TERRIFIED! Indie / Guerilla Location Scouting in LOS ANGELES 101 - HELP!

[jnoahu]

The good news: I'm well on my way to getting my first-ever production off the ground. Great script. Great cast. DP and 1st AC in place. (Still need sound recordist though, but that's a separate thread.) And a budget of $6,000 including post secured.

The bad news: I have absolutely no idea how the HELL to find locations for this project in time before we HAVE TO start shooting this May. AAAAHHH!

What's my "first-ever production" about you ask? Here it is:

Bobo Noir (French for "spoiled Parisian brat") is a pastry arts dropout with a heart of gold (or opal, his birthstone). His dream: become the black John Belushi. His skill: awful-awesome. His parents -- a professor of 19th-century Namibian watercolors and a Montgolfier Prize Winner in toy plane aviation -- have banished him from the family olive oil fortune. But a one-way ticket to Los Angeles, and a cousin convalescing in Mexico, have given him a summer in SoCal to pursue his funnyman dreams.


So that's the synopsis. Since I'm based in LA, as is the cast and crew, we can't afford to trek too far out to find suitable locations for this project. And those locations include:

- a DINER
- APARTMENT INTERIOR (Art-Deco furnished if possible; living room, kitchen, bathroom, two bedrooms)
- APARTMENT EXTERIOR (front lawn, OK to shoot at night, OK to activate sprinklers at night)
- another SMALL, CRAMPED APARTMENT
- an OFFICE / RECEPTION DESK
- an EXECUTIVE OFFICE SUITE
- an ANTIQUE SHOP
- COFFEE SHOP
- COMEDY CLUB
- WAREHOUSE / GARAGE / INDUSTRIAL FACILITY (OK to create + cleanup a small mess)

Now ok, I know what you're probably thinking... I should probably terminate the project. Have given that a lot of thought. But have ultimately decided to push past the trepidation and commit to realizing the project. (Maybe beginner's idiocy?)

So far I've tried posting on Craigslist and city-data.com/forum... no luck :/

I tried cold-calling a diner and, bless his heart, he almost started laughing when I mentioned what I could afford to pay. He said he would need AT LEAST $2,000 for one day's shooting. If I weren't an athlete... I would have had a coronary

I would just be out driving around and around for potential spaces.... but I have a full-time job which I can't really get away from for this project.

I would hire a location scout, but... I just don't know if there's enough money in our budget for one. Or is there?

What the heck can I do to make this work? I have THREE WEEKS to identify and lock down at least a majority of these locations. ANY advice or wisdom would be lapped up like a pitcher of sangria on Cinco de Mayo. Oh yeah, sangria's Spanish, not Mexican. Nevermind.

Thank you!
bobonoir@gmail.com

 

[Alcove Audio]

Welcome to the wonderful world of indie filmmaking! Is this a feature or a short?

Maybe you should use some vacation time or sick time; I'm sure that you have LOTS more to do to prep for your shoot and your nights are already packed full, so take three days off of work to do location scouting.

Is the diner intrinsic to the story/plot/characters? If not, find an alternative - a little mom & pop eatery of some kind, for example. The same applies to all of the locations - are they intrinsically tied to the story/plot/characters? Maybe it's time for a quick rewrite!

The iving room, kitchen, bathroom, two bedrooms do not have to be in the same apartment; some smart use of camera angles and clever editing can make four completely separate locations seem to be in the same place. How many friends and relatives have you called?

It's amazing what you can accomplish with three walls. Change the furniture, change the pictures on the wall and Violá! you have several sets.

Sometimes we become obsessed with the vision (or, in my case, sound) we have in our heads - we are searching for something very specific, and it's just not there or not within our budget. You have two choices; give up, or come up with a new idea.

 

[Dom D]

Tricky! I actually think that locations are the main thing that seperates the Hollywood types from us enthusiastic amatuers. After all these days we're often using the same gear as them but we can't afford a studio to build sets to realise our exact vision. Poor sets can ruin a film on their own and it's work- a lot of work- to get them right cheaply. Personally I'd advise getting a helping hand at this point. Do you have a producer who'll do some of this for you? If not look up your local film school or design course and find some enthusiastic youngster to exploit.

If you were Australian based I would point you in the direction of creativepasces.com. It's a site I use where people post up their interesting locations for people who want to hire them for galleries, film stuff, whatever. I'm betting there's an equivalent site for your area.

Looking at the locations you want here... Apartments. Most people will know at least a dozen people they can impose on for a day or two for a shoot. hit them up and see what their apartments are like. Where do your cast and crew live? Can you impose? This is getting pretty damned cheeky but you'll quickly find yourself deep in the favour bank as an independent filmmaker anyway so push your luck.

