Film and television
Camera crews are welcome aboard
Can a camera crew charter Che Bella Vita? Absolutely yes. We are happy to accommodate film and television crews, and there is plenty of space on the stern and bow decks to film. She is a photogenic boat, she moves slowly and quietly, and she is genuinely unusual enough to carry a shot.
The one thing to be aware of before you plan around her: her speed is limited to displacement speed, so 8 to 10 knots plus or minus the tide.
Room to film
The stern deck and the bow deck are both open, with plenty of space for a camera, a tripod and a small crew to work around them.
A steady platform
Che Bella Vita is a 65ft Dutch barge with a flat bottom and a wide beam. She sits flat on the water and moves gently, so nothing lurches on deck.
Displacement speed
She sails at displacement speed: 8 to 10 knots, give or take the tide. Plan your shots around that rather than around a boat that will catch up with you.
Accommodation aboard
A master suite with a European king bed and private en-suite, a second bedroom with a king size bed, and wheelhouse beds made up from the sofas. We sleep in the bow cabin while you are aboard; for a whole-boat charter we leave you both bedrooms. Tell us your crew size and we will talk it through.
Food for the day
We cook aboard, home-made. Breakfast, lunch and dinner for a crew staying over, and food and drinks through the day on a day shoot.
Broadband aboard
High-speed satellite broadband runs around the clock, so the crew can stay in touch with the unit while we are away from the mooring.
What to plan around
A barge, not a pick-up truck
None of this is a problem if it is in the schedule from the start. It is the surprises that cost a shooting day.
Speed
Displacement speed only, 8 to 10 knots plus or minus the tide. She is a barge, not a pilot boat: there is no running to a call time and making it up on the throttle.
The water shapes the day
On inland waterways, locks, bridges and the tide set the pace. We will work your shoot round them, so tell us how much time you need at each stop.
Where we can take you
Che Bella Vita is not yet coded for sea passages, so the trips we can offer are on inland waterways for now. Tell us where you want to shoot and we will say honestly whether we can get there.
What you need aboard
Power for kit, crew numbers, access times, insurance paperwork and anything else your shoot depends on. Send it over and we will confirm what the boat can take.
Start a conversation
Tell us what you are filming
Send us the dates, the water you want to shoot on, the size of your crew and what you need aboard. We will come back with what Che Bella Vita can realistically do, and what she cannot.