Filming in Qatar with John Torode – Dunes, Dishes & Deadlines

Most travellers know Qatar as a place they pass through rather than a place they stay. A few hours in an airport lounge, a coffee, a boarding call, and off again. But this small Middle Eastern emirate on the Arabian Peninsula, roughly 11,500 km² in size (about one-fifth the size of Scotland) and home to around 2.7 million people, has far more going on than most transit passengers realise. Its capital, Doha, looks like a futuristic skyline dropped straight into the desert.

So when John Torode was invited by Qatar Airways and Qatar Travel to front a series of films showing travellers why they should swap a short stopover for a 24-hour stay or longer, I got the call to join the shoot. I’ve worked with John many times in a few different countries, we get on well, and he asked me to come along to film it.

The Mission

The goal was to create a set of films showing what visitors can experience if they extend a short airport transit into a proper stay. Qatar manages to pack a surprising range of experiences into a very compact country:

world-class restaurants and lively souqs for food lovers
major sporting venues and World Cup legacy sites for sports fans
desert adventures and wind-sport beaches for thrill seekers
luxury wellness retreats for those wanting to relax

In other words, plenty to film and not much time to film it.

Small Crew, Big Shoot

The setup was simple: John presenting, me filming, and Kiera from John’s team helping coordinate. This was also a fairly last-minute job, so we were running at it fairly hot pulling plans together and finalising shot ideas from the activity schedule we’d been given.

John has his own style when presenting. He takes a rough idea or structure and runs with it in his own way, which keeps everything lively and very real on camera.

The Team, Kirk, John, Kiera at the end of a days filming stood on the roof of the national museum Doha

Doha, Dunes & Culture

We started in the capital filming skyline sequences, museums, and cultural landmarks before heading straight into the desert for dune bashing and sunset dinner shots. Golden light, sweeping sands, camels silhouetted against the horizon… the sort of scenery that makes any camera operator quietly grin behind the lens.

The following days took us through museums, markets and heritage locations, including exhibits exploring Qatar’s pearling history and sporting legacy. Filming in the souqs meant colour, texture and movement everywhere you looked, plus more food than was strictly necessary for professional purposes. Naturally we filmed it all anyway. For research.

Falcons, Food Streets & Palace Camels

Qatar takes falconry seriously. Seriously enough that there’s a hospital dedicated entirely to falcons.

One morning we filmed camels parading past a palace, which felt more like a film set than real life. Later we filmed along a busy food street where some of the best meals of the entire trip came from modest takeaway counters. Cheap, cheerful and outrageously good.

Resorts, Wind & Water

We also filmed at a northern wellness resort that looked like it belonged in a lifestyle magazine, with treatments, relaxation spaces and immaculate surroundings. On another day we captured kite-surfing sequences along a warm, windy bay that looked spectacular on camera. I stayed dry behind the lens while pretending I preferred it that way.

Our night in the desert we stayed in a very plush tent:)

The Reality Behind the Glamour

Qatar Travel and Qatar Airways sorted us out with a very nice five-star hotel for the stay, which was brilliant. That said, filming schedules don’t leave much time to enjoy places like that. Most nights were spent dumping footage, charging batteries, quick showers and getting ready for the next day. Still, if you’re going to be working flat-out somewhere, it’s definitely nicer doing it from a comfortable room.

The Kit

To keep things lightweight and flexible I filmed mainly on a Sony FX3, with a Sony A7R V as backup and for stills. Drones aren’t permitted in Qatar, so I brought Insta360 cameras to capture alternative angles and movement shots. Support kit was kept minimal and efficient: gimbal, handheld rigs and tripod. Editing was completed in Final Cut Pro with licensed music from Artlist once back home.

Driving over the sand dunes in southern Qatar

The One That Got Away

After I wrapped filming, John stayed on to film a Formula One track day. Cars, track access, engines… and I was back home editing. Timing is everything in this job, and sometimes timing enjoys a laugh at your expense.

Final Result

We delivered multiple films plus social edits in both vertical and horizontal formats for different platforms. Qatar Travel and Qatar Airways were delighted with the results, which is always the goal, and hopefully it’s the start of more shoots there.

Qatar turned out to be one of those places that quietly surprises you. Modern yet traditional, compact yet varied, relaxed yet ambitious. Definitely more than just a stopover.

Watch the Films

Filmed by Kirk Watson — drone operator and aerial cinematographer based in Scotland.