Film Locations Glossary
Location agreement
What is a location agreement?
Also called location contract.
A location agreement is the contract between a production and a property owner permitting filming at a place on defined dates for a defined fee.
It sets what may be altered, the restoration obligation, insurance and indemnity terms, access hours, cancellation rights, and the license to use the resulting footage. It is the document that makes everything else at a location possible, and it is signed before the first truck rolls.
Example
A four-day agreement covers one prep day, two shoot days, one strike day, the alterations permitted, the restoration obligation, insurance and indemnity, access hours, a cancellation window, and the license to use the footage in perpetuity.
Figures are illustrative, chosen to show the mechanics rather than to quote market rates.
Where you'll see it
Signed before any truck rolls. The document everything else at a location depends on.
Common mistake
Rolling trucks before it is signed. Everything else at a location, insurance, permits, alterations, restoration, depends on that document existing first.
Related questions
- What does a location agreement cover?
- Dates and fees, permitted alterations, restoration obligations, insurance and indemnity, access hours, cancellation rights, and the license to use the footage.
- Who signs a location agreement?
- The production entity and whoever legally controls the property, which on leased or jointly owned premises may be more than one party.