What makes a great film location? Your neighbours!

In the fourth of our series on what makes a great film location we look at an often overlooked but nonetheless essential ingredient that successful film locations share: great neighbours.  For filming often the best sort of neighbours are no neighbours at all  - or at least neighbours who are out of sight and earshot. But of course most locations don't have the luxury of total privacy so in most cases you will have to consider whether those around you will help or hinder your plans to use your property as a film location.

At Lavish Locations barely a week goes by when we don't have to contend with the issue of neighbours. So why do they matter so much? Firstly, because filming in your location will often have a significant impact on those around you and while you will be well rewarded for the inconvenience and disruption, your neighbours will often suffer the downside without any of the financial gain. This is especially true of filming in apartments with shared access. In fact many residents (through a residents' association) will restrict filming in their block to once a month or less to minimize the disruption to neighbours. Even if you don't have shared access, there are lots of neighbours who don't welcome catering trucks and all the paraphernalia that comes with filming parked in their road, or even in your drive. 

Even if your neighbours are relaxed about filming taking place at your location there are also times when you will want to call on their goodwill even more. For example, it may be that to get the right shot in your back garden the lights need to be rigged in theirs,  they may be asked to have vehicles parked in their drive and also to put up with the noise of filming that goes on late into the night. 

So what are the best ways to make sure that your neighbours are on-side and won't scupper your plans to use your property as a film location?  We have three pieces of advice for potential location owners: communication, consideration and compensation.  We would always advise you to talk to the location manager who is working for the film production to help you manage your neighbours. They have significant experience in managing all aspect of filming on location and can help you through leaflet dropping, explaining what will be involved and how it will affect them, and even finding a few hundred pounds extra in the budget to smooth the path to successful filming at your location. 

Most of the pitfalls of filming including awkward neighbours can be avoided if you are for-warned.  Keep reading our blog and learn more about how to make your property into a successful location for filming.