Comedy Club. Are you going to have an after party for your shoot? Here's what I do when I need a club location. I pick a club and tell them that I want to hire their space as the location for my film wrap party. They'll usually insist on a $3000 minimum spend at the bar. Not a problem. Your invitees should spend that amount easily at the bar. Film people tend be thirsty sorts... Now that you have their attention ask if you could nip in a little before the party to shoot a shoot a scene or two real quick. Get the right bar and I reckon you can get up to 8 hours free use of their venue.

An Office. Can this be a microset? You know just empty a corner in your house, buy a good desk (to be sold on ebay afterwards) and voila instant set. With good lighting you can actually make something like this pretty cool.

Warehouse: These are available for hire all over the place surely? Round my parts every person who has an oversized garage is trying to rent them out as a studio space or gallery.

An executive office suite. Hard to fake. Maybe he's the kind of exec who likes to take his meetings in the park...

Antique shop/Diner: These are small businesses which is great for you because you're dealing directly with the owner. Don't phone. Go in, be charming- better yet find an attractive woman to go in and be charming for you, I always send my girlfriend. Promise credits, an invite to the premiere and be prepared to be politely rejected by 3/4s of them. I think these should be pretty attainable.

Look the real trick is this: You have no time and little money so you must also have no shame. Get in there and beg and best of luck.

 

[mus]

If you're going Guerilla, good luck sneaking a camera into a comedy club.

 

[_Rok_]

My project has many locations. I know this goes against the no/low-budget MO, but I didn't see why having a small budget meant I had to shoot a small world. Sure, I lose some time with multiple company moves, but I have a specific plan for those days.

Anyway, locations:
I started with approaching local business which I regularly frequent in my neighborhood. Almost all of them allowed me to include their business in my film. In fact, I'm shooting four different locations on the same block. So, I wrote them all into my script. Then, I asked the owners for help in tracking down other locations (the big ones) I needed. I had enormous success because these local business owners knew many other business owners; and even made the introductory call on my behalf.

Another solution is to look up local indie filmmakers and watch their movies on YouTube. If you see a location you like, you'll find the name of the business in the Special Thanks credits. I landed an awesome junkyard location simply by telling the owner I saw their name in the credits of a great movie that was shot there 10 years ago.

I also got one restaurant location by specifically asking to shoot on a national holiday (when I knew they'd be closed).

- Thomas

 

[uhaulforlovers]

First time poster here! I'm based in LA, and have directed a number of shorts that screened at festivals, and just finished my first feature (currently in post) that was shot entirely in LA. Lots of locations, with a minimal budget.

I'm not from LA originally, but have also met plenty of filmmakers who have shot outside of LA to compare notes.

Here's the thing with LA.

If you're looking for free to almost-free locations: you need to go through people you know. LA is a film/TV town, and businesses are very savvy about what goes on. That's good and bad news. It's bad news because you can't really hoodwink them into giving up space for free or next to free (again unless you know them or someone on your crew knows them) -- not only will they want location fees, they will be savvy enough to ask whether you have liability insurance (and with your budget, I'm guessing you don't have general liability insurance). The good news of them being savvy is that they get what goes on -- so if you're able to secure a location, they understand that the place has to be locked down, the schedule is tight, lighting, electrical, etc. Unlike anywhere else in the world (yes, in the world), LA businesses tend to understand set protocol. They get it and there's less "amateur hour" crap once you've secured the location.

If you cold call, you could get lucky, but I would strongly suggest focusing your energy on people you know: your crew members, actors, and so forth are your best resource for finding good locations in LA.

At least that's what I did.

I found a beautiful restaurant in a very trendy and upscale part of LA -- not only did they allow our production to shoot there, but for free. And the only reason is that the manager and I happened to be good friends and she could pull strings with the owner to let us shoot there. They gave us full run of the place for the dates we scheduled (outside of business hours obviously, but they prepped the place for us). Had I been a stranger, they either wouldn't have allowed it at all, or they would've charged an arm and a leg for it. I've been through that already on my previous shorts where I needed an upscale/executive conference room: it's easy to find a place by calling random places, scouting, craigslist, etc but it's cost prohibitive.

Another thing is to get creative with locations. You can set dress a place to look like a location (i.e. your comedy club). You may even want to combine some locations - a variety of locations is GREAT, but only if they contrast so much that they make a difference in your story. The reason why is you'll be pulling a LOT of favors from people, and you'll likely have fewer favors than locations. So prioritize your locations that you absolutely need, and those that can afford to be changed. And no, none of your locations are that precious that you can keep all of them.

