Play Dead Film Production
Managing the travel for the cast and crew of a major international film sounds exciting – but only Stage and Screen can coordinate half a million dollars’ worth of international flights, car hire and accommodation at short notice.
Client snapshot
Nocturnal Entertainment is the film production company behind the horror-thriller movie Play Dead, produced with several high-profile actors and other studios. The project required a Los Angeles production team to work with local film producers to film in Australia.
Stage and Screen managed the travel and accommodation logistics for high volumes of international cast, crew and production staff.
The challenge
When Stage and Screen was briefed on the travel management requirements for the project, the timeline was extremely tight. With the production already in motion, Stage and Screen on-boarded the LA producer quickly, turned around the required travel documents fast, and coordinated international flights for numerous crew and cast.
Contributing to the challenge was the Australia-US time-zone difference; the short notice given for international flights for numerous travelers and regional car hire requirements for everyone. Stage and Screen needed to deliver creative solutions.
The solution
With minimal logistical information given, Stage and Screen researched the production structure to gain a full picture of the project’s travel requirements and logistical hurdles. Liaising with the local producer, the team established direct lines with the LA producer and could then begin coordinating the high volume of international flight bookings required.
Recognizing further opportunities to support the production, Stage and Screen also took over accommodation requirements. By coordinating flights, accommodation and car hire together, Stage and Screen centralized the whole travel operation – increasing efficiency, savings and transparency for the production companies.
The client had originally briefed Stage and Screen on $80,000 worth of travel spend. With the growth of Stage and Screen’s remit thanks to the client’s confidence in their travel team, this grew to almost $500,000.
The outcome
The production team praised Stage and Screen’s responsiveness, problem-solving and how it handled last-minute requests with ease in such a high-pressure shoot. While the scale of the regional ground transport came with ongoing challenges due to limited car hire options, the team worked hard to ensure there was no disruption for travelers.
“Thank you especially for rolling with the last-minute requests and always taking such great care of us. It made a huge difference and was so appreciated.” Natalie Cicciarelli, Production Assistant, Play Dead.
