Des volcans et des hommes » (« Living with volcanoes ») is a series of 20 documentaries and 5 films produced by Les Bons Clients and broadcast by ARTE.
20 volcanoes filmed on 5 continents and narrated by Arnaud Guérin , a photographer and geologist specializing in volcanology… This titanic challenge required over a year of preparation by several teams and several film crews on location.
Media Fixer was responsible for the preparation and on-site coordination of 2 volcanoes in Guatemala: Fuego and Santiaguito.
Preparing for the shoot
It took 2 months of full-time work to prepare these 2 documentaries. The first phase involved research and documentation, in constant collaboration with the production company’s teams of investigators in France. Then, once the broad outlines had been defined, a second phase for the physical location scouting in Guatemala, the casting of contributors and the setting up of logistics.
We scoured a good part of Guatemala in search of charismatic characters, indigenous communities and possible ritual ceremonies around volcanoes, scientific speakers and inhabitants directly concerned by the dangers of these active volcanoes.
The location scouting phase also includes all requests for filming permits from the relevant authorities, and in particular from scientific bodies working on the analysis and prevention of volcanic eruptions.
Once all the theoretical and practical information has been passed on to the production team, we draw up a script that tells a story, a journey… We then draw up a shooting schedule, which we try to follow to the letter on location. This is a complex phase, because it remains theoretical and is often confronted with an unpredictable reality on location (weather conditions, availability of participants, blocked roads or difficult access…). ), especially when shooting about natural phenomena.
Filming
The film crew was made up of 4 people:
– director/ cinematographer: Jean-Luc Guidoin
– presenter: Arnaud Guérin
– cinematographer ( 2ᵉ camera and sound ) : Sylvain George
– the Media Fixer : Alejandra Segura
In total, filming took place over 15 days in Guatemala for the 2 documentaries.
Filming conditions were often difficult, notably due to the proximity of erupting volcanoes and their discharge (smoke, lava, toxic ash…), but also to the state of the roads and access paths to the various sites.
The fixer’s work is then essentially focused on logistics (transport, hotels, food, etc.) and local coordination with the people involved to ensure the smooth running of the shoot. He also handles simultaneous translations.
The result is 2 superb documentaries, each lasting 26 minutes, which are visually very successful and culturally very interesting, with moving encounters with indigenous communities and the local scientific community.
The documentary on the Santiaguito volcano was the best-viewed on ARTE in France. A particularly enriching experience to add to our already long experience of fixing in Latin America!
