyone. Every union has different fringe expectations, different payouts to health and pension, and even different allowed working hours before overtime pay kicks in.

By and large, this isn't the case in other countries. There are still unions, but a great deal of what unions fight for in America is covered by law in other countries. In other words, there can be a more unified and consistent set of rules to follow. 

You also may not have to contribute to healthcare funds in countries with public health care, which is the case in the UK. Alex told us, “We’ve got the Health Service, which does away with the worry about health contributions or social security. Obviously, you need public liability insurance in the UK, but if someone breaks their leg, they are going to a hospital that’s funded by the nation… Our payroll has always been relatively straightforward and not particularly regionalized.”

Unified incentive structure and labor laws

That lack of regionalization is true in other countries as well. America’s federalist system, where states have increased local control over things like labor laws, is actually somewhat unique when compared to many other countries. When a producer sets up shop abroad, the laws are often the same throughout the country.

This makes planning for overtime and shoot length much less time-consuming than it would be in The States. “Time is money,” as the old adage goes.

Many countries also have tax incentive plans set up to help attract film productions, much as American states do. Italy, for example, has an extremely generous 40% tax credit on all production costs.

An advantage to filming abroad is that the tax incentives are the same throughout the country, just like the labor laws. If you're filming in Italy, the incentives are the same whether you're in Milan, Naples, or Rome. 

This can save producers and production accountants a lot of time when prepping budgets, as the calculation is straightforward. And again - time is money.

Using foreign stand-ins for domestic locations 

Filming internationally offers more variety of locations than shooting domestically, including settings out of reach for domestic shoots. You won’t find a good double for Osaka’s Dotenbori district anywhere in the US, for example.

Amazing location, and likely worth the effort of shooting there.

However, this doesn’t mean producers have to set their films in the countries they’re filming in. The rest of the world can in many instances be good at doubling as America. For example, South Africa has been quietly filling in for Los Angeles for a while. Did you know the Rachel, Jack, and Ashley Too episode of Black Mirror was shot in South Africa?

Producers should still exercise good judgment when looking to film US-set films in other countries. Yes, on the surface it might be cheaper to shoot a "New York" street scene in another country with a similar looking setting.

However, something like a crowd scene could cause problems if you can’t source enough extras to represent New York’s multicultural diversity.

And if you can't source talent locally? Then that's an issue and you're looking at potentially adding cost of transportation.

Speaking of which...

Consider travel time for your cast

Many developed countries have strong film communities that can provide skilled local crew and cast. When shooting in Europe, it’s relatively simple to fly out highly-trained and well-regarded actors from the UK.

However, there are always stars.

In this instance, a “star” refers to anyone so important they cannot be replaced with someone else. Most of the time, these are the lead actors that are headlining the film. However, it can also mean a director, a DP, or even a trusted production accountant or line producer.

If the trip is too far for the star, or something is keeping them close to home (like a new child), producers should adjust their expectations accordingly.

Understand international payroll companies

It would be understandable for most producers to see all the differences and challenges of shooting internationally and assume they need to find a local payroll company to handle all these elements.

After all, most US producers are used to American payroll companies, which are more comprehensive in scope. They offer a wide spectrum of services, from production accounting to health benefits and fringes to incentives management. 

Payroll companies outside the US do not offer this kind of comprehensive service. They focus on one thing and one thing alone - payroll. Alex said that large accounting firms in the film industry can fill in these gaps, at least in the UK.

While most producers will have a trusted production accountant or line producer they trust with their budget, these accounting firms can supply accounting teams with expertise in local laws and incentives, but you shouldn’t expect them to offer the same wide range and suite of services as a US-based entertainment accounting and payroll company. That just isn’t available.

Be ready for cultural differences

All of this advice essentially comes down to one point. Other countries do things differently than America.

If you’ve ever watched an episode of House Hunters International then yes, you know that Americans can, at times, have a tendency to project daily experiences and expectations on the rest of the world and just assume it is the same all over. 

So like with any travel abroad, American producers are best served by always checking assumptions at customs and welcoming the ups, downs, challenges and benefits of shooting overseas with a relaxed and flexible approach. 

Shooting overseas isn’t always going to be the best solution

The last point is that while there are indeed many benefits to shooting overseas, there’s a reason why America is the powerhouse film industry of the world. 

From the sheer massive range of locations in the US alone, to the availability and reliability of equipment, the diverse protections offered by unions, and availability of the premiere class of cast and crew talent, you’ll never want to discount or overlook production in good ol' 'Murica. 

To drive home this point, just take a look at what a few states like New Mexico, Arizona, and Oregon have to offer for productions and you’ll see that not only is the world your oyster, but so is your backyard.