An international airport is of course a fantastic backdrop for some fine film footage. But how do film shoots at Schiphol work exactly? And how often do they occur? Read all about it in this blog. Lights, camera, action!
The RTL5 series Schiphol Airport? Filmed at Schiphol from start to finish. And the fact that a lot of the footage for the programmes All You Need Is Love and Hello Goodbye is recorded at our airport probably won't come as a surprise either. But did you know that Schiphol has also been used as a filming location for TV series including Gooische Vrouwen and Het Gouden Uur?
Our airport is clearly popular as a film set too. And this means that there are usually one or two camera crews at Schiphol every day. However, not all footage ends up on television or on the big screen. Sometimes we use it internally or on social media, in training videos or to recruit staff.
Of course, you can't just turn up here with a camera crew. All requests for filming are submitted to our location managers Daniëlle and Julien. They ask to see a script or storyboard, determine which locations should be used for filming and check whether Schiphol really is a suitable setting for the shoot.
If that's the case, there will usually be an introductory meeting and a visit to the location. Our location managers have a lot of experience with filming at Schiphol. They often know which locations are suitable and can provide the necessary tips. It then becomes increasingly clear what exactly is needed to be able to film.
Then preparations can get underway. That includes the reservation of counters and surrounding areas, determining which people and materials are required, and informing the relevant partners. Everything is then written down in a shooting script, based on the principle that filming must never cause disruptions to the operation.
And then it's time to start shooting the film! The size of a film crew varies. For a commercial or a small scene, four or five people are enough, but for a larger feature film, there can sometimes be as many as forty people involved. They are continuously supervised by the location managers during filming.
Once filming has finished, there's still work to be done. Our location managers review the content and check how the result compares to the reality at our airport. After all, we don't want the images to have negative consequences for us or our partners. This also ensures that we can always look back with pride at the images made of our airport. It's a wrap!