Client: RTL Group, Germany

A language barrier is one thing but cultural barriers can be many and varied. Overcoming them calls for a team that understands both perspectives – something which Story, with its overseas background and feet firmly rooted in Brazil, does consistently well.

Navigating tricky situations, getting the best out of interviewees, opening doors to people and places, side stepping bureaucracy and finding creative solutions to problems were all day-to-day tasks for the Story Productions fixer and camera operator that accompanied the RTL team on dozens of shoots across Brazil over the course of 5 years. All of which allowed RTL to stay focused on the shoot and their deadline.

During the 2014 Fifa World Cup, an intense production schedule took RTL and Story on the road every day for a month, dashing between host cities, and sending footage, stand-ups and edited reports to the network back in Germany every day. Two years later, another major international tournament and the same tight daily deadlines were yet again navigated by RTL with the support of a Story fixer and camera operator throughout the 2016 Rio Olympic Games.

 “The Story Productions team were always calm and very professional, helping to solve problems one by one,” Fuchs tells us. “But you can’t underestimate the cultural barriers. We considered flying in a German camera operator for The World Cup, but it was so much better with a local. They had the initiative to step in at the right time, the sensitivity to avoid cultural clashes. They’ve worked abroad, they understand the European perspective, and are great translators of cultural bridges.”

Having a way with people can make or break a shoot – a Story Productions skills that proved invaluable; “The Story cameraman was really able to connect with people and make them feel comfortable,” says Fuchs. That personal approach also opens doors which might otherwise stay shut no matter how much research or advance telephone calls are made. A case in point – RTL plans to film Brazil’s military police training on horseback. Dealing with the police press department barely got the crew past the front door, but the Story producer was able to convince the police chief to not only allow RTL to film their training but a display of grenade launches was laid on. “Story opened doors to things that wouldn’t have happened otherwise. You can’t underestimate how a personal approach can make all the difference in getting access to things. It’s hard sometimes for Europeans to understand this and deliver this.”

From sleeping in hammocks with an indigenous community in the Amazon Rainforest, to love motels in Rio, to meeting a community with a rare skin condition in rural Goiás and the glitzy finals of the Miss Bumbum Brasil competition, thanks Benjamin, for all the adventures.