Film Locations Glossary
Circus
What is circus?
Also called unit circus.
Circus is the British and European term for base camp: the parking and support area holding trailers, catering, and unit vehicles away from the shooting location.
The word survives from the days when a traveling unit arrived, set up on a field, and struck it the same night. A circus site is scouted and secured with its own agreement, separately from the location itself.
Example
A UK shoot parks its circus in a rugby club car park half a mile from a village location, with a minibus running crew in. The club is paid a daily site fee and the pitch is protected with trackway to stop the trucks cutting it up.
Figures are illustrative, chosen to show the mechanics rather than to quote market rates.
Where you'll see it
The British and European equivalent of base camp, agreed with its own site contract.
Common mistake
Parking a circus on soft ground without trackway. Trucks cut up a field in one wet day, and the restoration bill outruns the site fee.
Related questions
- What does circus mean on a film set?
- The British and European term for base camp: the off-set parking and support area holding trailers, catering, and unit vehicles.
- Is the circus the same as the shooting location?
- No, and it is contracted separately. A circus site is scouted, agreed, permitted, and restored in its own right.