FAQ

Chances are a Location Scout, or a Location Manager has approached you. They’ll likely be able to answer most of your questions.

There are several things that you’ll need to ask and know before agreeing to “host” a film crew: 

• What type of production (movie, TV show, commercial, still shoot, music video) is it?
• Will they provide you with a COI?
• Will they have a Film permit issued by FilmLA?
  • If the answer is no, hang up or shut the door. That’s the end of the discussion!
  • FYI: A film permit is a legally required license issued by FilmLA, LA County’s non-profit governing organization, which authorizes a production company to legally film specifically determined scenes as outlined and designated within the description of said film permit.

The film permit will specify the hours of the day for filming and any restrictions and/or requirements the company must comply with and adhere to to film those designated scenes. Permits may also specify whether the production needs to hire police, CHP, Fire Department staff, Park Rangers, or any City employees to supervise the filming.

So here are some other questions to ask the Location Manager:

• How many people are involved, and how big will the total cast and crew be? 
• How many days are they interested in renting your property for? 
• Will they want to use the interior, just the exterior, or both?
• Will the art department want or need to make any changes to the property, e.g., bring in set dressing and/or remove your furniture and any personal items?

If they are interested in filming inside your home, insist that a layout board be used to cover the floors in all those rooms where they will be working.

NOTE: You can decide what rooms are “Off Limits” to the crew with no film crew access (like bedrooms, bathrooms and kitchen). The location team will provide a sign on any doors to rooms you want to keep “Off Limits.”

No food or drinks (other than bottled water) are ever allowed inside a location, except if it is an essential part of a scene (actors eating a meal or someone pours a drink).

No drug use or alcohol consumption is ever allowed on a set or location.

NOTE: All film crews will bring a large trailer called a “Honeywagon," an extended trailer with numerous dressing rooms and restrooms for the crew. No crew members should ever be allowed to use your bathrooms. Smaller crews, like still photography shoots, usually have a large motorhome for their crew’s restrooms and dressing rooms.

Yes, insurance is an absolutely essential requirement for all productions to have a film permit issued. If a company wants to film anywhere on your property (inside or outside), you and your property need to be listed as “additionally insured” on the COI (Copy of Insurance) certificate.

Regarding a deposit, request a company check for a “refundable” security deposit equal to half the amount you’ll be paid for a single “shoot day.” 

In the case of some really minor damage (e.g., a cracked window, a “ding” in a wall, a broken flower pot, a scratched door, etc.), this (a deposit) is a welcome precautionary measure to avoid the hassles of dealing with an insurance company and making an appointment to have an insurance adjuster come out to inspect the damage, then having to get “estimates” from contractors or handymen. All in all, a major pain.

So, if something should be damaged, inform the Location Manager as soon as you notice, and you’ll find it far easier to just get it repaired by way of the security deposit. Before making any repairs, be sure to first point it out and discuss it with the Location Manager or UPM.  

No, all film production companies must obtain their film permit from FilmLA. To qualify for their permit, the company needs to show verifiable proof of insurance and follow other strict rules and regulations that conform to standards set by the LA County Fire Department and Law Enforcement Agencies.

Only once all these criteria are met and confirmed will FilmLA issue a permit.

The bottom line is that it’s really up to you to decide, and it is negotiable. However, every production has a budget they have to work within, so you will most likely have the Location Manager make an offer.

However, there are a couple of things to be aware of: They will offer you a shoot day rate for each day that the cast and crew are filming, but they might also ask for a prep day for rigging or for the art department to dress the set. Prep days are often far shorter than shoot days and are half the shoot day rate. The same rate is applied for strike or wrap days – when equipment or set dressing is picked up after production moves to the next set.

You should be compensated for that in your Temporary Rental Agreement. However, it should be noted that doing this does NOT include using house power to power up any movie lights. Today, most interior lamps are LEDs, which draw minimal current. However, for any scenes that require really bright lights, those lamps need to be connected to the generator that the grip and electric crew will have brought along. 

You were probably approached by a Location Scout, who will most likely gave you their card, as well as the contact information for the Location Manager. To feel confident that they are a legitimate production, ask for the name of the company and the names of the Location Manager and Producers. Then, check IMDb by entering their names in the search bar at the top of the page and see what comes up regarding previous films they’ve worked on and if the show they are currently working on is in pre-production or production.

A tech scout occurs when the Location Manager brings the Director and Producer, as well as a few of the “Keys” or Department Heads (Art Director, DP, Gaffer, Key Grip, Rigging Grip, etc.) to inspect and see your location (home or business) as a “working” set. Numerous discussions and extensive notes will take place regarding any extra equipment or any additional precautions that need to be considered.

Depending on the amount of filming they are planning, the tech scout could last for as little as half an hour to several hours. It’s a key and essential part of planning out all the details for when they are at your place on their shoot day (and possibly a prep day). 

The set dressing consists of rented furniture and often a wide variety of items like framed photos or curio items that one would find upon desks and shelves inside a home – things that make a set look like a real and truly “lived-in” room and environment.

This is a very common and everyday practice in filming on location. Though you may have wonderful furnishings, the production may be more interested in the overall design of the architecture (inside and out) of your home than your furniture and decorations.

If they ask to remove your furniture to replace it with set dressing, rest assured that the art department has a highly trained team of professional artwork handlers and furniture movers (called the Swing Gang) who will be extra careful in removing your furniture. They will also wrap up and box your personal items and then place them inside a large truck to protect them and keep them out of harm’s way. 

