Filming a Galileo show on how Brazilian oranges become juice in Germany

Jackie Wyant • Dec 23, 2021

What does it take to go from an orange tree in São Paulo to a carton of orange juice on a store shelf almost 10,000 Km away in Germany? That’s what Romero & Braas hired a Story Productions crew to shoot for popular German TV show Galileo

Germany is one of the top importers of Brazilian-produced orange juice, but how many Germans stop to think about the production process as they take a sip of chilled juice over breakfast? That was what a Story Productions crew set out to capture on a recent shoot for TV show Galileo, broadcast on the ProSieben television network.


We provided research, fixer and filming services for our Mexican client Romero & Braas to produce a special report on how orange juice goes from a farm in the state of São Paulo to store shelves in Germany. Our client wished to follow the entire process, from the gruelling work of harvesting the fruits from thorny trees in 30ºC (86ºF) weather in head-to-toe protective clothing to processing the juice as concentrate before shipment. Watch the TV report: 

Our multilingual Brazilian production crew spent 2.5 days on location at a farm in the rural interior of São Paulo with the German presenter for Galileo plus the Mexican producer/creative director from Romero & Braas. 


The TV report was broadcast in November, and published on the Galileo YouTube channel which has more than 3 million subscribers. Within just a few days of going live, the clip had racked up more than 50,000 views. 

Filming during the pandemic

Preventing the transmission of Covid-19 is an ever present challenge for Brazilian production companies, and indeed production companies around the world. Story Productions requires all crew on site to provide a negative test result up to 72 hours before arrival on set or location—which is not an issue as tests are easily available at any pharmacy in São Paulo at an affordable price.


The crew is provided with proper PPE, such as PFF2 masks (1 for every 4 hours), gloves and face shields. Hand sanitizer and disinfectants are always available on set, even if running water isn’t easily accessible (such as in the middle of an orange grove). 

Bridging language barriers

A common issue on shoots with cast and crew from around the world is the language barrier. Interviewers cannot always rely on their native language when filming abroad.


Fortunately, the Story Productions crew isn’t limited to Portuguese; with the help of crew members who speak English and Spanish, the German TV presenter and Mexican creative director was able to communicate easily with the production crew, as well as conduct informative interviews with the local farmers and workers.

Other challenges

Farming has its good days and its bad days—orange juice production is no exception. While every part of the filming process was planned in advance, it’s almost impossible to predict the volume of harvest on any given day. When it became apparent that the orange harvest would be insufficient on one of the shoot days, the Brazilian film crew took the opportunity to shoot more in depth footage of the tiring work of the pickers in the orange grove. The German presenter even had a go at harvesting. 


Story Productions kept a close eye on costs throughout the production, making sure to stick to the agreed budget, covering transport, logistics and meals for the crew. We rented high-spec equipment in São Paulo for the shoot including a drone and a Blackmagic Pocket 4k. 


As a full service creative company with a global outlook, we’d love to make your production our next story. Contact us today to discover how we can work together.

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