DINER / COFFEE SHOP: do you really need both? Do they absolutely have to take place in both? On the surface, a diner and coffee shop feel remarkably similar. Consider ditching one of these locations unless it's absolutely essential. With these two public places, the biggest issue isn't just getting the location, but EXTRAS. You need background talent as customers, waiters/baristas, etc. And extras (especially if you're not paying them) are harder to get than actors, because they will flake. All the time. Needless to say, you need to either know someone who manages a coffee shop, or have someone on your team that does. Otherwise, trying to convince some coffee shop or diner to film in their place for free (or almost free) in LA is essentially zero. You may be able to do it SF, Arizona, New Mexico, etc. but not here.

VARIOUS APARTMENTS: get your crew or actors to offer up their own spaces. No stranger in LA is going to let a film crew shoot in their home for free or next to free. And this is where you should spend some money - pay them *something*. If you are uncomfortable about having a film crew in your own place, chances are anyone else will too. Pay them something, even if it's $100. It will ease the anxiety of the renter/owner when a bevy of Kinos, 2K's, and C-stands invade their place - not to mention the grubby G&E crew.

OFFICE/EXEC SUITE: again, you need to pull favors with people you know if you're looking for next-to-free locations. In LA, you're simply not going to have complete strangers give up space for nothing. Again, lean on people you know, your crew members, actors, etc. There are plenty of places in LA that will offer office space for shooting, but it's unlikely going to work with your budget.

ANTIQUE SHOP / COMEDY CLUB: this is where you can get creative, if you have a good production designer on board. With the comedy club, you can get a raw space and set dress it to look like a comedy club. Have your production designer go to The Comedy Store, Laugh Factory, and Flappers (in Burbank) to get a feel. Same with the antique shop: depending on the shot/scene, you may be able to set dress a portion of a raw space to look like part of an antique shop. And a DP who can creatively frame the shots.

WAREHOUSE/GARAGE/INDUSTRIAL: DTLA has tons of them. Find someone you know who has a space. Otherwise be prepared to pay $$$.

With locations, if you haven't already, involve your production designer in your discussion of locations. You'll be surprised how creative a PD can be in transforming multi-purpose space into multiple locations.

 

[mlesemann]

Where I live (NYC area), smaller comedy clubs are pretty much indistinguishable (visually) from bars that have a performance area for bands. So I'd suggest expanding your search to include bars that you know/frequent that have a small stage.

And I presume that you've budgeted for insurance, yes?

 

[jnoahu]

Welcome to the wonderful world of indie filmmaking! Is this a feature or a short?

Maybe you should use some vacation time or sick time; I'm sure that you have LOTS more to do to prep for your shoot and your nights are already packed full, so take three days off of work to do location scouting.

Is the diner intrinsic to the story/plot/characters? If not, find an alternative - a little mom & pop eatery of some kind, for example. The same applies to all of the locations - are they intrinsically tied to the story/plot/characters? Maybe it's time for a quick rewrite!

The iving room, kitchen, bathroom, two bedrooms do not have to be in the same apartment; some smart use of camera angles and clever editing can make four completely separate locations seem to be in the same place. How many friends and relatives have you called?

It's amazing what you can accomplish with three walls. Change the furniture, change the pictures on the wall and Violá! you have several sets.

Sometimes we become obsessed with the vision (or, in my case, sound) we have in our heads - we are searching for something very specific, and it's just not there or not within our budget. You have two choices; give up, or come up with a new idea.

Great ideas This is very long short film here, with a run-time of between 30 and 40 minutes when all is said and done.

Thankfully my work schedule ebbs in a couple of weeks, so I can shoehorn in a couple off-days fairly soon. In the meanwhile, it'll be catch-as-catch-can, will hopefully MUCH more catching than canning.

The diner is a fairly important part of the narrative. Would be SO happy to land a cute and remote mom-and-pop. The only problem is: aren't most mom-and-pop's not yet savvy enough to advertise their little establishments online? The tricky part about LA is that everybody's somehow connected to the Hollywood machine. Not too much sympathy gets doled out to shallow-pocketed newbies like me. But regardless I refuse to surrender and will SOMEHOW land this space.

In terms of the apartment, the most critical of the locations to land: relatively victorious success. I put feelers out online for an "Art Deco articulate" apartment and actually received some promising responses.

I have actually solicited several friends' assistance in terms of securing locations. One of them has a father who owns a lucrative commercial real estate company, which could be very helpful in landing the office locations.

