Shooting in Mexico starts with on-the-ground precision.
Zero friction at customs, airtight permits and a top-tier local crew working at your pace. Your creative vision intact, delivered on time and on budget.
What's included
Scouting and permits
Locations with legal backing, and the access Google will not show you.
- Brief-driven search with photographed options, floor plans and sun orientation
- Filing with Filma CDMX, INAH, state authorities, boroughs and private owners
- Authorisation letters, street closures, drone use and height permits
- A fallback location for every critical day on the calendar
Customs and gear
Your kit reaches the set instead of sitting in customs.
- ATA carnet or temporary importation: valued list, pedimento and customs broker
- Reception at AICM or AIFA and escorted transfer to set
- Equivalent local rental when it beats importing
- Re-export and carnet close-out with no open charges
Qualified local crew
People I have worked with, not a list of phone numbers.
- Camera assistants, digitech, gaffer, grip, electricians and field production
- Bilingual in every position that talks to the client
- Contracted with tax documentation and proper registration
- Scales by the day: from one fixer to a crew of forty
Vendor network
The full supply chain, negotiated in local currency.
- Studios and stages in and around Mexico City: cyc, daylight, real height
- Casting and models, agencies and local talent; hair and make-up
- High-end camera and lighting rental — Arri, Aputure, Profoto, Broncolor
- Catering with dietary needs, transport, vans, cranes and picture vehicles
Video village
The client sees what is happening and understands what is said.
- Client monitor, video assist and colour reference on the floor
- Simultaneous translation: nobody nods without understanding
- Shot log and client sign-off setup by setup
- Selects from the day delivered before the wrap
Ground logistics
Moving gear and people through a city that does not forgive.
- Call sheets, run-of-day and daily movement of people and equipment
- Lodging, per diem and travel costs with receipt control
- Production insurance, liability and equipment cover
- Real contingencies: rainy season, traffic, road blocks and hold days
Budget and close-out
A number that holds from the first call to the last invoice.
- Budget in pesos with the exchange rate fixed and contingency declared
- Daily spend tracked against what you approved, visible to you
- Mexican invoicing (CFDI) and withholdings handled
- Close-out with documentation and a final variance report
How it works
- 01
Brief and feasibility
24 – 48 hYou send the script, moodboard or shot list. I come back with what is possible on your dates, what needs a special permit, and what simply cannot happen — before you buy tickets.
- 02
Budget and scouting
3 – 7 daysLine-by-line budget in pesos with the exchange rate fixed. Photographed scouting of the actual locations, not a stock library.
- 03
Prep
1 – 3 weeksPermits filed, crew confirmed, gear imported or rented, vendors locked, call sheets and run-of-day in your hands.
- 04
Shoot and close-out
Shoot days + 5Full floor operation with video village. On wrap: documentation, invoicing and a variance report against the budget.
Typical timings. INAH permits and public street closures can take longer — which is why feasibility gets answered first.
How to engage
Fixer by the day
Your production is already built and just needs someone to open doors, translate and solve.
Production coordination
Me plus whatever crew and vendors the job needs. You keep creative and budget control.
Turnkey
The whole production on me against a closed budget. You show up and shoot.
Price depends on days, locations, crew size and whether gear is being imported. Send dates and a brief and I will come back with a real number.
Accounts and credits
Film and streaming
Local production coordination in Mexico, via 3 Star Productions (Pasadena, CA) · 2014–2023. Not a photography credit.
A Million Miles Away — 2023
Advertising
Television
Content production and making-of.
Track record
Local Production Coordinator, Mexico
Local production coordination for international Mexico–US shoots across film, streaming and advertising: logistics, permits, local crew, locations and full set operation with the foreign client present.
Founder & Producer
Advertising, editorial and portrait studio. Full production: concept, art direction, set, shoot, post and invoiced delivery. The production operation closed in 2026; photography continues as an authored line.
Founder
Design, web and film that grew into media production. Making-of and website for El Pantera season 3; graphics, editing and title sequences for Historias Delirantes; corporate portrait for Sanofi.
Founder & CEO
Health SaaS ecosystem for practitioners in Mexico and LATAM, on self-hosted infrastructure.
Common questions
How long does a permit take?
On Mexico City public streets, five to ten business days. Archaeological sites and monuments (INAH), three to six weeks, and not always granted. Private locations, a matter of days. That is why the first answer I give you is about feasibility, not price.
Can I bring my own gear?
Yes: ATA carnet or temporary importation. I need the valued list about ten days ahead. Camera, glass and lighting come in without drama; drones and prop weapons have their own filing and need more time.
Who invoices, and in what currency?
I invoice in Mexico with CFDI, and the budget is built in pesos with the exchange rate fixed so currency swings do not eat your contingency. If your production company needs to pay a US entity, we look at it case by case.
Do you work outside Mexico City?
Yes. Base is Coyoacán and I operate nationwide. Outside the Valley of Mexico, crew travel, lodging and per diem get added — and they are declared in the budget from the start.
How big can the crew get?
From just me up to about forty people. Above that I build it with an allied production house and keep coordinating the floor.
When is the best time to shoot in Mexico?
November to May is dry and stable. June to October it rains most afternoons: you shoot early or with cover. Easter week and December push prices up and tie up lodging and equipment.
What if nobody on my team speaks Spanish?
That is exactly the point. Every dealing with authorities, vendors and crew goes through me in Spanish; with you the conversation is in English, and video village gets real-time translation.