FILMING WITH IDF
MILITARY FILM AND VIDEO PRODUCTIONS IN ISRAEL
ISRAEL MILITARY PRODUCTIONS: OUR EXPERIENCE
We have been filming with IDF for more than twenty years. Highlight Films has the experience of producing dozens of productions with IDF: documentary films and series, TV reports and TV drama shoots we filmed with various units of the Israel Defense Forces.
We know the procedures and protocols: the meeting of free, international media and a military organization can be complicated. Accordingly, we see our role in making all parts of the production work in harmony…
The IDF branch in charge of contact with broadcasters and production companies is the IDF spokesperson’s Unit. It is practically impossible to get the army’s cooperation without the involvement and approval of the unit. In many productions, a military representative will be present on the shoot with the film crew. The representative has full authority over the filming. He or she makes sure it follows any prior understandings with the army.
FILMING WITH IDF – NEWS
We filmed with IDF many news reports on various aspects of the Israeli military. Among them, military operational routine, technology and latest innovations, search and rescue, aerial defense technologies, routine security ops, following the recruitment and service of female combat soldiers.
FILMING WITH IDF: DOCUMENTARY FILMS AND SERIES
The Highlight Films producers have dealt with a variety of military-related topics: significant tank battles, the history of the Air Force, military food, Krav Maga, important military campaigns and more. In 2009-10 we filmed a 5-part documentary series about Bahad 1, the IDF’s base where officers’ course takes place. We followed the cadets for 7 months, as they turned from soldiers to officers. In 2017 we filmed with National Geographic a documentary report for National Geographic Explorer, focusing on the tunnels dug from Gaza to Israel and the ways to trace and destroy them. In the Canadian series Greatest Tanks Battles, we filmed historical and contemporary footage of the IDF tanks and armoured forces. We filmed with IDF for Netflix, Nat Geo, Discovery, History, BBC, Channel 5 (UK), Smithsonian Channel, TBS and more.
ISRAELI PRODUCERS WITH MILITARY EXPERIENCE
Our producers have extensive military experience as soldiers and officers. In many productions, the producer or fixer is also an adviser to the visiting crew and can help them get their objectives. Our researchers are most experienced in getting answers and information from the IDF spokesperson’s Unit. In many cases, we complement filming with the army by interviews with ex-military commanders and academic experts.
FILMING WITH IDF: MILITARY VIDEO ARCHIVE
Our stock video footage online store offers video clips of many aspects of the military in Israel: from training footage, to fighting campaigns in the West Bank and in Gaza. The Ministry of Defense is operating the IDF archive, a huge collection of footage from 1948 until recently. Some of the footage is digitized, while other can be only viewed on site, on tapes and film reels. Our researchers are often scanning the IDF archive, following our customers requests for specific footage. We can handle any request, including finding, clearing and licensing video clips for international broadcast.
MILITARY CENSORSHIP IN ISRAEL
Any filming with IDF is pending approval of the military censorship in Israel. The Israeli military censorship is the only authority on all matters related to media coverage of military affairs. The ground rules are always known in advance, and the workflow is usually fast and efficient. Often the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit rep will clear the filming with the military censorship during the shoot.
Interested in filming with the military in Israel? Let us know what you are looking for, and we’d be glad to help you with any military footage or video production in Israel.
