New Scottish locations wanted for film and TV companies
Who wouldn’t want their home or business to be chosen as a filming location? Filmmakers are always on the look-out for new hidden gems to be the next backdrop for their movie, TV drama or documentary.
Scotland has some of the most iconic locations for filming and Scottish Film Locations is offering a website where you can list your property to share its potential.
Scottish Film Locations (SFL) owner Al Anderson is searching for everything from cafes and restaurants, shops, hotels and bars, to farms, factories, garages, scrapyards and even derelict buildings. You could make extra money from your garden centre or hair and beauty salon – as it is more cost-effective for producers to hire real locations than to rent studio space and build sets.
He explains: “In a time of rising gas, electricity, food and fuel prices, home and business owners of all kinds may be looking to make more money. We have the opportunity to offer their premises as potential locations for film and TV production companies – which they may not have even considered.”
Properties can be listed on the SFL website at no cost, only paying a commission if they hire their property.
Even small budget films can pay £1,000-a-day but that figure could be ten times or more for large properties and blockbusters – and the filming fee can be just the start.
Al adds: “The actual fee depends on the size of the production, a Hollywood blockbuster to a TV commercial. Hiring your property as a location to a TV or film company could earn you thousands of pounds. But apart from earning the equivalent of a month’s mortgage in one day, the prestige of being part of a major film or TV drama can bring lots of future business. Why would a potential customer go to the opposition when they could come to your café and say, ‘I’ll have the same table as Brad Pitt, please’.”
All that property owners need to do is to go to the Scottish Film Locations website and enter details and pictures of their site on the contact form to see if they have potential.
One of the best examples of a Scottish business making the most of the opportunity is Duncarron Medieval fort and village, which is run by the Clanranald Trust. It has been the backdrop for Gladiator, Robin Hood, Outlaw King and Outlander – and visitors can walk in the footsteps of their on-screen heroes on a day out at one of Duncarron’s events.
Showing the full extent of the appetite for filming in Scotland, movies and TV dramas which were recently filmed here include Avengers: Infinity War, Fast and Furious 9, Batgirl, Indiana Jones 5, The Flash, Good Omens, The Rig, Screw, The Control Room and Anansi Boys. Global streamers are also said to be investing heavily in Scotland, with Amazon Prime Video reportedly committing £50 million across three series.
So to get in on the action, just complete the contact form on the Scottish Film Locations website.