Terra X is filmed in the Amazon Rainforest

Gently flowing rivers and purple sunsets over the green forest canopy are the images of the Amazon that most of us see, through our social media filter bubbles. It’s precisely what we don’t see, though, that would tell us most about the reality of this vast swathe of northern Brazil and beyond. Where boats are the main means of transport, where average annual rainfall is between 2 and 6 metres (yes, metres) and where a Story Productions camera assistant lost a shoe last week, so thick and deep was the mud.

Filming in the Amazon is a daunting prospect for foreign crews, for a good reason. It’s one of the most challenging environments to work in, but Story Productions has plenty of experience under its belt; we spent much of last year, for example, supporting Sharp Entertainment in the Amazon for a strand of its reality series 90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days.

Terra preta (“black soil”) – a dark, incredibly fertile earth found in the Amazon Basin – was the focus of last week’s shoot which included interviews with a scientist, local farmers, boat trips on tributaries of the Negro River, filming in the forest and even excavating a deep hole to reveal the rich earth (see below). The 2-day shoot was intense, not least since it rained almost incessantly on the first day, which meant covering a 2-day schedule in just one. Not to mention the challenge of protecting the crew's equipment from water, cleaning the mud off it at the end of each day and transporting it safely between each location – via boat as well as along miles of pot-hole laden dirt tracks.

For the German production company, having a bilingual crew on the ground was essential. Story Productions provided an English- and German-speaking Brazilian camera assistant and sound operator who was up and running instantly with their equipment, and able to mediate between the visiting crew and the locals. And all with less than a fortnight’s notice. But that’s all in a day’s work for Story Productions.

Planning a shoot in the Amazon? How can we help you overcome the challenges of filming in the world’s largest tropical rainforest? Get in touch for a quote. And watch this space for more details to follow shortly on what to think about when planning a shoot in the Amazon Rainforest.