Production Q&A

Welcome to the Courage Production Q&A hub. We’ve written this page as a resource for our clients: agencies from around the world, Italian and international brands, and production companies and their producers who need to produce high-level photo and film shoots in Italy for their clients. We believe in transparency and seamless collaboration with all. Here you'll find a few clear, direct answers to some possible logistical, technical, and service questions about our production process.

Q: Do you have your own photo studio in Milan, or do you also work with external ones?

A: We are flexible and we work in both ways. We have our own private, fully-equipped studio in Milan, brand new and currently undergoing renovation (completing early 2026), and we also maintain strong partnerships with all major professional studios across the city, where we also shoot all the time in particular for larger projects or for film projects that require much more space.

This dual approach gives us the flexibility to scale to any project's needs.

1. Our Private Studio
For many photo, e-commerce, and lookbook shoots, our in-house studio is the perfect solution. It is a 250m2 + production-ready space featuring:

• An 8-meter high ceiling
• A 6.5m wide cyc wall (limbo)
• It’s located in the center of Milan just 200m away from Lodi tube station

2. Our Network of Studio Partners
When a project requires a specific large-scale set, or a location in a different part of the city, we have long-standing relationships with every major studio in Milan, allowing us to manage the entire studio production in the space that is most suitable for your campaign.

Q: Your company is based in Milan. Can you manage productions in other parts of Italy, like Tuscany, Sicily, or Venice?

A: Absolutely. While our headquarters and main studio are in Milan, we operate as a full-service production company across all of Italy. We have extensive experience managing all types of projects from high-end editorial photo shoots to larger film productions everywhere in Italy. It’s our core business, our specialization, and we are among the few main production companies in Italy, shooting a great number of projects in other areas of the country.

Our production team and and our local location manager and line producers are ready to handle all logistics in key destinations, including:

• Venice (quite peculiar for it’s “on water” logistics and special transportation and permits)
• Tuscany (incredible villas on it’s iconic hills or on the sea)
• Sicily & the Amalfi Coast
• Lake Como and the Alps

Our process ensures you receive the same level of service, crew quality, and seamless control whether the shoot is in Milan or on a remote location. We handle all location scouting and public permitting nationwide as part of our production service.

Q: Do you provide single 'fixers' or basic crew, or do you only manage the entire production?

A: We are a very flexible team, but we do not offer 'fixer' or single-crews, or rental services alone, as our business model (as it is for most professional production companies) is to manage most of the production workflow. Projects usually fall in two main categories for us:

1. Production Services: We act as your dedicated local partner in Italy. This is ideal for clients who prefer to handle their own 'art buying' (like the main photographer, director, or talent). We then manage all essential local production services, including location scout and permits, local set design, equipment rentals, transportation logistics, catering, local photo, film and glam crew (styling, hair and make up). If needed we also handle casting and models/actors and accommodations and meals.

2. Full Productions: This is something usually happening with local clients, italian fashion brands and agencies seeking help here. With them we manage the entire project or a hybrid in between model were we handle some part of the projects only, like it can be art buying of a local director or photographer, and the post production.

Again, as you know producing campaigns is a very particular job and each project is different from the other. Averaging 100 shoot days a year we come across all sorts of needs and budgets and we try to accommodate all if they are within our production workflow and standards.

Q: Can your team and the local crews you hire on the jobs work on a shoot in fluent English?

A: Yes, absolutely. This is a mandatory requirement for how we pick crews and a fundamental part of our service for international clients.

All of our in-house producers are fluent in English, and we guarantee that all key on-set crew members (such as the 1st AD, Director of Photography, or Gaffer, Stylist, h&m, etc.) also speak a very good level of English. This ensures communication is clear and seamless from pre-production meetings to the shoot days on set.

Also, for specific client needs, our main producers can also be assisted by professionals who can communicate fluently in French and Chinese.

Q: Do you have your in-house location database, or do you rely on external agencies or location managers?