As for the GARAGE/WAREHOUSE/INDUSTRIAL FACILITY, DINER and ANTIQUE SHOP, my only plan so far is to cold-call a number of establishments around Los Angeles and, on an off-day, to try to solicit permission face-to-face from some of those establishments.

The COFFEE SHOP and COMEDY CLUB are interchangeable. There's a standup comedy scene and either location will do for it. Or even a BAR. Any cozy gathering place in fact. My battle plan? Same as above. Cross fingers.

I will Craigslist for the APARTMENT EXTERIOR and hope that maybe $150-$300 for 1-2 days' shooting can sweeten the pot.

Really looking to instill serious production value into this project, which first and foremost relies on either the securing of a great location, or the savvy manipulation of whatever we can nab into a great location. More than prepared to go the distance these couple of weeks and make it work, either way.

 

[jnoahu]

"No time. No money. No shame." BUMPER STICKER!!

Really appreciate your tip about trying to secure some additional help for the project. Suffice it to say that... I'm a maniac. I'm directing and producing this project solo. I also wrote the script. I'm also acting in a part of the project. I have just enough funding to get this thing in the can with my crew (a DP, 1st AC, sound recordist, and a PA) and am not sure I could afford a location scout at this point. Will have to do my best going it alone.

Love the advice about asking around for an apartment to use for the shoot. Definitely a possibility! Have already asked several friends and their responses are pending. In the meanwhile, I've Craiglisted for some apartments and have had some good success turn up. Hopefully one of them works out, fingers crossed.

The comedy club idea is GENIUS. Will require some nimble negotiating feet but I think I might be up to it!

Also GENIUS was the advice on treating the office as a microset. In that case, I could easily just shoot it in my own apartment, probably

And EXCELLENT tip about the antique shop, which I will apply to the diner scene as well. Can probably allot a whole couple of days to just go out, well-dressed, beautiful female friend in tow (maybe I'll Craigslist for a vixen), and voila

I'm ready to go and ready to beg, in no small part to your great advice here. Thanks!

 

[jnoahu]

You're right. Won't be easy. But we'll try

 

[jnoahu]

My project has many locations. I know this goes against the no/low-budget MO, but I didn't see why having a small budget meant I had to shoot a small world. Sure, I lose some time with multiple company moves, but I have a specific plan for those days.

Anyway, locations:
I started with approaching local business which I regularly frequent in my neighborhood. Almost all of them allowed me to include their business in my film. In fact, I'm shooting four different locations on the same block. So, I wrote them all into my script. Then, I asked the owners for help in tracking down other locations (the big ones) I needed. I had enormous success because these local business owners knew many other business owners; and even made the introductory call on my behalf.

Another solution is to look up local indie filmmakers and watch their movies on YouTube. If you see a location you like, you'll find the name of the business in the Special Thanks credits. I landed an awesome junkyard location simply by telling the owner I saw their name in the credits of a great movie that was shot there 10 years ago.

I also got one restaurant location by specifically asking to shoot on a national holiday (when I knew they'd be closed).

- Thomas

So I love this guy already. What you said really resonates with me: "why does having a small budget mean I have to shoot a small world?" BINGO!

Unfortunately there aren't many, or any, serious holidays in May :/ But I've taken a shine to the ingenuity and charm you clearly demonstrated to get these businesses on your side. Will try to incorporate these lessons into my location-gathering plan!

 

[jnoahu]

First time poster here! I'm based in LA, and have directed a number of shorts that screened at festivals, and just finished my first feature (currently in post) that was shot entirely in LA. Lots of locations, with a minimal budget.

I'm not from LA originally, but have also met plenty of filmmakers who have shot outside of LA to compare notes.

Here's the thing with LA.

If you're looking for free to almost-free locations: you need to go through people you know. LA is a film/TV town, and businesses are very savvy about what goes on. That's good and bad news. It's bad news because you can't really hoodwink them into giving up space for free or next to free (again unless you know them or someone on your crew knows them) -- not only will they want location fees, they will be savvy enough to ask whether you have liability insurance (and with your budget, I'm guessing you don't have general liability insurance). The good news of them being savvy is that they get what goes on -- so if you're able to secure a location, they understand that the place has to be locked down, the schedule is tight, lighting, electrical, etc. Unlike anywhere else in the world (yes, in the world), LA businesses tend to understand set protocol. They get it and there's less "amateur hour" crap once you've secured the location.

If you cold call, you could get lucky, but I would strongly suggest focusing your energy on people you know: your crew members, actors, and so forth are your best resource for finding good locations in LA.

At least that's what I did.

I found a beautiful restaurant in a very trendy and upscale part of LA -- not only did they allow our production to shoot there, but for free. And the only reason is that the manager and I happened to be good friends and she could pull strings with the owner to let us shoot there. They gave us full run of the place for the dates we scheduled (outside of business hours obviously, but they prepped the place for us). Had I been a stranger, they either wouldn't have allowed it at all, or they would've charged an arm and a leg for it. I've been through that already on my previous shorts where I needed an upscale/executive conference room: it's easy to find a place by calling random places, scouting, craigslist, etc but it's cost prohibitive.

Another thing is to get creative with locations. You can set dress a place to look like a location (i.e. your comedy club). You may even want to combine some locations - a variety of locations is GREAT, but only if they contrast so much that they make a difference in your story. The reason why is you'll be pulling a LOT of favors from people, and you'll likely have fewer favors than locations. So prioritize your locations that you absolutely need, and those that can afford to be changed. And no, none of your locations are that precious that you can keep all of them.

DINER / COFFEE SHOP: do you really need both? Do they absolutely have to take place in both? On the surface, a diner and coffee shop feel remarkably similar. Consider ditching one of these locations unless it's absolutely essential. With these two public places, the biggest issue isn't just getting the location, but EXTRAS. You need background talent as customers, waiters/baristas, etc. And extras (especially if you're not paying them) are harder to get than actors, because they will flake. All the time. Needless to say, you need to either know someone who manages a coffee shop, or have someone on your team that does. Otherwise, trying to convince some coffee shop or diner to film in their place for free (or almost free) in LA is essentially zero. You may be able to do it SF, Arizona, New Mexico, etc. but not here.

VARIOUS APARTMENTS: get your crew or actors to offer up their own spaces. No stranger in LA is going to let a film crew shoot in their home for free or next to free. And this is where you should spend some money - pay them *something*. If you are uncomfortable about having a film crew in your own place, chances are anyone else will too. Pay them something, even if it's $100. It will ease the anxiety of the renter/owner when a bevy of Kinos, 2K's, and C-stands invade their place - not to mention the grubby G&E crew.

OFFICE/EXEC SUITE: again, you need to pull favors with people you know if you're looking for next-to-free locations. In LA, you're simply not going to have complete strangers give up space for nothing. Again, lean on people you know, your crew members, actors, etc. There are plenty of places in LA that will offer office space for shooting, but it's unlikely going to work with your budget.

ANTIQUE SHOP / COMEDY CLUB: this is where you can get creative, if you have a good production designer on board. With the comedy club, you can get a raw space and set dress it to look like a comedy club. Have your production designer go to The Comedy Store, Laugh Factory, and Flappers (in Burbank) to get a feel. Same with the antique shop: depending on the shot/scene, you may be able to set dress a portion of a raw space to look like part of an antique shop. And a DP who can creatively frame the shots.

WAREHOUSE/GARAGE/INDUSTRIAL: DTLA has tons of them. Find someone you know who has a space. Otherwise be prepared to pay $$$.

With locations, if you haven't already, involve your production designer in your discussion of locations. You'll be surprised how creative a PD can be in transforming multi-purpose space into multiple locations.

Thanks for the multiple bomb-drops of wisdom throughout your entire response here. I wish I'd read your good news / bad news paragraph on LA locations well before this particular moment.

The DINER location is pretty much an essential component for one particular scene, and I'm currently cold-calling lots of places especially in the Valley to see if they might be more amenable to letting some film students in to work.

I have offered to pay money for all of the locations involved in the shoot, and a good chunk of the budget will be devoted to locking down the apartment interior and exterior in particular.

 

[jnoahu]

Where I live (NYC area), smaller comedy clubs are pretty much indistinguishable (visually) from bars that have a performance area for bands. So I'd suggest expanding your search to include bars that you know/frequent that have a small stage.

And I presume that you've budgeted for insurance, yes?

Thanks for the tip about the bar! Unfortunately the budget does not contain enough for insurance costs.

 

[Alcove Audio]

It may not work in LA as well as it does in less media-centric parts of the country, but a barter can work quite nicely. I worked on a short several years ago where they needed an antique shop for a scene that was crucial to the film. The director and producer agreed to shoot an interview with the owner plus some footage and stills for the shops web-site. They both - the short and the little promo video - came out rather well. The shop owner and his family (as did others who donated locations) came to the wrap party and the cast/crew preview showing of the short - even at this small level the general public has a glamorous view of the movie biz.