Before doing this, the set dresser will take extensive photos of your home to make sure they have references as to where everything goes once the shoot is over. They’ll work with the Swing Gang to make sure everything goes back where it belongs.

An “AD” is an Assistant Director. The first AD often appears to be the one who is “running the set” while the Director is quietly working with or rehearsing with the actors. The second AD is the first AD’s right arm, and next to the location manager, the one that you will probably have the most interaction with. They are in charge of the PAs (Production Assistants) who constantly do numerous tasks to keep things running smoothly. 

The UPM is the Unit Production Manager. They oversee every aspect of the production and are in direct contact with the Producers. Basically, they make sure all departments are well prepared and equipped with everything they need in advance of the next few days’ schedule.

The DP is the Director of Photography. They’re responsible for the “look” and overall feel of the finished scenes in the film. They select the lenses for the camera, work with the Director to orchestrate the camera moves and frame the shot (close-up, wide, establishing, etc.).

The Gaffer is the head of the lighting department and all the lighting technicians who work under him (electricians). The Gaffer works under the direction of the DP and Director, using lights and manipulating shadows to achieve various moods and atmospheres.

A call sheet is a printed or emailed form specifying the call times, all scenes to be filmed the next day, listing crew members (and phone numbers) and equipment required to film those particular scenes on a given day. Special notes (directions to the location, nearest hospital, etc.) are included there, as well as lists of equipment needed later in the week.

The call time is the precise time that an individual member of the cast or crew is expected to report to the location and be ready to work. The day’s schedule is listed on the call sheet and is the responsibility of the ADs (Assistant Directors). Call times vary depending on the department, the activity, the location and the time of wrap on the preceding day. Due to the extra time necessary for the make-up and hair departments to prep actors before filming, make-up and hair crew invariably have an earlier call time than the rest of the crew.

Note: Producers will often arrange for a catering truck to arrive at the basecamp earlier than the call time to set up tables and chairs so that the crew can start the day with a hot breakfast and coffee.

The Film Industry is totally unique among all businesses that produce, make, fabricate or manufacture anything — in this case, content, whether a movie, TV show or Commercial. A long-standing part of the industry’s work ethic and equation is that they “rent” nearly everything they use. Even if they own it, they’ll actually rent it to themselves to get a tax write-off. 

For example, most studios have their own prop departments as well as grip and electrical (lighting) departments, which in turn, rent out various items and equipment to the other studios, companies and their own “in-house” productions.

Consequently, because of the numerous costs (misc. equipment rentals, payroll, etc.), the standard is this: the unions (Teamsters and IATSE) and all non-union crews work six hours at the beginning of the day, break lunch, then return to work and continue for another six hours and often longer to get all the shots accomplished on the shooting schedule.

If they need to continue working beyond the second six hours, there will often be a second meal for the crew to eat while they continue to work at night; fourteen to sixteen-hour days are not uncommon.

In the “Golden Days,” when the Giant Studios (MGM, Paramount, Universal, Fox, etc.) were huge Film Factories, and everyone showed up for work and had no idea what they were going to be working on, the crews were like cogs in a giant machine.

Today, people are basically “guns for hire.” Aside from getting jobs that only last the length of the production they’re hired to work on, many highly skilled people are hired as “day players,” only working for one or maybe a couple of days.

Consequently, this has created an atmosphere of “You’re only as good as your last job,” and as the adage “Time is Money” is essentially the motto of production, you’ll see that everyone on a film crew hustles to get their jobs done as quickly as possible as they all want to build a solid reputation for being truly exceptional at what they do as well as become known as an asset to any production they’re on; in other words, develop a reputation that puts them in high demand in an industry with little, if any, job security.

IATSE is an acronym for the International Alliance of Theatrical and Stage Employees. This includes the various Trade and Craft Unions that perform the numerous highly specialized and skilled tasks that are essential in the production of Live Action Film Production.

Cable runs are the thick rubber cables that supply power from the generator to the movie lamps that have been brought to set. If the crew should want to have a “Cable Run” inside your home, they will put down a “layout board” wherever they will be working: a thick, heavy sheet of compressed cardboard specifically designed to cover the floor and protect your carpet or flooring from being marred or damaged.

A Grip Jungle is a term used to describe an extra-large assortment of “working” Grip equipment and lights, usually meaning far more gear and equipment than usual due to a complicated “set-up” or shot.

A hot set is a set that is completely ready for filming. It can also refer to a set in which the crew has broken for lunch in the middle of filming a scene, and as a “hot set,” absolutely nothing on the set is to be touched or moved to preserve the “continuity” of the scene being filmed

There is a lot of controversy as to the origin of this expression, but we have it on good authority (Mickey Rooney) that it originated with Frank Sinatra while he was making the classic “From Here to Eternity” in Hawaii, and he quickly became frustrated with how many hours a day were spent waiting between shots.

Thus, before long, he started a ritual of having the Prop Master make a pitcher of Martinis near the end of the day. This quickly became common knowledge among the entire crew, and the 1^st AD would announce, “Okay guys, this is the Martini shot!” meaning this is the very last shot of the day.

This refers to when the Production Company (and all its cast, crew and trucks) has left the location after “It’s a Wrap!” has been called. It’s when the location rental “clock” stops.