Anyone's property been used for filming before?

Maccy

Maccy

Maccy

Commissario
Joined
23 Nov 2004
Posts
42,935
Location
Herts
Last week when I was away, we received a letter about using our house for filming part of the new series for the BBC series 'New Tricks' - don't know if any of you here watch it.

We called them regarding it, they took a look round and decided to use our house! Crew are coming round next Tuesday to set up and then filming on the Wednesday and Thursday, using the downstairs and garden. Apparently we're getting £1000 per day which is always good :)

However, is there anything that we should be aware of beforehand? Have been told to check for damage before and after incase they cause any damage whilst filming.
 
I would take a photo of each room before they install their kit. Just incase anything gets damaged etc.
 
I would make sure you keep them there for as long as possible at £1000 per day :p
 
Phate said:
I would take a photo of each room before they install their kit. Just incase anything gets damaged etc.
Click to expand...

Thats what I would do and also document everything that belongs to you in each room and have it signed off if you can so if it goes missing you can tell and the BBC agree to replace it.
 
and read and re-read any small print to make sure their insurance covers any damage to the house (as yours might well not) that they don't have any rights to invade your privicy over and above what you agree to etc etc.

Also make sure you have times which they are going to film during laid out explicitly and what access rights you have during those times, plus if they are going to do several days if your expected to stay else ware and who will foot the bill, or if they are going to pack away overnight....
 
My mum had the crew from Last Of The Summer Wine filming at her B&B 12 years ago in Bridlington.

No sure how much she got but the only problem she had was catching one of the Lighting Crew in the kitchen scoffing his face with Rock Cakes she had made for her friend who was in Hospital. She was not impressed to say the least.

Apart from that, all went fine as far as i'm aware.
 
Siliconslave said:
and read and re-read any small print to make sure their insurance covers any damage to the house (as yours might well not) that they don't have any rights to invade your privicy over and above what you agree to etc etc.
Click to expand...

Good advice, there was a scam on the real hustle where a guy signed a form to let a film crew use his car, but on closer inspection it was a sales agreement - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8dyOgegedfc doubt it'll happen for you but it makes a good point of how important it can be to read everything properly!
 
My brother-in-law woke up one day and opened the curtains to find death riding a horse past his house. He then remembered they were filming "The Hogfather".

Gave him a hell of a shock that early in the morning.:)
 
Watch your pets if you have any. I remember reading that Delia Smith had her cat crushed by the camera crew's porta loo.
 
for a £1000 a day i would let them tread **** through my house and scratch paint off the wall while they're at it. Obviously i would draw the line at letting them near the PC. My only concern would be finding a way to make the filming last as long as possible. Imagine 10 (x£1000) days !
 
Last edited:
Maccy said:
Last week when I was away, we received a letter about using our house for filming part of the new series for the BBC series 'New Tricks' - don't know if any of you here watch it.

We called them regarding it, they took a look round and decided to use our house! Crew are coming round next Tuesday to set up and then filming on the Wednesday and Thursday, using the downstairs and garden. Apparently we're getting £1000 per day which is always good :)

However, is there anything that we should be aware of beforehand? Have been told to check for damage before and after incase they cause any damage whilst filming.
Click to expand...
£1000 sounds about right, you normally have to have some sort of crazy or massive house to get more than that... It's easy money really, I wouldn't have a problem with them using my place...

I've been filming in peoples houses before (sound department), and the locations people are always there to keep an eye on the crew, and make sure they don't do anything they shouldn't.

Be aware that people in the tv/film industry often do 11 hour days, 6 day weeks, and it's not always during the day. I've arrived at work at 10pm, and didn't get back to 10am the next day! :eek: So, you may want to find some place else to stay for a while like a friends, but sometimes the owners of the locations have a basement or something they sometimes stay in. Generators are pretty noisy tho, I know I couldn't sleep with one on my road. They should let you know all the dates/times...

As for damage, if you have wood floors, I'd get photo's of them, as lighting stands can scratch the floors if tennis balls are not used. The other departments (camera/grip/etc.) don't really have any gear which will damage anything... I've smashed a light fitting with a mic boom pole once tho! :o

If there is any damage (it's pretty rare but it does happen), they should be fine about reimbursing you, production always keep some money to one side in case any gear or locations get damaged.

As said, if there are any pets, they will just get in the way, unless it's a goldfish or something. If you have a dog or something like that, I'd be tempted to have a friend look after it.

EDIT: Also, you may want to eat up your frozen food... We had a noisey fridge/freezer in one of the location we were at, and it had to be switched off during takes. If it's a quiet one tho, you should be fine. :)
 
Last edited:
Who knows, they asked everyone in the road and picked ours!

They've stated in the contract that they'll be here from 8am until 7pm. If they breach this then they pay us even more :)
 
Maccy said:
Who knows, they asked everyone in the road and picked ours!

They've stated in the contract that they'll be here from 8am until 7pm. If they breach this then they pay us even more :)
Click to expand...
They'll probably overrun at least once if the director likes to shoot every scene from every possible angle... Not all directors are like this tho. 8-7 is pretty good, are you going to let them film do you think?
 
Not quite the same, but a friend of mine had a house at the end of his street used for the new Doctor Who series. It was the one with the person (thing) in the TV. They redecorated the front of the building to look like an old TV repair shop, set up machines to have it look like it was raining, all sorts. Quite cool I thought.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom