location!

how do you trick people into letting you use their location in your movie for free? the film im working on now requires some scenes in a few resturants, a night club, a used car lot and a grocery store - none of which i know anyone who works at or owns. how would you sell the owner of any of those places on letting me come in there after business hours and filming there?
 
Well firstly and foremost you never ever 'trick' anyone into anything... it never works and generally it's not a good idea to even try. Instead think about what you can offer that location in return that isn't financial gain! For example, you go the the restaurant and say, we're making a low budget film, what I can't do is pay you but what I can do is give you publicity to your local market by including your name in the credits, placing your logo in the film etc... think of things you can do for the business within the context of your production and then sell those facts to them! I advise sending a letter with a proposal outlining who you are, what you want and what you can offer in return - then follow the letter up with a phone call - then follow the phone call up with a meeting if the guys are interested! Good luck with it!
 
Ask

I am in complete agreement with Shot on this. You should try never trick anyone into anything.

The easiest way to get use of locations is to ask. The trick, if there is one, is to be professional, both in the way that you approach them and in the way that you behave on the shoot, if they give you permission.

This means telling them exactly when you need the location, for how long and what you will be doing. Once that is agreed, make sure that you stick to that and that you leave the place in the exactly the same state it was when you walked in. This means having a realistic understanding of how long it will take to set up, how long to get the shoot rolling and how long to bag up at the end. Nothing makes a location situation go bad faster, than only having half the work done in the time you've agreed for the location. This will be bad for your reputation and for the film. It is when you rush things that mistakes are made.

The other thing to remember, is that to undertake a shoot on location you really must have insurance in place for the shoot. That way, if you do have a redhead explode (it does happen) and set fire to their carpet, the insurance covers it. if you don't have insurance, then you personally will be liable.

The truth is, that providing you are professional about your approach, it is rarely difficult to get locations.
 
Just ask. There's lots of nice people out there that will let you use locations for free. Forget putting a logo in your film, that's too commercial. If you have liability insurance, you will have no problems with legalities.
 
If you're shooting on video, one trick of the trade is to fake a birthday party and have all the relevant crew on hand to film while at the dinner table. Easy way of bringing in cameras and small, hand-held equipment. Of course, if you are shooting film, no chance - be nice and ask.
 
People seem to come out of the woodwork to beg you to use their locations if you have an honestly positive attitude toward the work. It's infectious.

I've been looking for the right story for a debut feature for a couple of years now, building a great burn-pile of scripts that didn't make the cut. I finally managed to pull one worth filming from my fractured brain and activated it with an excellent production team. Everyone shares a lot of excitement for the project, and it's amazing to watch how the excitement rubs off on others.

It's reminded me that film is magical and that, whereas we work our butts off and endure the grind, for the vast majority of the population it's really exciting to be connected in any way with a film.

You will find many, many people willing to help in many, many ways for nothing more expensive or illustrious than fodder for dinner-party conversations.
 
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