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Cascais Marina - filming location in Portugal

SCENE 01 / PRE-PRODUCTION

Pre-Production Services

The team handles production planning and creative development and logistics which maintain your schedule and budget and creative vision.

CreativeScriptwriting, storyboarding, and pitch-ready treatments.
LogisticsPermits, budgeting, scheduling, and crew coordination.
DeliveryProduction-ready plans with Portugal-wide coverage.
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Planning with Precision

Comprehensive Pre-Production Services

From initial concept to production-ready plans, our team sets the foundation for successful films, TV, commercials, and digital content around the world.

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Creative Excellence

The creative team at Canal+ and Portugal Télévisions along with international co-production partners worked together to develop scripts and storyboards and visual treatments for the project.

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Strategic Planning

The line producers who created euro budgets with ICA rebates included in their planning used Portuguese holiday schedules and union regulations to determine their production timeline.

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Local Expertise

Fixers across all 13 Portuguese regions—from northern region beaches to mountain villages to coastal area coastlines.

Service Catalog

Our Pre-Production Services

Every phase is covered—creative development, casting, permits, budgeting, crew, logistics, and compliance.

Why Fixers in Portugal

Why Choose Fixers in Portugal for Pre-Production

Integrated creative, logistics, and compliance backed by seasoned producers and local fixers.

01.

Proven Expertise

Industry-leading team across all formats and budgets, trusted by global broadcasters.

02.

Fast Response

Rapid 24-48 hour turnarounds for quotes, permits, and scheduling updates.

03.

Global Network

On-the-ground partners in 100+ countries with local permits handled for you.

04.

Full Service

End-to-end coverage from concept and casting to legal, logistics, and delivery.

On Location

Portugal pre-production, planned precisely

Here is how this works in practice. From Lisbon's tile-fronted streets to the vine-covered terraces of the Douro Valley, Portugal rewards shoots that arrive well-prepared. Our pre-production team handles each stage of creative development and logistical planning so your schedule, budget, and creative vision stay intact from the first call sheet to shoot day. We scout locations across the country — the Alentejo plains, the cliffs of the Algarve, the cobbled historic quarters of Porto. And build production frameworks that hold up when conditions change on the ground.

Schedules built on real Portuguese permitting windows and regional crew availability — never optimistic assumptions about Lisbon traffic or Algarve summer access.

Here is the short of it. Creative Direction shapes how your story will look and feel before a camera rolls. While our Concept Development process aligns narrative ambitions with practical production realities. When casting talent for Portugal-based shoots, our Casting and Talent service draws on a broad pool of local actors, presenters, and extras across Lisbon, Porto, and Coimbra. We also prepare Storyboarding and detailed Pitch Decks that give global clients a clear visual reference and shared creative language before committing to travel and crew logistics.

FAQs

Pre-Production FAQs

Clear answers on timelines, coverage, and how we tailor planning to your production.

What's included in pre-production services?

Here is how this works in practice. Our team gives complete production services which have script breakdown and scheduling and location selection across Portugal's districts and autonomous regions and Lisbon agency casting and crew member selection from our OK'd network and budget development in euros with ICA rebates calculations and permit submission to the Portugal Film Commission and local municipal câmaras. You receive a production-ready package which becomes ready before the cameras start filming.

How long does pre-production take?

Here is the short of it. The process of obtaining locations and casting actors and wrapping ICA forms for feature films needs a minimum of 8 to 12 weeks. The production timeline for commercials stays short because they need only 2 to 4 weeks to finish production when shoot sites have easy access. The process of getting documentary access and conducting interviews decides which film projects filmmakers can start their work on. The team can accelerate project work when needed but Portuguese authority rules about permit processing create key time needs.

Do you work with international productions shooting in Portugal?

That's our specialty. We bridge the gap between global shoots firms and Portuguese crews, vendors, and authorities. Our team handles everything from carnet needs for gear crossing borders to setting up with Portuguese unions and handling the ICA co-production rules. Most of our clients are UK, US, German, and Asian shoots shooting on Portuguese soil.

Can you work within a specific budget?

Here is the breakdown. The firm creates budgets which use euros as currency and have detailed line items that follow the formatting needs of the Portuguese industrial sector. If you have a target number, we'll tell you honestly what's achievable—whether that means adjusting the shooting schedule, finding alternative locations, or restructuring the crew. We'd rather have a frank conversation upfront than deliver surprises later.

What happens if permits get denied or locations fall through?

Here is what that looks like on the ground. It happens, and we plan for it. The location packages we give have backup solutions and we have set up connections with Portuguese property owners and film commissions to handle unexpected changes in filming locations. Our location managers have pulled off same-week replacements for everything from historic estate shoots to Portuguese apartment interiors.

On Set

Ready to Start Your Pre-Production?

We'll build a production-ready plan with detailed budgets, schedules, and permit timelines for your project.