FILM LOCATION LIBRARIES: A GUIDE
London is renowned for its long history of cinema and as such it has a vibrant film and television industry. To keep up with the ever-shifting demands of the industry, a variety of specialised resources have emerged to assist film and television producers. With the abundance of film and television production locations in London, film location libraries have been established to make finding the ideal location easier and efficient. Here is a breakdown and history of location libraries in the UK capital.
Before the advent of the internet, location scouts would spend entire careers developing relationships with the owners of residential and commercial spaces which could lend themselves to the film and TV industry. Originally, these scouts and managers would keep large albums and phone books with photographs, addresses and contacts ripe for production use. Working as the go between for production companies and location owners, scouts would be contacted with an enquiry for a specific space for a shoot and would either draw on their network or set about finding an un-scouted territory.
To this day, many of the great location scouts and managers still largely operate like this, through their reputation and developed network, however as technology has progressed so has the industry and many people looking to work in the world of locations began to use the merits of the internet to their advantage to expedite what has otherwise often been a long and piecemeal journey.
Online film location libraries have often been developed by these location scouts or managers to more efficiently showcase their catalogue of filming friendly locations to the industry, while others, such as Silverstein Locations began as home owners bringing their house to the filming market and grew from there. Using film location libraries to both represent your home or find the perfect location for your production has a host of benefits, with the main benefit being the expedited access that either your home has to the market and/or your production has to that home. Essentially making the distance it takes to reach point B from point A much shorter.
Naturally, film location libraries will take a commission for this service, which depending on the company and booking, will range between 10 - 30%- any more than this should be questioned. This commission covers business overheads which give your location access to location managers and/or production companies and therefore bring in bookings. Film location libraries should not only provide access to the market, but also work as a check and balance for both production companies and owners in the safeguarding of interests relating to shoot wear and tear and other potential risks. They are ultimately an expert consultant for your home in the film industry, facilitating bookings and making sure everything runs smoothly.
Location managers and scouts now use film location libraries on a regular basis, especially when hunting for the ideal residential space. Although Silverstein Locations represents a number of commercial properties for filming opportunities, residential homes are more keenly sought after through film location libraries, as it truly provides access to private properties that may otherwise go under the radar or by uncontactable. The benefits of working with location libraries for the hiring of commercial spaces, is that the relationships held between a business location and an agency make for a smooth booking, where expectations are known and managed throughout, rather than production companies having to manage novel locations to the market, which can be costly in both time and money.
To understand the location hierarchy of large scale television and film productions in the UK and abroad, you first must imagine writers, directors and producers coming together with a creative narrative that needs certain locations to realise the story being told. This team will then present briefs to a or many hired location managers and scouts, who will use a combination of approaches to find the ideal spaces. Location managers will draw on their own network, reach out to familiar location libraries and hit the road looking for something that has yet to be scouted. When Silverstein Locations is approached with a brief, this will either be for a specific location listed on the website, such as Shamcroft, or a more generalised call out for spaces that could fulfil the brief at hand. In the case of the latter, Silverstein Locations will first look to our own library and otherwise begin scouting on behalf of the location manager for a new space which would be suitable.
A portfolio of options is then presented to the location manager/scout/production company, who will seek to option a few to the original creative team (writers/directors/producers) and should any be chosen, the location manager will feedback requests to recce. There are many factors at play when a creative team chooses or rejects a location that go well beyond the more obvious options of creative needs, location availability and budget. Location libraries are well aware of the precarious nature of selection however and will choose to either specialise in certain types of curated spaces or seek to list a large variety of locations to cover all bases and then some. Although Silverstein Locations is selective in the locations we enlist, we do aim to represent a broad range of locations to be able to offer all enquiries at least a handful of options. When working with film location libraries it is worth knowing exactly how any particular library operates in terms of their listings. It is also worth noting that some locations will list directly with a variety of agencies or even through other agencies and so when scouting for a location always try and find the source library by working with an broker, such as Silverstein Locations, directly.
Once a location is chosen, usually after a recce, the terms and conditions will be managed through a film location library’s location agreement and the relevant insurance (usually personal indemnity insurance) will be sent to the relevant parties to ensure all fees and requirements are handled correctly. Location managers and scouts do rely on agencies more and more to secure spaces, as when you work in an industry that moves as quickly and costly as the film industry, having the option to delegate tasks to agency experts enables more time for more demanding tasks that fall under a manager’s remit.
Like selling a house or buying a car directly, there are initial cost benefits to working with location managers and owners without a film library in the middle, however the risks of operating in this way can not only be a hassle but also costly. Film location libraries by their very nature offer security and expedited access to unique spaces and the filming market in a way which works with the speeds and demands of the industry today. If you or someone you know may be interested in listing their home or business as a filming location with Silverstein Locations then please reach out.
