Alaska Film & Photography Production Services & Camera Crews
Are you a media company, brand, ad agency or production company looking for film / photography production support or shooting crew in Alaska? Contact us for trusted fixers, producers, directors, DoPs, videographers, photographers, and full shooting crews tailored for the specific needs of your project.
Filming in Alaska
For an introduction to shooting in Alaska see below notes on film locations, permits, when to shoot, unique local stories, costs, tax incentives, crews, talent, equipment, communications, art department, studios, post facilities, visas and work permits for filming, transport, film-friendly accommodation, and safety advice.
Alaska Film Locations
Alaska is the largest and most sparsely populated state in the United States. It has a coastline longer than all the other states combined. Alaska is best know for its otherworldly mountains, volcanoes, glaciers, forests, lakes, rivers, rugged coastlines, icebergs, hot springs, the Arctic Circle and Aurora Borealis. The state’s spectacular wilderness is home to a diversity of wildlife.
Agricultural film locations include farms that produce hay, dairy products, potatoes, barley, cattle, sheep, reindeer, bison, and yak. Alaska mines oil and gas, lead, copper, zinc, gold, and silver. Fishing trawlers and canneries are available for filming, as are sawmills. Energy locations include natural gas, coal, and oil fired power plants, as well as hydroelectric dams. The Trans-Alaska Pipeline runs from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez.
Alaska has hosted productions including Deadliest Catch (2005-), Ice Road Truckers (2007-2017), The Great Alone (2015), Into The Wild (2007), Transformers (2007), Grizzly Man (2005), Insomnia (2002), Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991), The Hunt for Red October (1990), and The Thing (1982).
Film locations can be divided into the following regions:
Southeast
Juneau is the state capital. Film locations include the Juneau cruise ship port, Alaska State Capitol building, Alaska State Museum, St Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church, Nugget Falls, and Mendenhall Glacier Ice Caves. The Thing (1982) filmed in Juneau.
Sitka film locations include is known for St Michael’s Russian Orthodox Cathedral, Russian Bishops House, Sitka National Historical Park, Alaska Raptor Center, and Fortress of the Bear rescue centre.
Ketchikan and Skagway are picturesque coastal towns.
Tongass National Forest is the largest national forest in the United States. Its temperate rainforest and waters are home to grizzly bears, black bears, wolves, deer, mountain goats, bald eagles, ravens, salmon, humpback whales, orcas, sea lions, and sea otters. Tongass National Forest consists of 19 wilderness areas. Misty Fjords National Monument Wilderness offers towering cliffs rising from pristine ocean channels. Admiralty Island’s Kootznoowoo Wilderness is known for its towering old growth forests. Tracy Arm-Fords Terror Wilderness is known for its fjords and glaciers. Stikine-LeConte Wilderness is a river valley surrounded by rugged mountains and numerous glaciers.
Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve is known for its glaciers, rugged mountains, temperate rainforest, fjords, and wild coastlines.
Lighthouses of note include Cape Decision Lighthouse, Five Finger Islands Lighthouse, and Eldred Rock Lighthouse.
South Central
This region offers several looks reminiscent of other regions in Alaska.
Anchorage is Alaska’s most populous city, main production centre where crew and equipment are based, and main entry point by air. Film locations include Alaska Native Heritage Center, Anchorage Museum, Alaska Aviation Museum, Port of Anchorage, Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport, and Lake Hood Seaplane Base. A short drive from the city you can find the unique Dr. Seuss House, Alyeska Ski Resort, and Chugach State Park which featured in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991). Joint Base Elmendorf–Richardson is available for filming.
The communities of Cordova, Valdez, Whittier, and Seward are located in this part of Alaska. Valdez Port was filmed for The Hunt for Red October (1990).
Abandoned mining locations include the town of McCarthy, Kennecott Copper mine, and Independence Mine State Historical Park.
Wrangell—St. Elias National Park and Preserve is the largest national park in the United States. It is home to 9 nine of the country’s 16 highest peaks. The park is known for its mountains, volcanos, glaciers, and ice fields. Wildlife of note include include grizzly bears, black bears, timber wolves, caribous, mountain goats, and Dall sheep.
The Matanuska Glacier is the largest glacier in the United States that is accessible by road.
Hatcher Pass is a spectacular mountain pass through the Talkeetna Mountains.
Kenai Fjords National Park is known for its ice fields, glaciers, fjords, and islands. Of note are Harding Icefield, Bear Glacier, and Exit Glacier.
Prince William Sound was the location of the Exxon Valdez disaster. Located within Prince William Sound, Columbia Bay featured in Transformers (2007), and Columbia Glacier featured in Insomnia (2002).
Southwest
The southwest region is the most sparsely populated part of Alaska. Most of the population lives along the coast in small communities such as Hooper Bay.
Katmai National Park and Preserve is known for its active volcanos and the Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes. The park is also a popular place to film grizzly bears feeding on salmon in places such as Hallo Bay and Brooks Falls. Katmai National Park and Preserve features in Grizzly Man (2005).
Pacific Spaceport Complex is located on Kodiak Island.
Lake Clark National Park and Preserve is known for its volcanos, glaciers, alpine tundra, rivers, lakes, and rainforests.
The Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta is one of the world’s largest deltas.
The remote Diomede Islands, located in Bering Strait, are divided between the United States and Russia.
The Aleutian Islands are a chain of more than 300 small, volcanic islands, which stretch over 1,200 miles (1,900 km). The Bering Sea lies to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The islands comprise of the Fox Islands, Islands of Four Mountains, Andreanof Islands, Rat Islands, Near Islands, and Commander Islands. The City of Unalaska is a picturesque film location. The Aleutian Islands are nesting habitat for millions of seabirds, including auklets, puffins, murres, and fulmars.
Interior
Alaska’s Interior is one of the best locations on earth for viewing the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights).
Fairbanks is the only city in the region of what is mostly vast uninhabited wilderness of tundra, birch and black spruce forests and small native villages. Fairbanks film locations include Creamer’s Field Migratory Waterfowl Refuge, Pioneer Park, Morris Thompson Cultural & Visitors Center, Fountainhead Antique Auto Museum, Pioneer Air Museum, Carlson Center, and Riverboat Discovery. The Aurora Ice Museum at Chena Hot Springs is a year-round ice environment. The University of Alaska Fairbanks is known for its densely forested campus, and the Museum of the North. Permafrost Tunnel Research Facility is located near Fairbanks. Poker Flat Research Range is a launch facility and rocket range also located near Fairbanks.
The Dalton Highway runs from Fairbanks to Deadhorse. Ice Road Truckers (2007-2017) filmed on the Dalton Highway.
Igloo City is an interesting abandoned hotel shaped like an igloo.
Denali National Park and Preserve is home to Denali, the highest mountain in North America. The park is a popular destination for mountaineering, dog sledding, cross-country skiing, and snowmobiling. It is home to wildlife such as grizzly bears, black bears, wolves, caribous, moose, Dall sheep, and a variety of birdlife. Into The Wild (2007) filmed in Denali National Park and Preserve.
North Slope
The North Slope is mostly tundra, and small coastal cities. Ice masses remain in the ocean year-round. The short summer gives the North Slope a bloom of wildflowers stretching to the Arctic coast.
Barrow (Utqiaġvik), located on the Arctic Ocean, is the northernmost city in the United States.
Other coastal towns of note include Nome, and Point Hope.
The North Slope is known for its oil reserves such as the National Petroleum Reserve, and the Prudhoe Bay Oil Field.
The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) is located in northeast Alaska. It is the largest National Wildlife Refuge in the United States. The refuge in home to migratory caribous, polar bears, grizzly bears, black bears, moose, wolves, eagles, lynxes, wolverines, martens, beavers, and migratory birds.
Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve is the northernmost and second largest national park in the United States. The park is a vast landscape of rugged mountains, tundra, boreal forests, valleys, winding rivers, and deep lakes. Half a million caribou migrate through the park twice yearly, traveling north in summer, and south in winter. The park is also home to brown bears, black bears, muskoxen, moose, Dall sheep, timber wolves, wolverines, coyotes, lynxes, lemmings, voles, marmots, porcupines, river otters, snowshoe hares, collared pikas, muskrats, bald eagles, great horned and northern hawk-owls.
Noatak National Preserve is located in northwestern Alaska. Wildlife of not includes migrating caribous, moose, grizzly bears, black bears, wolves, Arctic foxes, lemmings, Dall’s sheep, and a variety of birdlife. Noatak River is an important breeding ground for salmon.
Kobuk Valley National Park, located in the northwest of the state, protects the Great Kobuk Sand Dunes. Wildlife of note include migrating caribous, moose, grizzly bears, black bears, wolves, Artic foxes, beavers, river otters, lynxes, Dall sheep, and salmon.
Selawik National Wildlife Refuge, located in the northwest of the state, is a landscape of tundra, taiga, wetlands, river deltas, meadows, and river valleys. Wildlife includes caribous, musk oxen, moose, grizzly bears, black bears, wolves, lynxes, wolverines, martens, and tundra swans.
Alaska Film Location Permits
99% of land in Alaska is owned by the Federal government, State government and native peoples. Permitting for these properties is divided into:
United States Forest Service Property. Special use permits are required for commercial film and photography. Fees are based on the number of shoot days on National Forest System lands and the size of the film crew present on Federal land plus any costs incurred by the Forest Service (personnel, etc).
Bureau of Land Management Property. A permit is required for commercial filming. Professional stills photographers are allowed to photograph on public lands without permits and fees unless the shoot uses models / sets, or requires special access or takes place at a location that adds administrative costs.
National Park Service Property. A permit is required for commercial filming. Professional stills photographers are allowed to photograph on public lands without permits and fees unless the shoot uses models / sets, or requires special access or takes place at a location that adds administrative costs. There are four types of fees: Application Fee, Monitoring fee, Performance Bond and the Location Fee (depends on crew size for film or photography shoot).
United States Fish and Wildlife Service Property. Commercial film and photography requires a special use permit. There is a $100 administrative fee. A bond may be set to ensure compliance with the permit.
Alaska Department of Natural Resources Property. Commercial film and photography requires a permit. Fees depend on the specifics of the project.
Alaska Native Lands. Permission and fees are to be negotiated directly with the local indigenous regional or village land manager or media officer.
Please contact us for location specific information.
When To Shoot?
Alaska’s great size means the climate varies considerably by region:
The Southeast region receives considerably more rainfall than the rest of the state.
The South Central region has snow on the ground from October to April and is milder on the coast.
The Southwest region has a very windy Arctic climate with little rainfall.
Best times to film bears in Katmai National Park are as follows. November to May bears hibernate. May to July mother bears can be seen with cubs eating coastal grasses and clams. Their winter coats are still in good condition. July to August coastal flowers bloom and bears move inland toward the rivers for the start of the salmon run. Bears lose their old fur for the coming season. August to October the salmon run continues with the Coho salmon (bear-preferred) now heading up stream. Towards the end of this period fall colours come in and bears can be seen eating berries and old spawned salmon. By the time the storms roll in bears have grown their full winter coats.
The Interior has a subarctic climate with little rainfall, hot summers and very cold winters with snow on the ground from October to April. The Aurora Borealis is best photographed from September to March.
The North Slope has an arctic climate with long, very cold winters and short, cool summers. In the winter Barrow sees 65 days of darkness. Light, dry snow stays on the ground from September to May. The region experiences no sunset from 10th May to 2nd August and no sunrise from the 18th November to the 21st January.
Festivals and events of interest to filmmakers and photographers include:
• Tesoro Iron Dog Snowmobile Race in February.
• Fur Rondy in Anchorage includes events such as the Running of the Reindeer, in February.
• Iditarod dog sled race in March.
• The salmon run takes place from April to September depending on the location and species. Brown bears catching salmon can be filmed at Brooks Falls from June to September.
Public holidays may affect timing, availability and costs. See here for public holiday dates in the United States.
Unique Local Stories
Brands are looking for local stories that match their brand narrative. Our local teams are a great lead for sourcing those unique stories and characters.
If you are looking for stories for your next shoot, send us your brief and we will pitch you ideas.
If you have a unique story you would like to pitch to a brand anywhere in the world, pitch us your idea. We have well-established processes to ensure that your ideas are properly seen and protected.
Alaska Tax Incentives for Filming
Alaska does not currently offer a film incentive program.
Alaska Film Crew & Talent
Crews. Supporting Some local options exist.
Contact us if you are looking for an Anchorage, Juneau or Nome based director, DP, photographer, videographer (cameraman / camera operator), camera assistant (focus puller), sound operator, grip, gaffer, stylist, hair and makeup, PA / runner, production driver, or any other film crew in Alaska.
Talent. Most residents are Caucasian but about 15% of Alaskans are indigenous belonging to Aluet, Athabascan, Eskimo, Eyak, Haida, Tlingit and Tsimshian peoples.
Movie character stereotypes include outdoorsmen living off the grid, oil industry workers, mountaineers, mushers, ice road truckers, fisherman, and bush pilots.
Alaska Film Equipment
Equipment. Standard camera, grip and lighting equipment available locally. More specialised equipment needs to be brought it.
Communications. Communication is key. Our agility and global experience allows us to customise the right communications systems for every shoot.
Web posted casting, scouting, and videoconferencing.
For clients that are unable to attend set we offer a virtual video village solution. This dedicated and secure high-resolution video streaming platform allows clients from one or multiple timezones to view setups without compromise and to participate in real-time with the team on set. Separate systems can be set up for the discrete conversations that are required to make a job run right. Working remotely with our local teams reduces your content production costs, turnaround times, carbon footprint, and risks associated with unpredictable global events.
Alaska Transport & Accommodation
Transportation. Alaska’s road system is limited and very few locations are accessible by road. Most locations are reached by air. Many coastal locations can be reached by sea. The Alaska Railroad is another option.
Accommodation. Please contact us for recommended film friendly hotels in Anchorage, Juneau, Fairbanks, Barrow and other areas of Alaska.
Final Notes
Safety. Alaska is a very safe and reliable place for foreign productions to shoot. See here for up to date travel advice.
Down Time. Go north during the warmer months. Head into nature and enjoy a few relaxing days of 24 hour sunlight.
Projects. For an example of TV commercials, stills campaigns, online content, corporate videos, virtual reality 360 content, feature films, TV series and documentaries shot in Alaska, please see below:
Hire Alaska Production Support & Shooting Crew
If you are looking for a film or photographic production service company, line producer or fixer for your shoot in Alaska, please contact us.
If you are looking for a shooting crew for your shoot in Alaska, such as a director, DoP, photographer, videographer (cameraman / camera operator), camera assistant (focus puller), sound operator, grip, gaffer, stylist, hair and makeup, PA / runner, production driver, please contact us.
We are able to provide you with answers, references and bids quickly.
