If you can't send a director or a videographer from your home country, but still want to get some good footage, this is the plan for you - CueRio staff act as field producers and go on site with a videographer from a partner technical company to film what you wish to film. CueRio staff is also an experienced videographer, but we can also add a sound engineer and other specialists as well.
If you wish to film in a rural area, such as Osaka, Kyoto or Hokkaido, it may be cheaper to hire local technical staff there, as this can reduce transport and accommodation costs. There are CueRio partner technical companies throughout Japan, and we can arrange for them to cover the shoot for you.
We will be responsible for the footage taken and will send it to you all by file transfer.
Here you can see our service flow.
Enquiry -> Consultation
First, please explain to CueRio exactly what you want to film as a specific case. Based on the information received, CueRio will form the best team with our partner technical staff to conduct the project.
We would appreciate the following information to speed up the process.
- Outline of the programme/project
- A list of things to film (interviews and B-roll visuals images etc)
- Proposed questions
- Preferred video format/audio format
- Shooting period or deadline
- Reference material (URLs or documents)
We would like to have a briefing session with the information you have given us - Zoom or Google Meet would be most suitable, but we are also open to phone calls and WatsApp. We would like to make sure that we are all on the same page when moving forward with the project, and we would also like to make suggestions regarding the items to be filmed for the B-roll and the equipment to be used.
Pre-production
Based on the information you give us at the enquiry and consultation, we will proceed with the following tasks that are necessary before the shooting date.
- Making appointments for interviews
- Obtaining filming permission (not necessary for small shoots)
- Arranging transport and accommodation
- Arranging equipment hire
- Researching filming locations
- Briefing with the technical crew
(A separate pre-production charge may be levied if the workload is significant)
Shooting
We prioritise the filming list you have given us, but we will also film appropriate scenes flexibly and will ask follow-up questions during the interview. Our partner videographers are experienced in shooting B rolls, so they will shoot the best visuals for your requirements. We try to keep you informed of the progress of the work as much as possible, if you really wish we can connect you through zoom or google meet call so we can see the shoots simultaneously.
For sit-down interviews, depending on the situation we use a wireless microphone attached to the interviewee or a shotgun microphone. Street interviews and other interviews and vox pops will be conducted with a hand-held camera with a shotgun microphone.
As soon as possible after filming, we will send you the filmed material via File Transfer. We aim to deliver the material by the next morning, including compressing it into a ZIP file and uploading it to the server.
We usually use a File Transfer service called Gigafile Transfer here, although the instructions are only available in Japanese.
https://gigafile.nu/
Post-production
After filming is complete, CueRio can provide a range of support for the programme's broadcast. If interviews are conducted in Japanese, CueRio can provide English translation and transcription services, as well as research and rights handling. This work is also at the same rate as pre-production.
Rate
The day charge for the full filming package by CueRio with our technical partners including equipment:
From 800 USD including a fixer, a videographer and basic equipment
(+10%VAT, +Expenses)
*The rate varies depending on the availability of videographers
*If you wish to shoot with a camera other than the SONY NX5R, SONY PXW-Z280 or PXW-Z150, especially a cinema camera, this will be calculated at a separate rate.
*Separate rates are also calculated for filming with local technical partners on locations outside Tokyo.
The following are usually claimed as expenses.
- Transport costs
- Car hire
- Parking fees
- Highway tolls
- Lunch
- Gifts for interviewees
- Accommodation
Hourly rate for research, preparation, and post production:
50 USD
(+10%VAT)
Our Partner Technical Staff
CueRio has many partner technical companies and freelance technical staff who help us with shoots in Tokyo and all over Japan. All of them are experienced and reliable, but this time we would like to introduce 104 coLtd, the company we work with the most.
104 coLtd
This company was founded in 1990 by legendary DP Yutaka Yamazaki, who has worked on many shootings, from documentaries to films by Hirokazu Koreeda, as an independent company from the production company Documentary Japan INC.. Many CueRio staff, including Rio, have worked with them, and we have learnt a lot from their veteran videographers. They have a lot of excellent staff, from young to experienced videographers with a lot of filming careers, mainly in documentaries.
If the filming location is far from Tokyo, it is most advisable to use our local partner company. For example, in Hokkaido, there is a company called HBC Flex, whose technical skills are very reliable and they were very helpful during our shoot in Niseko.
Equipment
For news and documentary filming we recommend the SONY NX5R, for example. If you want to shoot in PAL instead of NTSC, we recommend the SONY PXW-Z280 or PXW-Z150.
The above equipment will come with a tripod, simple lighting and a wireless microphone at the rates listed below.
If you prefer a cinema camera, you can also ask us to shoot with a SONY PXW-FS7 and a Canon EOS C300, for example. In that case, the rate will be different.
We can also add various equipment options such as a drone, GoPro, gimbal, etc, so please don't hesitate to ask us.
Filming record
We have worked on a number of filming assignments with our partner technical crew, most recently for the following programmes.
- 9sqm Micro apartment in Japan (CNA)
- Inflation in Japan (CNA)
- Niseko Real Estate Booming (CNA)
- 4-Day Work Week In Japan (CNA)
The situations when this plan is recommended
This plan is recommended if you cannot send a crew from your home country, but want to film the following.
- You want to use a cinematic camera
- Shooting beautiful landscapes and B-roll
- Shooting scenes with a lot of movement, such as sports
- Recording clear audio in scenes with multiple people talking
When you can't come to Japan, you can leave it to CueRio, and together with our excellent technical partners such as 104, we will shoot the footage you want and be responsible for sending it to you. If your budget is limited we can offer an option that a CueRio Staff just go by himself and film with his own camera.
However, the best way is for you to come and film, and CueRio's staff can be most effective working as a Fixer. So please come to Japan and film with us!
