Where can you shoot a campaign in Mallorca?

For a campaign that needs the Mallorca of stone, plaster, olives and long light, without the crowds of the coast, the answer is a private finca inland. Ours at Sencelles is 20 minutes from the airport, 25 from Palma, and sits on a seven and a half hectare estate with no neighbour in frame. Two houses, a 10 metre saltwater pool, a lavender garden, a fruit garden, a pizza oven and an old carob tree give a crew days of set-ups without moving the trucks. Shoots are booked as stays, two nights minimum, with a location pack sent on enquiry. The island’s light does the rest.

What is the light like through the day?

Sunrise comes over the Pla de Mallorca, the island’s flat farming heartland, so the first hour is low, warm and side-lit through the olives. The east façade of the main house takes it directly. By nine the light is clean and hard; good for product on stone, less good for faces. From eleven to four in summer the sun is overhead and the courtyard and the shade of the carob tree become the working spaces. The pool reads best at ten and again at five. The last two hours before sunset light the west façade and the olive rows from the side, and the Tramuntana turns violet on the horizon. Sunset is after nine in June, around seven in October, which decides how long a shooting day really is. In winter the whole day is golden and short.

What textures are on site?

Lime-washed plaster in white and ochre, some of it flaking as it should. Dressed sandstone, the local marès, around doorways and windows. Rough fieldstone walls along the lanes. Terracotta floor tile, old and new. Dark beamed ceilings. Olive trunks, some several hundred years old. Lavender in rows. Citrus in the garden. A gravel drive. Timber shutters in faded green. Water in the pool and a stone trough. The palette is bone, ochre, silver-green and sky, and it holds together in every direction the camera points.

Do we need permits, and can we fly a drone?

For stills and film on private land with a small crew, there is no public-space permit to arrange, because you are not in a public space. Drone flights are a separate matter. Spain regulates drones through the national aviation authority, operators need the right registration and insurance, and proximity to the airport affects what is permitted. Bring a registered local drone operator who handles the paperwork. Vehicles on the lane and anything involving the public road need to be discussed before the day.

How long should we book?

Two nights is the minimum all year, and five in July, August, Christmas and New Year; there is no hire by the day. Two nights suits a single look, a product series, or a social shoot with one talent. Three or more suits a campaign with wardrobe changes, two or three locations within the grounds, and more than one sunset. Check-in is at 15:00, which leaves the first evening for a pre-light, and check-out is at 10:00. Every shoot is quoted per enquiry.

What does the location pack contain?

A plan of the grounds with north marked. Sun path diagrams for the solstices and equinoxes. Stills of every façade, room, porch and garden at morning and evening. Measurements of the main rooms and door widths. Power points and the capacity available. Parking and turning for vans. The hotels nearby, for crew who are not staying. Catering options, including the chef who works from the Sunday market. The house rules and the quiet hours. A contact who answers the phone on the day.

See the spaces and recent work at /gather/shoots, walk the grounds at /the-finca, or request the location pack.