Video Production in São Paulo
Our headquarters and production base in Brazil: an ANCINE-registered production company that films across the country for brands and production companies at home and abroad. Proposals in US dollars, from $5,000.
Our office in Brooklin, São Paulo
About half of our revenue comes from clients outside Brazil. São Paulo is where we make their films happen.
Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Brasília Time. English, Spanish and Portuguese.
Why companies from abroad film with us
As a production company registered with ANCINE, we can take legal responsibility for a foreign shoot in Brazil. Our São Paulo team plans and finishes every project, and our crew has flown to more than 50 Brazilian cities.
Why São Paulo: Brazil’s production capital
São Paulo is Brazil’s largest city and home to the Brazilian offices of many multinational companies. It is also the country’s busiest filming city: the city processes about 1,000 audiovisual productions a year, and about half of them are commercials, according to the Spcine production guide. For a company filming in Brazil, that means experienced crews, rental houses, studios and post-production facilities within reach of one office.
Our office is on Avenida das Nações Unidas, in Brooklin Novo, one of the city’s business districts. It is our headquarters: the place where five full-time team members plan, direct and finish every project, and where our network of more than 200 freelance professionals is coordinated. Most of those professionals have worked with us for more than a decade, and each crew is put together for the project, according to its budget, client and style. Projects are led by Caroline Mendonça, our co-founder and creative director, and Silas Oliveira, our CEO.
Everything that does not need a camera also happens here: pre-production, scriptwriting, animation, editing, color, sound and AI. That includes the post-production of projects filmed elsewhere, such as our shoots in Miami. When you film with us in São Paulo, the people who prepare the shoot are the same people who finish the film.
Foreign productions in Brazil, with a registered local partner
When a company from another country films in Brazil, Brazilian rules require a Brazilian production company registered with ANCINE, the national film agency, to take responsibility for the shoot. We are registered, and we have done this many times for clients and production companies from abroad. We sign the production agreement with you, file the prior communication to ANCINE with the contract and the filming schedule, and run the shoot with our own crew. According to gov.br, the service is free and ANCINE issues its letter within up to five business days of a complete submission.
Many of these projects are directed from abroad. For KPMG’s global series, the creative director of a UK production company followed our shoot in Belo Horizonte from London and asked the interview questions live. Read the KPMG case, or see how our multi-market production model keeps one standard across countries.
Filming in São Paulo: the local logistics
What we handle before the shoot, so your team only has to think about the film.
01.
Permits for streets and public spaces
Filming in streets and municipal facilities is authorized by the São Paulo Film Commission, part of Spcine, the city’s film agency, through a single online procedure. We file the request and plan the shoot around it. Spcine’s FILME SP app lists municipal locations with technical information, photos and prices, according to the Spcine production guide.
02.
ANCINE communication
For foreign productions, we file the prior communication to ANCINE as the responsible Brazilian company, with the contract between our companies, the filming schedule and the passport details of each foreign professional.
03.
Traffic and vehicle rotation
On weekdays, cars are restricted in the expanded city center from 7 to 10 a.m. and from 5 to 8 p.m., based on the last digit of the license plate. Crew vehicles, call times and company moves are planned around it.
04.
Studios
We do not own a studio. For studio shoots we book spaces we know well, one in Vila Olímpia and another in Pinheiros, chosen for the size, the set and the budget of each project.
05.
Time zone
São Paulo runs on Brasília Time (UTC-3), with no daylight saving time. That is one or two hours ahead of New York and three or four hours behind London, depending on the season, so a remotely directed shoot fits a normal working day on both sides.
06.
Languages and casting
Interviews in Portuguese are subtitled or voiced for international use, and English-speaking talent is cast locally: the Tuvis brand film was cast in English in São Paulo, and the Wizard by Pearson series was filmed with native English speakers.
A 90-second English-language brand film for Tuvis, filmed in São Paulo with an English-speaking cast, followed by teasers and customer success videos filmed at Vivo, Sem Parar and SumUp. The work won Gold for promotional video production at the Prêmio ABC. Read the Tuvis case.
The trailer is public. The full film is available on request.
Google reviews
What clients say about our São Paulo team
Excerpts from reviews on our São Paulo Google Business Profile, translated from Portuguese. See the profile on Google Maps.
Alberto Ferreira Franco
International-level quality
“Excellent service. A team 100% committed to the quality of the delivery, quality at the level of a foreign company. What I admire most about Olive Tree is the level of excellence in their organization.”
Natasha Sena
Organized with schedules
“A very competent production company. A good price, quality delivery and very organized with schedules. I have worked with them for more than a year and trust them with new challenges.”
Ana Carolina Zambon
About three weeks
“From the first meeting to the final video in our hands, it took about three weeks. A serious, competent, fast team, free of bureaucracy.”
Where we film: studios, offices and plants
Most of our São Paulo work happens where the story is. For Certta, we turned a corporate space into four themed sets, one for each sector the company serves, and finished with a scene at a nearby restaurant, all in one shooting day. For Wizard by Pearson, the English lessons were filmed in studios, homes, hotels and restaurants. For OpenText, we filmed corporate b-roll at a variety of locations, and for Tuvis, the brand film was shot in an office in the city.
