Big special effects, studio sets, an international cast
The subject
The Swarm, an environmental thriller series in eight episodes by ZDF with RAI Fiction, from Frank Schätzing's novel. Shot in Italy in 2021: Puglia, Lazio and Veneto stand in for other countries.
The point of view
The set design was done very well: the shots used it to give a sense of internationality and visual cohesion to the project.
On The Swarm I learned how to understand where to stand on a set: where to put yourself so that things can unfold naturally and still be documented is not a given.
The same principle holds in companies, kitchens, factories: you are always inside contexts where a lot happens around you, and you have to be aware of it to be in the right place at the right moment.
The journey
Unit stills photographer, 2021-2023, for about thirty days of shooting.
The images appeared online and in the international digital press.
Unit Stills Photographer: ZDF / RAI Fiction / Viola Film
Unit stills photographer for The Swarm, produced by ZDF within the European Alliance with RAI Fiction, France Télévisions, Viaplay and Hulu Japan. Coastal locations in Puglia, Lazio and Veneto stood in for settings around the world: Trani and Otranto for France and Norway, the Punta Palascia lighthouse for the Shetland Islands, Rome, Ostia, Civitavecchia and Ladispoli for sequences set in Peru, and Rovigo for Vancouver.
A high-budget international production, estimated at 40 million euros, the most expensive German television series ever made, with a European and international cast including Cécile de France, Leonie Benesch, Krista Kosonen, Barbara Sukowa, Sharon Duncan-Brewster and Japanese star Takuya Kimura.
The series had its world premiere at the 2023 Berlinale in the Berlinale Series section, aired on ZDF and RAI 2, and was distributed in more than 20 countries.
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