Film Locations Glossary
Location fee
What is a location fee?
Also called site fee.
A location fee is the payment to a property owner for the right to film at their premises, usually quoted per day and separately for prep, shoot, and strike days.
Rates are driven by the property's desirability, the disruption involved, precedent in that neighborhood, and how badly the production needs it. Prep and strike days at a reduced rate are standard, and forgetting to budget them is a common error.
Example
A private house quotes $3,500 a shoot day, with prep and strike at half rate. Two shoot days plus one prep and one strike is $10,500, and budgeting only the shoot days understates it by a third.
Figures are illustrative, chosen to show the mechanics rather than to quote market rates.
Where you'll see it
Negotiated by the location manager and set out in the location agreement.
Common mistake
Budgeting shoot days only. Prep and strike days are chargeable, usually at a reduced rate, and omitting them understates a location by a third or more.
Related questions
- How much is a film location fee?
- It depends on the property, the disruption, local precedent, and how badly the production needs it. It is negotiated rather than tariffed.
- Are prep and strike days charged?
- Normally yes, at a reduced rate against the shooting-day fee, and they need their own permits where public space is involved.