Film Tax Incentives As A Consideration For Film Locations
Location is one of the most important aspects of the ideal film location besides film tax incentives. The venue needs to be easily accessible and not too remote. Film crews and equipment will have to be transported to and from the place easily and efficiently. Parking is also essential to provide parking space for the cornucopia of equipment, cars and trailers needed in filming.
When deciding on locations, make sure that they're suitable for sound as well. You don't want a location that is too close to the freeway or a construction site. Here are some things to consider when scouting locations: Is it near bathroom facilities? Is parking available for cast, crew, and equipment vehicles? Is it in a quiet location? Is there available electricity to plug in your lights? If you're shooting out of town, are there overnight accommodations nearby? Is there air-traffic noise if the site is on route to the airport? Do you have space to set up a picnic area to feed your cast and crew? Can you get permission to shoot there? Can you afford to film there? Do you need a permit? Do cell phones work in the area? If not, are there public phones nearby? Does using the site require the hiring of a police officer to stop foot or street traffic? Is there a photocopy store nearby?
Space is another consideration; one of the last things you want is to find yourself limited by insufficient space. A great film location will offer a range of areas for which to set up your equipment as well as scenes. The movie location also needs to provide outdoor and indoor areas to allow for a variety of shots. Bear in mind whether you will need additional space if a stage is required. In most cases, our producer will do a location scout before the day of filming in order to set up the best filming location(s).
Commonplace locations, let's say kitchens or public parks, are very well covered by Location Libraries (such as, ahem, Location Works!), so if the needs are simple, why not keep the solution simple? However the world of filming (and photography) is the world of imagination, so for each new script, each new concept, there's a new question needing an answer. For example, the kitchen might need a view through the window to a swimming pool, or the script might demand that the public park has a south-facing slope overlooking a lake. No matter how good library photographs may be, there will always be occasions when a location needs to be re-photographed to demonstrate its suitability. So what does a location scout actually do? Well, here's one of the things that make the job a constant challenge: you never know. Each time a scout is asked to find something, it's invariably something new and quite different to the previous assignment.
Now for those of you that are producing your own independent films, you will have to use your wits to acquire your locations considering film tax incentives and film tax credit. If you are utilizing your own house or apartment it will likely be no problem however in case you are making use of a location that doesn't have common public entry you will have to safe releases from the house owners of the amenities you need to use.