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What type of properties are film and TV companies looking for?

Almost anywhere you could imagine filming taking place.

Northern Film & Media offers a location finding service to location managers and production companies and we are asked for every conceivable type of domestic, commercial, industrial and outdoor property – from modest homes to grand mansions, offices, factories, gardens, quarries, lakes and everything else in between.

Sometimes ordinary private properties are the most difficult to find, the only note of caution being that filming does typically require a large amount of space, so rooms do need to be quite large.

How can people make their properties more attractive to film makers?

Location managers will usually make their initial judgments about whether a potential location is worth investigating on the basis of photographs supplied by a locations service/agency, having been taken by the owner of the property.

Northern Film & Media has a database of locations

When taking such photographs the most important thing is to ensure that they give a full and accurate impression of what the rooms or exteriors look like (so offer as many photographs as possible).

Preferably they should also show how one room leads into another. The photographs do not need to be of professional quality but should be clear enough not to be misleading.

How does it work when people's properties are used as a location - are they paid?

When a production company films on location it normally pays the property owner a facility fee.Ìý

This fee is dependent on the type of property concerned, how disruptive filming will be and how long the production company needs the property for.

The production company will deal directly with you to negotiate this fee although Northern Film & Media can offer help and guidance.Ìý

The fee is also dependent on the type of production and its budget. Generally short films, student films and documentaries have low budgets whilst those making commercials, television productions and feature films have more money to spend on locations.

What should people do if they are interested in registering their properties as a location?

Northern Film & Media maintains a database of potential locations to be shown to filmmakers.

Properties can be registered with us as potential locations, free of charge.

All anyone interested in registering needs to do is complete an application form and send us digital photos of their property.

For an application form and guidance notes, go to: