Victoria 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 Victoria? Contact us for trusted fixers, producers, directors, DoPs, videographers, photographers, and full shooting crews tailored for the specific needs of your project.

Filming in Victoria

For an introduction to shooting in Victoria see below notes on film locations, permits, when to shoot, unique local stories, costs, tax incentives, crews, talent, premiums, fringes, equipment, communications, art department, studios, post facilities, visas and work permits for filming, transport, film-friendly accommodation, and safety advice.

Victoria Film Locations 

Victoria, The Garden State, is a popular destination for international productions looking for opposite season looks, generous film incentives, experienced crews, and state of the art film equipment. The state is known for its modern cities, beautiful beaches, winding coastal roads, eucalyptus forests, mountain ranges, waterfalls, and rivers.

Agricultural film locations include farms that produce wheat, barley, pears, apples, strawberries, asparagus, broccoli, carrots, potatoes, abalone, rock lobsters, dairy products, sheep, and cattle. Victoria mines coal, petroleum, and gas. Victoria also has vineyards. Commercial fishing vessels are available for filming. Energy locations include thermal fired power plants, solar and wind farms.

Victoria has hosted a long list of major motion pictures including La Brea (2021-), Upgrade (2018), The Dressmaker (2015), Charlotte’s Web (2006), Ned Kelly (2003), The Castle (1997), Round the Twist (1989-2001), Mad Max (1979), and Picnic At Hanging Rock (1975).

Film locations can be divided into the following regions:

Melbourne

Melbourne, located on Port Phillip Bay, along the Yarra River, is the state capital. The city is known for its Victorian-era buildings, museums, sporting and entertainment venues, universities, gardens, and markets. Melbourne doubles well for old European, and modern city looks.

Neighbourhoods of note include Toorak, South Yarra, St Kilda, Carlton, Chinatown, and Docklands.

Architecturally interesting buildings include the Shrine of Remembrance, City Baths, Manchester Unity Building, General Post Office, Nicholas Building, Hotel Windsor, Old Treasury Building, Melbourne Safe Deposit Building, Old Melbourne Gaol, Coop’s Shot Tower, Eureka Tower, and St Kilda Pier.

Government buildings of note include Parliament House, Government House, Melbourne Town Hall, St Kilda Town Hall, and the State Library of Victoria.

Museums include National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne Museum, Australian Centre for the Moving Image, Australian Centre For Contemporary Art, Fire Services Museum of Victoria, Australian Sports Museum, Immigration Museum, Heide Museum of Modern Art, Hellenic Museum, and Scienceworks.

Entertainment venues include Royal Exhibition Building, State Theatre, Hamer Hall, Melbourne Recital Centre, Princess Theatre, Festival Hall, Southbank Theatre, The Capitol, Palais Theatre, Flinders Street Station Ballroom, Crown Casino and Entertainment Complex, and Luna Park.

University of Melbourne buildings of note include Old Quad, Trinity College Trinity College, Ormond College, Newman College, Old Arts Building, Ian Potter Museum of Art, and the South Lawn Car Park which is a popular film destination.

Other universities of note include the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Monash University, and La Trobe University.

Religious buildings include St Patrick’s Cathedral, St Paul’s Cathedral, and the Australian Islamic Centre designed by Glenn Murcutt.

Gardens of note include Royal Botanic Gardens, Fitzroy Gardens, Carlton Gardens, St Kilda Botanical Gardens, and Flagstaff Gardens.

Markets of note include Queen Victoria Market, Block Arcade, Royal Arcade, and South Melbourne Market.

Sporting venues include Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne Park Tennis, Olympic Park Stadium, Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, Docklands Stadium, Punt Road Oval, and Melbourne Rowing Clubs on the Yarra River. Albert Park Circuit hosts the Formula One Australian Grand Prix.

Transport locations include Flinders Street Station, Southern Cross Station, Melbourne Tram and Train network, Port of Melbourne, and Tullamarine Airport.

Melbourne beaches of note include Port Melbourne Beach, St Kilda Beach, and Brighton Beach which is known for its colourful bathing boxes.

Werribee Park Mansion is a grand film location.

Kew Asylum is a decommissioned psychiatric facility available for filming.

Melbourne storm drain tunnels are available for filming.

The Organ Pipes are a unique rock formation on the outskirts of Melbourne.

Western Victoria

Great Ocean Road is a spectacular winding coastal road ideal for car commercials. Locations of note include the iconic 12 Apostles, London Arch, Torquay, Apollo Bay, Lorne, Bells Beach which is popular with big wave surfers, and Historic Split Point Lighthouse which was filmed for Round the Twist (1989–2001). The Great Ocean Walk traverses the distance. The area also has many beautiful coastal modern homes.

Great Otway National Park has a rugged coastline landscape of beaches, mountains, and waterfalls. The park is known for its tall forests, fern gullies, fungal diversity, and birdlife.

Port Campbell National Park is known for its spectacular sea cliff locations including The Twelve Apostles, the London Arch, Loch Ard Gorge, the Gibson Steps, and The Grotto.

Grampians National Park is known for its mountain ranges, forests, waterfalls, and aboriginal rock art. Film locations of note include the Pinnacle, Mackenzie Falls, and Brambuk National Park and Cultural Centre. The area is popular with rock climbers.

Murray-Sunset National Park is known for its pink lakes. The park has a diversity of birdlife.

Geelong is a port city known for the Geelong Waterfront, Geelong Library and Heritage Centre, Geelong Town Hall, St Mary of the Angels Basilica, Geelong Art Gallery, and Geelong Gaol.

Ballarat is a Gold Rush city known for its Victorian era buildings. Film locations include Ballarat Town Hall, Ballarat Post Office, Art Gallery of Ballarat, Craig’s Royal Hotel, Provincial Hotel, Her Majesty’s Theatre Ballarat, Ballarat Mechanics’ Institute, Ballarat Fire Station, St Patrick’s Cathedral, Ballarat Railway Station, Ballarat Synagogue, Ballarat Municipal Observatory, Ballarat Tramway Museum, Ballarat Aviation Museum, Federation University Australia, Sovereign Hill, Kryal Castle, and Ballarat Botanical Gardens.

Ararat is known for the buildings formerly used for the Aradale Asylum, Ararat Town Hall, and Ararat Hospital.

Murtoa Stick Shed is a unique rural shed structure.

Northern Victoria

Bendigo film locations include Sacred Heart Cathedral, Bendigo Town Hall, Bendigo Post Office, Shamrock Hotel, Capital Theatre, Bendigo Art Gallery, Golden Dragon Museum, Bendigo Botanic Gardens, Queen Elizabeth Oval, Fortuna Villa, Bendigo Joss House Temple, The Great Stupa of Universal Compassion, and Central Deborah Gold Mine.

Daylesford is a holistic health spa town, set in a forested hill landscape.

Hanging Rock was filmed for Picnic At Hanging Rock (1975).

Alpine National Park is known for its mountainous landscapes and bogs.

Ski resorts of note include Mt Buller, Falls Creek, and Mount Hotham.

Steavenson Falls are a beautiful film location.

Yarra Valley wineries of note include Hubert Estate, Rochford Wines, Oakridge Wines, Coombe Farm, and De Bortoli Wines.

Eastern Victoria

Mornington Peninsula, particularly for its wineries in Red Hill and secluded beaches in Mount Eliza and Mornington, The Pillars in Mount Martha, Arthur’s Seat and the coastal attractions of Portsea, Sorrento and Flinders.

Dandenong Ranges National Park includes Doongalla Forest, Ferntree Gully, Mount Evelyn Forest, Olinda Forest, and Sherbrooke Forest.

Wilsons Promontory National Park is a landscape of rainforests, and beaches. Wildlife includes kangaroos, wombats, echidnas, emus, swamp wallabies, whales, dolphins, seals, sea lions, penguins, and a diversity of birdlife.

Mount Buffalo National Park is a mountain plateau landscape known for its striking granite boulders and rock formations which are popular with rock climbers. Wildlife of note includes kangaroos, wallabies, wombats, possums, sugar gliders, peregrine falcons, and bogong moths.

Phillip Island is known for Summerland Beach penguins, the Nobbies and Seal Rocks, and the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix Circuit.

Dandenong Ranges Botanic Garden is a beautiful film location.

Ashcombe hedge maze is located in Shoreham.

Yallourn W power station is available for filming.

Victoria Film Location Permits 

Location Permits. Saturday afternoon and Sunday are the best times to film in Melbourne’s downtown business district. All other times are much more restricted. Most inner city locations requiring exclusive use of public space require at least 7 days to process permits. Tracking shots and road closures require up to 10 days. Locations outside of major cities are easier to permit. Please contact us for location specific information.

Insurance. It’s also important to note that most locations require proof of public liability insurance of at least $20 million.

When To Shoot?

Victoria is famous for experiencing four seasons in one day. The summer months from December to February are hot and dry. Autumn from March to May cools down. The winter months from May to August are cold and wet, with snow falling in mountain areas. Spring warms up from September to November.

For monthly weather statistics please see here.

Events of interest to filmmakers and photographers include:

• Australian Open Tennis Grand Slam takes place in Melbourne in January.
• Formula One Australian Grand Prix is held in Melbourne in March / April.
• Melbourne International Comedy Festival in March / April.
• Bells Beach Surf Classic in April.
• Stawell Gift foot race in April.
• Grand Annual Steeplechase held at Warrnambool in May.
• Melbourne International Film Festival in August.
• AFL Grand Final takes place in Melbourne in September.
• Melbourne Fringe Festival in September / October.
• Australian motorcycle Grand Prix takes place on Phillip Island in October.
• The Melbourne Cup, the horse race that stops a nation, is held in November.
• Australian Masters golf tournament in November.
• The Boxing Day Cricket Test Match takes place in Melbourne, starting on the 26th December.

Public holidays may affect timing, availability and costs. See here for public holiday dates in Australia.

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.

Costs & Tax Incentives

Costs. Recent devaluations in the Australian dollar have made filming in Australia a more cost competitive option. Distance is a major expense. Both in terms of getting to Australia as well as getting around Australia (the country is roughly the size of the US Lower 48). Australia is a very well established and sophisticated production centre so factors of production cost accordingly. Post production is one area that remains a cost saving attraction with high quality post 30-40% less expensive than in the US. Ultimately, whatever the project, our locally based fixers and service producers will negotiate deals and provide the appropriate level of production support to match every budget.

Tax Incentives. Australia offers qualifying co-productions a Producer Offset 40% tax rebate for feature films, and a Producer Offset 30% tax rebate for documentaries, TV series, telemovies, and short form animation. Some states may offer additional production incentives. For more information visit AUSFILM. There are no tax incentives for commercials.

Film Crew & Talent

Crews. Melbourne has a very good experienced pool of directors, directors of photography and stills photographers, several being of the highest international standard. Professional and technical crews have had decades of experience servicing long and short-form projects from all over the world. The result is a very deep pool of well trained crew with a great attitude and a world-class reputation.

Contact us if you are looking for a director, DoP / cinematographer, videographer / camera operator, stills photographer, or any other film crew for your shoot in Melbourne, Australia.

If you are an exceptionally talented Melbourne based director, DoP / cinematographer, videographer / camera operator, or stills photographer, introduce yourself here.

Talent is union and non-union. Talent buyouts are negotiable since the Offshore Agreement expired. For more information about the talent union please visit MEAA.

English is the official language but given Australia’s culturally diverse population, hundreds of other languages are also spoken.

Australia boasts a very large and experienced pool of multicultural talent. The majority of Australians are of European decent. The country’s large population of Asian actors and models makes it a popular destination for visiting productions from Japan, Korea, China and India. Australia also has talent minorities of Pacific Islander and African decent.

Heading outside of the cities, filmmakers and photographers can find a wealth of aboriginal cultures.

Australia also offers unique animals for filming including kangaroos, crocodiles, koalas, wombats, emus, and a wide variety of birds, bugs, and reptiles.

Fringes. Crew are either Company or Pay As You Go (PAYG). If the crew member is Company then they take care of their own superannuation and in some cases, workers compensation. Some crew members with Australian Business Numbers require workers compensation to be paid for them. If crew is PAYG then we must pay an additional 9% superannuation and 3% workers compensation. There is a 6% payroll tax.

Premiums. Australia has an eight hour shooting day, time and a half for the next two hours and double time after that. Shooting after 8:00pm is a 25% loading. Sunday is a 100% loading. The industry is currently campaigning for a 10 hour day.

Victoria Film Equipment

Equipment. Australia offers both Panavision and Arri equipment as well as many boutique equipment companies. There is a great depth of standard and more specialised camera gear including digital cameras (Alexa, RED, Sony, Canon), film cameras (16mm and 35mm), high speed cameras (Phantom), Three-axis stabilized heads (Scorpio, Libra), Motion Control, and much more.

Unlike the US system most gear is provided by individual crew. Grip and lighting trucks are privately owned by crew who accompany them to set. Anything required in addition to this is outsourced. Crew charge a rate for the truck and then individually for lights and gripping gear, burn time and labour rates. Australia offers a great variety of standard and specialised grip and lighting gear including cranes (Technocrane, Phoenix, Giraffe), 3D camera rigs, car rigs, tracking vehicles, sea rigs, helicopter mounts, and underwater housing. Companies of note include Panavision, Red Apple, Brownie Grips, and Big Toys.

For productions looking to bring in film equipment, Australia is an ATA carnet country.

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.

Art Department, Studios, Backlots, & Post Production

Art department and set construction. Victoria has very experienced art department and set construction crews.

Studios. Facilities are extensive and state of the art. Both major international studios and smaller boutique studios are present. Docklands Studios has extensive facilities including sound stages.

Post Production. Victoria offers a variety of high standard post facilities including VFX, animation, editing, and film labs.

Visas & Work Permits

Short stay visa for visits under three months or business visas (meetings) are the most expedient way of gaining entry to Australia. Please note that you cannot attend meetings through the Tourist stream and may be turned around at the airport if there is suspicion in relation to your motives whilst in Australia. In addition, the business holiday visa can only be to attend meetings, sign contracts or undertake (limited) training. Any activity that would normally attract remuneration would need a work visa.

Productions that intend to stay longer than 3 months require Entertainment Visas, unless the production is not being shown in Australia, then a subclass 400 visa will be required.

For international crew to enter into Australia for work purposes, they must be covered by a subclass 408, Entertainment Visa. The local service company sponsors each visitor. For a 408 application the service company also needs to get approval from MEAA, the local Entertainment Union. To process the sponsorship visas, MEAA requires to see the deal memos between the overseas production company and each crew personnel. A similar thing has to be done with the cast’s deal memos as well.

Western passport holders travelling as tourists can an obtain an Electronic Travel Authority prior to departure. Passport holders of EU nations can enter under the E-visa program. Both allow stays of up to 90 days. Given recent changes to Australian immigration policy we would only advise travelling to Australia as a tourist if you intend to only undertake genuine tourist visa activities. Anyone found working on the wrong visa will be deported from Australia and face an immediate three-year ban from applying for temporary Australian visas.

Our local service producer / fixer can assist with organising Australian visas, including turning around last-minute applications.

Transport & Accommodation

Transportation Infrastructure. Major roads are up to international standards. Some outback roads require 4WD transport. Australia is serviced by most major international carriers and several domestic airlines.

Accommodation. See here for recommended film friendly hotels in Melbourne.

Final Notes

Safety. Victoria is a very safe and reliable filming centre. Strict work place procedures also ensure safety on set. See here for up to date travel advice.

Down Time. Enjoy Melbourne’s cafe culture, museums, and world class sporting events.

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 Victoria, please see below:

Hire Victoria Production Support & Shooting Crew

If you are looking for a film or photographic production service company, line producer or fixer for your shoot in Victoria, please contact us.

If you are looking for a shooting crew for your shoot in Victoria, 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.