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De Machine expands into the Netherlands
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Belgian production company De Machine is expanding its activities into the Netherlands, marking the next step in its international growth.
The decision comes from a clear observation made during previous productions in the Dutch market. Time and time again, the team heard the same frustrations from agencies and creatives: the same locations, the same faces, the same directors.
De Machine responds to this with a hybrid production model that deliberately works across borders. That can mean Belgian cast on Dutch shoots, full productions executed in Belgium, or international directors and photographers working on campaigns produced in the Netherlands. The approach creates both visual and productional variety, without compromising efficiency or budget control.
Executive producer Dimitri De Wolf explains the philosophy behind the company: “We always start from one simple question: would someone actually want to watch this? That’s the starting point of every production. If the answer is no, we’ll say so. Because creating images nobody wants to look at, simply because the product is clearly visible, holds no value to us.”
That audience-driven mindset translates into a broad range of projects. For Port of Antwerp-Bruges, De Machine produced a film that consciously chose poetry over traditional corporate communication, focusing strongly on atmosphere and emotion. For ALDI, the production company has now developed the year-end Willie Witloof campaign for six consecutive years, combining humour with recognisable storytelling. Campaigns such as Vondelmolen and Europabank Frank equally show how narrative, joy and character often take priority over classic advertising codes.
Both projects were developed as fully integrated campaigns, with De Machine handling key visuals, films and radio spots alike. This integrated approach not only creates stronger consistency across campaigns, but also allows budgets to be managed more efficiently.
Although the roster consists of international directors and photographers, the Dutch connection is nothing new. De Machine has been collaborating with Dutch directors and partners for years. Productions include projects with Henk Loorbach for Europabank, while Jorrit Stollman directed several Willie Witloof films. More recently, together with Nils Vleugels, the company produced a campaign for Andrélon, a fully hybrid production trajectory with Dutch direction and cast, production in Belgium, and audio post-production in Amsterdam. The team is present in Amsterdam on a weekly basis and is actively expanding its local network of line producers, directors and photographers.
Internally, the workflow is supported by a strong in-house structure. Film producer Andreas Vermeulen, photo producer Yelena Van Sichem and post producer Gert Wassink ensure that projects can be managed entirely under one roof, from pre-production through to post-production.
Beyond the hybrid production model itself, an important distinction lies in De Machine’s post-production approach. While many production companies outsource VFX and emerging technologies, De Machine is building an integrated pipeline with specialised artists centrally managed within the company. This allows the team to move faster, work more efficiently with budgets, and maintain a high level of quality, even on complex productions involving VFX and AI.
With its expansion into the Netherlands, De Machine aims to position itself as a long-term creative production partner for agencies, supporting them from the earliest stages of the creative process.
