Finding Locations

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VladCantSleep

I've been finding it rather difficult to get filming started for several reasons. After cancelling 3 or 4 shoots in a row, I had more difficulty (that I think could've been avoided) today.

I have written a short one scene film. The entire film takes place in a public washroom. I made plans to film at a community center very early in the morning, so we had no chance of anyone coming in to use the facilities. We came in, starting setting up our lights, tripod, etc., when a guy from management comes in. He tells us we can't film in the center AT ALL, and it had nothing to do with disturbing other people, or having to book it in advance. We just couldn't -- plain and simple. I'm sure there's a reason, but I have filmed at this community center twice before, both times with management around. Maybe the guy felt like being a dick today.

Having written the script with the Community Center washroom in mind, we decided to go around and look for similar public washrooms (we needed two urinals, any number of stalls, and an entire wall of sinks). After remembering that there was a similar (and completely deserted) washroom in a park nearby, we made our way there. There was no parking anywhere within its vicinity, so we had a few guys run and check the washroom out before we decided to get up and haul all of our equipment there on foot. Turns out that it was closed. During its fucking hours of operation.

"No biggie", we thought. "There's gotta be another washroom nearby".

We looked at all the possible options. The only "similar" washrooms that came to mind, are those that can be found in malls, shopping centers, and fast food restaurants. The problem was, even early in the morning, people would be coming in to use them quite often. It wouldn't take long for someone to complain about a bunch of "college kids with a camera and a blinding light in the washroom".

I got my pen out. If we couldn't get the washroom we wanted, I'd settle with any public washroom. I'd make changes to the script on the fly if I had to. Then it hit me -- there are dozens of public washrooms on my university campus, more than half of which are completely deserted 90% of the time. I guess it didn't click that they are closed until January 5th.

Some more annoying location scouting later, we decide to head home and mope.

Sorry for the longish rant.

This just goes to show you, that as a film maker, you have to account for as many possible variables as possible. I should've checked with the community center in advance. The problem of induction rears its ugly head.

So, as I have done for every thread I have created on this forum, I will pose a question to the community.

How do you handle locations? How do you plan for your production, and how do you make sure that nothing goes wrong, location wise?

I understand that as indie film makers, we should write our script in accordance to the resources we have available -- and that is exactly what I did. I just could not for the life of me anticipate such a hinderence.
 
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Well, I haven't made too many movies where I actually filmed in public places, but when I did I asked the owners/managers first and they (surprisingly) did never mind a film crew with big lights and everything. Maybe I was just lucky, but every time I asked gently, they said yes and let me film whatever I wanted and needed for the movie.
 
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VladCantSleep said:
How do you handle locations? How do you plan for your production, and how do you make sure that nothing goes wrong, location wise?
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I do everything that you know you should have done.

Sometimes I get a “no.” Very often I get permission. But even a “no”
beats scheduling cast and crew, setting up and getting tossed out.

As you found out.

Back in the day when I was just a kid (okay, in my early 20’s)
shooting with my friends with my super8 camera I shot inside
police stations, in a courtroom, in public parks, in public
parking structures, in office buildings and even in the city
morgue.

Because I asked.

Frankly there isn’t much you can to to insure nothing goes wrong
with a location. Thing go wrong. But you CAN avoid getting tossed
out after you’ve set up.
 
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Get permission first! You can't just show up and shoot, and expect not to get thrown out. I understand the guerrilla mentality but that does not exclude preparation.
 
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Thanks for the advice guys. I never knew how much of a difference asking made. There may be a problem filming inside a washroom... but I'll ask around after New Year's, see if some local business owner will let me shoot in his washroom before/after hours of operation.
 
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Another bonus to getting permission, is getting a Location Release signed.

You never know when you'll need those various bits of paperwork, further down the line. :)
 
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Is there a general standardized format for location releases, or is it something you just need to type up yourself? I have seen a release for interviews that are targeted towards individuals in filming. What are the basics to cover?
 
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Ask local restaurants and tell them you'll put their name in the credits. Hey, sometimes it works.
 
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VladCantSleep said:
There may be a problem filming inside a washroom... but I'll ask around after New Year's, see if some local business owner will let me shoot in his washroom before/after hours of operation.
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You're right. There may be a problem. But problems are just part of
the making of a movie. The good news is there will be more than
one washroom within 15/20 miles of you so the odds are good you'll
find one where you can get permission to shoot.
 
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indietalk said:
Ask local restaurants and tell them you'll put their name in the credits. Hey, sometimes it works.
Click to expand...

Take it even a step further. Provide all the food, a complimentary DVD, and a hand written thank you note.

This will increase your chances of returning to that location in the future. Always be thinking of the long-term. If your not courteous to those providing the location, they most likely won't allow others to film there.
 
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Maybe this is obvious, but there isn't any washroom location that would work at your college, is there? Being a student has to have some kind of benefits.... I was able to shoot a couple scenes in the administration offices of the school I went to, simply because I asked nicely, and was an alum... of course being a broadcasting school and using a couple students as PA's sweetened the deal for the school a bit I suppose, but I had pretty much full run of the building on a day they weren't normally open -- I believe it was a Sunday.
 
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You can also rent vacant places by calling real estate firms and telling them what you need. You will need insurance for this.
 
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Will Vincent said:
Maybe this is obvious, but there isn't any washroom location that would work at your college, is there? Being a student has to have some kind of benefits.... I was able to shoot a couple scenes in the administration offices of the school I went to, simply because I asked nicely, and was an alum... of course being a broadcasting school and using a couple students as PA's sweetened the deal for the school a bit I suppose, but I had pretty much full run of the building on a day they weren't normally open -- I believe it was a Sunday.
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That's actually exactly what I'm doing. Campus re-opens tomorrow. Since my University's been on strike for two months, it'll be pretty deserted. Doubt I'll run into any trouble.

Shooting at an adminstration office? That's gotta be great! Never realized how many usable locations my campus has. It's pretty much a small town -- I have all the locations I will ever need right on campus. Thanks for the advice :)

You can also rent vacant places by calling real estate firms and telling them what you need. You will need insurance for this.
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This is a great idea! The only problem is, I'm a little shy on cash. I'm short on equipment as it is, so I can't pay for things like locations. At least hopefully, yet.
 
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