Industrial work takes us to the metropolitan region. For Rossetti, a manufacturer of tipper bodies and semitrailers, we filmed the brand film in one day at the plant in Guarulhos, with aerial and ground cameras. When a project needs a controlled set, we move to one of the studios we use in Vila Olímpia or Pinheiros. Read the Certta case and the Rossetti case.
More Google reviews
Partners who come back
More excerpts from our São Paulo Google Business Profile, translated from Portuguese.
Neto, Agência Choveu
A partner on client projects
“We work with Olive as our partner on projects for our clients, and they are true partners, reliable, with quality work and a very positive cost-benefit ratio.”
Banco PSA
Committed to the deadline
“A dynamic production company with great service. Good value for money and always committed to the agreed deadline.”
Embratop
Attentive from start to finish
“We made our company’s institutional video with them. They were attentive from start to finish. We had several meetings, and everything was always well explained. High quality, commitment and punctuality.”
Across Brazil
São Paulo is our base,
not our limit.
50+
Brazilian cities our crew has flown to for shoots.
5
cities we film in most: São Paulo, Brasília, Rio de Janeiro, Curitiba and Belo Horizonte.
Source: our project records.
Our São Paulo crew films anywhere in Brazil. Beyond the city itself, we film most often in Brasília, Rio de Janeiro, Curitiba and Belo Horizonte, and we now have a filming team for Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte, so shoots there can be staffed locally. For AkzoNobel, our team filmed customers in Rio de Janeiro and in Pelotas, in the far south. For KPMG, we filmed a full day in Belo Horizonte. Wherever the shoot happens, planning and post-production stay in São Paulo.
Companies we have filmed for in São Paulo
“Everyone I interact with is incredibly friendly.”
Greg Johns, Videographer, OpenText
Verified review on Clutch, for corporate b-roll we filmed at a variety of locations
Proposals in US dollars, from $5,000
How it works
From your request to the shoot in Brazil
Five steps, run from our São Paulo office, with a clear owner at each one.
Headquarters
in São Paulo
Registered
with ANCINE
-
Request
Send the form, call the office or message Olivia, our WhatsApp assistant.
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Call
A 20-minute Google Meet call to understand the film you need.
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Proposal
Scope, crew, schedule and price in US dollars, before anything is booked.
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Pre-production
Script, casting, locations, permits and the ANCINE communication.
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Shoot and finish
Filming in Brazil, then edit, color and sound in São Paulo.
Related pages and cases
Where to go next if you are planning a shoot in Brazil.
Practical questions about filming in São Paulo
Answers to the questions international teams ask before a shoot in Brazil.
Do you have an office in São Paulo?
Yes. Our São Paulo office is at Avenida das Nações Unidas, 12495, 15th floor, Brooklin Novo, São Paulo, SP, 04578-000. It is open Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Brasília Time, and it is where our full-time team plans, directs and finishes every project.
Can Olive Tree Films be the Brazilian production company for a foreign shoot?
Yes. We are registered with ANCINE, Brazil’s national film agency, and we have taken responsibility for many foreign shoots in Brazil. We file the prior communication to ANCINE as part of pre-production, together with the contract and the filming schedule.
Do you have your own studio in São Paulo?
No. Our office is not a studio. For studio work we book spaces we use regularly, one in Vila Olímpia and another in Pinheiros, and we also film at client offices, plants, stores and other locations.
Do you film outside São Paulo?
Yes, anywhere in Brazil. Our crew has flown to more than 50 Brazilian cities, most often Brasília, Rio de Janeiro, Curitiba and Belo Horizonte, and we now have a filming team for Rio de Janeiro and Belo Horizonte.
Which languages can we work in?
Our team works in English, Spanish and Portuguese. The office phone is answered in English and Portuguese, and Olivia, our virtual assistant on WhatsApp, replies in Portuguese, English, Spanish and French. Voice-over is available in more than 50 languages.
How are projects in Brazil priced?
Always in US dollars, with a minimum of $5,000 per project. Your proposal shows the scope, the crew, the schedule and the price before anything is booked.
Do we need a permit to film on the streets of São Paulo?
Yes. Filming in streets and municipal facilities is authorized by the São Paulo Film Commission, part of Spcine, through a single online procedure. We request it for you and plan the shoot around the conditions it sets.
Request a proposal
Tell us about your project in Brazil.
Six fields are enough to start: who you are, what you need, where and when. The budget range and project details are optional.
What happens next. We usually reply within 24 hours on business days and invite you to a 20-minute Google Meet call. After the call, you receive a proposal in US dollars with the scope, the crew, the schedule and the deliverables.
Prefer to talk first? Call our office at +55 (11) 2844-1833, answered in English and Portuguese, or message Olivia, our virtual assistant on WhatsApp, at +55 (11) 96406-9084, in Portuguese, English, Spanish or French. You can also write to saopaulo@olivetreefilms.com.
São Paulo office
Olive Tree Films
Av. das Nações Unidas, 12495, 15th floor
Brooklin Novo, São Paulo, SP, 04578-000
Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Brasília Time)