A: We are flexible as every project has a different background and different needs (and often our clients come to us after having already picked a location via an agency; we are totally fine with that too). We have built over time our own archive decks of locations in Italy. This includes "most requested" areas like Lake Como villas, Milan design apartments, modernist villas in the north of Italy or villas in Tuscany, and public location decks for Rome, Sicily, Venice, Puglia, the Italian Alps, or the Amalfi Coast.

This archive (covering both private and public spaces, such as streets, cute towns, or beaches) allows us to respond to briefs with better info on our end, without the need to start a location scout which requires the project to have been confirmed. We are usually able to share some location ideas in the first stages of the pitch without costs or the project being awarded. Just drop us a line to see what we have in mind for your campaign

Q: How long does it take to get public permits for shooting in Italy?

A: This is an important part of our workflow. The "permit application time" begins after the client has approved the final locations (which itself can require up to a week for organizing and receiving scouting).

• Faster Municipalities (towns like Milan or Portofino): 1 week to 10 days. We always advise clients to consider 2 weeks, as 1 week is never guaranteed.
• Slow (Rome, Florence): 20+ days.

Our Service: We manage this entire timeline internally, directly with our production team for some areas, or via freelance location managers we have in other regions in Italy, ensuring all scouting, applications, and paperwork are handled correctly to avoid last-minute risks or copyright infringement.

Q: Do some cities or landmarks in Italy require specific image rights (buyouts) to be paid?

A: Yes, this is an important legal and economic point. While 90% of Italian municipalities do not require specific image rights for public spaces and just need government permits, some of the most famous landmarks do.

These rights are separate from standard public permits and have been established due to decades of high-profile film and photo use. The two most notable examples are:

• The Colosseum (Rome): Commercial use can require a significant buyout, with costs starting at 20k euros, depending on the usage.
• The City of Venice: As of mid-2025, Venice has implemented a general image right for most commercial shoots within the city, regardless of famous monuments or squares framed in the shoot.

As your production partner, we navigate and clarify these specific costs during the budgeting and location scouting phase to ensure there are no surprises once your work is published.

Q: What are the standard working hours and overtime rules for film and photo crews in Italy?

A: This is a crucial part of budgeting correctly for a shoot in Italy, as standards are often union-regulated. Specifics vary between photo and film crews. Since the film/video crew is the only one unionized and enforcing the regulation (in Italy the main commercial film crew associations are CPA and APMAL), your shoot day should be based on their rules in case part of your shoot involves film crews (like the gaffer, the 1stAC, the grip):

Film crew regulation:

• Maximum 12 hours per working day (11 hours + 1 hour break), or maximum 13 hours if some travel is involved to get to set.
• Base Hours (examples):
  • 8+1 (4 hours overtime for a full 12-hour shoot day): Camera Department, Light Department, Grip Department, Sound Department
  • 11+1 (no overtime): Production department, Location Department, Assistant Directors, Directors, DoPs, Set Design team
• The first 2 OT hours are single; the second two OT hours are charged double.

There are other specific hour schemes, such as prolonged-hour days (for shoots without breaks) or night shifts; please contact us if your shoot requires particular setups.

• Sundays & Holidays: On Sundays and public holidays, Italian film crews charge double rates.
• Photo crews: The standard working day is 9+1 (10 hours total), after which overtime is calculated as single hours.

We always provide a detailed budget breakdown of all crew costs based on your schedule. This avoids surprises and ensures your production complies with all local standards.

Q: Can our team (e.g., from the US or UK) just use Uber or local taxis instead of dedicated production transport?

A: This is not a common question, but it comes up often with clients, in particular on medium-size and smaller projects where the brand or the international production is taking care of more services to optimize their budget. It's important to discuss this for a smooth production. The answer is no; we strongly advise against it.

Ride-hailing apps are not available outside of central Milan or Rome (and even in these cities, they exist only as a luxury service). In key production areas like the Amalfi Coast or Lake Como, local taxis are often scarce, unreliable, and incredibly expensive.

Relying on them creates a high risk of delays; teams can get stuck at hotels, arriving late to set. Our transportation logistics with private vans and drivers is not an 'extra'; it is an essential part of the workflow to ensure your entire team and talent are on set, on time, every time.