Who you're hiring in Rome
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I'm Theo Solnik, founder of Haikai Media and the cinematographer on every Rome shoot we deliver. I trained at the German Film and Television Academy Berlin (dffb) and have been shooting corporate, documentary, and cinema work for over 29 years.
My first feature, Anna Pavlova Lives in Berlin, won the Prize for Young Film Art from the German National Gallery and the German Film Academy — presented by Bruno Ganz and Iris Berben — and was exhibited daily over four months in a dedicated room at the Hamburger Bahnhof – Nationalgalerie der Gegenwart museum in Berlin. My work has since screened at festivals and museums in more than 25 countries and is currently streaming on Amazon Prime Video.
I hold Italian and Brazilian nationality and a U.S. O-1B visa as an Artist with Extraordinary Abilities. I speak seven languages including Italian and English.
When you book a Rome shoot with Haikai Media, you're hiring a director of photography who has personally lit, framed, and delivered the work — not a booking agent passing the job to an unknown freelancer.
My full portfolio is at theosolnik.com
Full biography and credentials at About Theo Solnik
Video production services
in Rome
We produce corporate and institutional video
in Rome with a senior, compact crew.
Typical engagements include:
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• Executive interviews and leadership messages (single or two-camera)
• Corporate films and case studies for global teams
• Conference and event video coverage (multi-camera, stage audio feed)
• Testimonials filmed on-location or in offices and venues
• Brand and documentary-style stories with controlled visuals
• Post-production: edit, captions, deliverables for web and social
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Executive interviews in Rome
Executive interviews are the most common form of video production in Rome for international companies. These are typically filmed in offices, conference venues, hotels, or controlled rented locations that allow clean sound and consistent visuals. The goal is to create an environment that feels natural while remaining technically precise and repeatable across multiple speakers.
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My standard setup is two cameras — a wider primary frame and a tighter secondary — on a RED Komodo 6K with Zeiss Standard Speed primes (16, 24, 32, 50, 85mm). Audio goes to a Sennheiser MKH-416 shotgun or Sanken COS-11 lavalier with an independent 32-bit float recorder as backup.
For teams coordinating remotely, interviews can be structured with a clear briefing beforehand and fast review links after filming. This allows stakeholders in different time zones to review and approve efficiently. Deliverables are exported in formats suitable for web, internal communications, or social distribution, with optional subtitles and cutdowns.
Example work:
Corporate interview video production in Rome — see selected projects:
https://www.haikai.media/projects/corporate-videos
Case study: CAF Italia — Corporate video production in Rome
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CAF Italia, one of the international leaders in the design and supply of comprehensive transportation systems, commissioned a corporate video to document the expansion of its railway maintenance operations for the Rome Metro Line B. CAF Italia is one of the leading suppliers of rail vehicles to Rome's transport network — read more about their Rome operations.
I filmed inside CAF Italia's active Rome depot in 2024, coordinating with the engineering team to work around live maintenance operations. The brief covered two parallel stories: the transformation of an existing industrial structure into a fully operational rail maintenance facility, and the human side of that development — the engineers and technicians who built and run it.
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I set up controlled interview positions within the depot for the on-camera testimony, then moved between the maintenance bays, equipment areas, and facility floor for observational footage. The challenge was maintaining visual coherence between the interview setups — which required controlled light in a large industrial space — and the operational footage, which needed to feel live and uncontrived.
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The final video was used for corporate communications and internal documentation, presenting CAF Italia's operational development and technological investment in Rome.
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Conference and event video production in Rome
Conference video production in Rome requires consistency, intelligibility, and reliable coverage of speakers and audience interaction. Filming is typically structured around locked-off cameras covering the stage and speaker, combined with additional coverage for audience questions and contextual footage.
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Audio integrity is critical. When available, I record a feed directly from the venue audio system, alongside independent on-site recording for redundancy. This ensures continuity even in complex technical environments.
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Deliverables can include full-length session recordings, highlights edits, and shorter social versions. Productions can be planned so that key content is delivered quickly, allowing teams to publish while the event is still current.
