Steps to Making Your Home a Star – Register it to be Featured on TV
You don’t have to rent out your home for it to make you a bit of extra cash, in fact home owners around Australia are earning thousands of dollars a year by getting their homes into the television and film industries. Rather than being one of those pushy parents looking for a meal ticket from their talented child, you can take the classier route of making your home a star and you don’t have to have a home a movie star would live in, for your home to be a movie star in its own right.
Television shows, commercials and films all use location scouts to find just the right places for inclusion in their projects, and location scout Chris Mayer runs Australian Film Locations and has around 600 properties listed with his service for when the TV and film crews come calling. Mayer explains that ‘Generally we’re looking for all types of homes, mainly family homes and homes with character or unique architectural elements.’
Homes which are typically Australian, federation style or renovated bungalows are popular for a number of shoots, and properties with a retro theme or character as a period home are also in demand. Inside the property there will need to be big windows and a lot of natural light surrounded by large rooms which can accommodate crews, actors and equipment, while still leaving room for the desired shot.
Parking is also important because television and film crews start work early, around 8 am and if the streets and car parks are still full with people yet to leave for work, transporting all that equipment a long way doesn’t make much sense. For example, to shoot a television commercial you will need parking for around eight trucks, and 20 vans, cars and utes. While the crew will liaise directly with the local council to obtain permits and road closures if necessary, the space has to be there to being with.
1 – Approach a location scout
Some home owners are lucky enough to have location scouts knock on their door, but you don’t have to wait for them to come to you. You can get your home’s talent out there by taking some good digital photos of your property from both inside and out and sending those to a location scout agency with a short enquiry letter.
If your home catches the scout’s eye they will come out and visit you to find out more about the home and once your property is shortlisted by a production company, you are contacted to make sure you are still interested. Just because you have registered your home, you are under no obligation to accept a film shoot, only once you give your permission for a shoot are you required to see it through.
Make sure you carefully consider proposals for filming which you receive because it is very poor form to pull out once you have given your permission, and it can damage your chances for future projects.
2 – Sign a contract
Once you have given permission and your home has been hired by the production company, a contract will be drafted which protect the interests of you and the production company. The contract will state that the production company has access to your property, the company owns any footage shot at your home and the contract will detail payment amounts and methods, including the responsibility of the production company to repair any damage done by their team. The production company will also be responsible for any public liability insurance.
3 – On set
Before filming begins, the production company will visit the property up to three times before confirming it is right for their needs. These survey visits can take from 15 minutes to an hour and you won’t normally be paid for this time.
The first visit is to take more photos of your home. The second survey visit is done by the director of the film to confirm whether the location is right. The third visit is a technical survey where key people from the production company work out the logistics of the shoot.
On the day of the filming be prepared to surrender your house because you can be welcoming anywhere from 10 people for a photographic shoot to 35 people for a television commercial, and film crews can be even larger. Your visitors will consist of the cast and crew, as well as plenty of film equipment, lighting, props, wires and cables.
It is your responsibility to give the crew access to your home at the time specified in the contract and it is the production crew’s responsibility to ensure your home is left in the same condition it was in when they arrived. If you are planning renovations you will need to discuss these in advance, and it is up to you to make sure your home is clean and tidy and free of laundry and dishes.
During filming you can stay, as long as you don’t interfere with the work. If you choose to go out, you must be contactable by phone if the crew has a problem with the property. A full day of filming normally means 12 hours and if filming runs on for several weeks, or runs longer on a day shoot you will normally have accommodation paid for by the production company, just check the contract.
4 – Getting paid
You will normally be paid by cheque on the morning of the first day of filming and if additional payments need to be made for longer filming times, these must be made within 14 days. The amount you can earn from turning your home into a star can range from $1,000 for a photo shoot, $2,500 for a one day television commercial shoot and up to $40,000 for a feature film. Plus, once you home has been used once, you have a good chance of being called on again.
Start a home equity loan comparison to update your home now.
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