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Example work:
Conference and event video production in Rome — see selected projects:
https://www.haikai.media/projects/event-videos
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Corporate video production in Rome
Corporate video production in Rome typically combines interviews with contextual filming that shows the people, environment, and processes relevant to the organisation. Filming is planned around real operational schedules to minimize disruption while capturing meaningful visual material.
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B-roll filming may include offices, work environments, meetings, and exterior establishing shots. These elements give structure to the edit and provide visual continuity across different sections of the video.
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I handle post-production in staged review rounds. This includes assembling a structured narrative, integrating brand elements, balancing audio, and preparing delivery formats suited to the intended platforms. Final deliverables may include a primary video, shorter cutdowns, vertical formats, and captioned versions.
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Example work:
Corporate video production in Rome — see selected projects:
https://www.haikai.media/projects/corporate-videos
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Filming logistics and production workflow in Rome
Permits: Most corporate shoots — offices, hotels, private venues, conference centers — require no formal permit. Public streets, monuments, and ZTL zones do. I coordinate permits with Roma Capitale when needed and build the lead time into the schedule.
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Business districts I work in regularly: Historic center, EUR, Parioli, Prati, the Fiumicino airport corridor, and the main conference hotels (Rome Cavalieri, Parco dei Principi, St. Regis, Marriott Park, Ergife).
Call times: Roman traffic is real. I schedule around it and stage gear the night before for early calls.
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Equipment is mine: RED Komodo 6K, Blackmagic Pocket 6K, Sigma fp, Zeiss Standard Speed PL-mount primes, DJI RS 3 Pro with LiDAR and Focus Pro, Zoom F3 recorder and Sennheiser and Sanken microphones. No rental surprises, no last-minute substitutions.
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Example work:
See production workflow and examples:
https://www.haikai.media/how-it-works
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Deliverables and turnaround
Corporate video production deliverables in Rome are prepared according to the client's intended use. This may include master files for internal distribution, compressed versions for web use, and shorter edits optimised for social platforms.
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I handle editing in staged review rounds, allowing feedback to be incorporated efficiently. Once approved, final exports are delivered in standard formats with optional subtitles or captions.
Colour grading, sound mix, and original music composition are handled in-house where required.
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Interview-based productions deliver a first cut within 24 to 48 hours of wrap. After your feedback, the final corrected video is delivered within 24 hours. Conference and multi-day productions follow a schedule agreed in the quote. Final exports: ProRes masters, H.264 web versions, 9:16 social cutdowns, burned-in or sidecar subtitles on request.
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Pricing
Every Rome project is quoted individually based on crew size, shoot days, deliverables, and post-production scope. I don't use hidden surcharges: travel, insurance, and contingency are itemised separately so you see exactly what you're paying for. Payment terms are 50% on booking, 50% on delivery. I operate under Italy's regime forfettario — meaning clean, IVA-exempt invoicing for EU and international clients.
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Typical engagements range from single-day executive interviews to multi-day conference coverage.
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Do you speak English on set?
Yes. English is my default working language for international clients. I also work in Italian, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Norwegian.
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Can you handle Rome filming permits?
Yes — I coordinate permits with Roma Capitale when the shoot requires them. Most corporate interior shoots don't.
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What's included in the day rate?
The day rate includes me as DP, the RED Komodo camera package, Zeiss primes, standard lighting, and audio kit. Additional crew, specialised lighting, permits, and travel outside Lazio are quoted separately.
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How fast can you deliver?
First cut within 24 to 48 hours of wrap for standard interview projects. After your feedback, the final corrected video is delivered within 24 hours. Same-day or next-day turnarounds possible for event highlights with advance planning.
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Are you VAT-registered?
I operate under Italy's regime forfettario (Art. 1, c. 54–89, L. 190/2014), which exempts my invoices from IVA. This simplifies international billing for EU and non-EU clients.
Our Projects
Rome Video Production
I have been shooting corporate video in Rome for over a decade, for clients including Google, Pfizer, AWS, and CAF Italia. Based in Rome — which means local call times, no travel-day surcharges, and working knowledge of the venues, ZTL zones, and traffic patterns that make or break a shoot day.
From executive interviews at the Rome Cavalieri to multi-camera conference coverage at the Ergife, I handle location scouting, permit coordination with Roma Capitale when needed, venue audio desk integration, and remote review delivery for stakeholders in other time zones.
