how to rent a warehouse for a shoot?

S

shaun_au

Active member
I just found a large empty warehouse where I'd like to shoot my short. So I wrote down the numbers on the sign and thought about calling them on Monday. I only need this warehouse for two weekends about 4 days at most. It's a drama film, so no crazy and dangerous stuff, you know. But I wonder if I should get some advice here on how to talk to those real-estate people about using their property to shoot a film so they won't turn me down right away. Also I want to know if I need to provide some sort of insurance so that they don't need to worry about liabilities.

Any suggestions? Thanks.:)
 
I always go into location 'procurement' figuring that the party who 'runs' the location will want both insurance AND money. Get a couple of qoutes on production insurance before you call the real estate office. Then you'll know if it's even worth your while. Here in Chicago you can get a whole years worth of million dollar covearge for about $600.00. You can also purchase by the shoot or month (as I recall) but those prices are so high that you might as well buy the full year and have it for other shoots.

After you have the insurance qoutes, call the real estate office and tell them what you're up to (don't volunteer that you do/don't have insurance yet). Make the shoot sound as simple as possible... "it won't be any trouble at all... you'll hardly know we're there"---- all that good stuff. And let them know that even though it 's a small shoe-string budget production, you'll give them some money to make it worth their while. I've gotten away with people accepting as little as $50 bucks a day, but don't be surprised if they don't budge for 250-500 or more. Oh, and you may have to write the check out to the person your're talking to on the phone rather than the real estate company itself,,, dig? ; )

Now, if they don't ask for insurance or money, that's great! BUT... be prepared to buy that dang insurance at 4:55pm the night before the shoot anyway. People have a way of getting nervous the day or two before the crew shows up-- their boss or lawyer might rear their ugly head at the last minute.

Let me know if you need any more assistance, and remember that insurance is not just protection for the property owner, it's also protection for YOU. Let's pray your soundman doesn't get smashed by a jib arm--- but if he does... his wife/girlfriend/mother/kids are going to come after YOU for big dollars.
 
I have a question.

Where can I get quotes on production insurance? It seems where I need to start.

vicrattlehead said:
I always go into location 'procurement' figuring that the party who 'runs' the location will want both insurance AND money. Get a couple of qoutes on production insurance before you call the real estate office. Then you'll know if it's even worth your while. Here in Chicago you can get a whole years worth of million dollar covearge for about $600.00. You can also purchase by the shoot or month (as I recall) but those prices are so high that you might as well buy the full year and have it for other shoots.

After you have the insurance qoutes, call the real estate office and tell them what you're up to (don't volunteer that you do/don't have insurance yet). Make the shoot sound as simple as possible... "it won't be any trouble at all... you'll hardly know we're there"---- all that good stuff. And let them know that even though it 's a small shoe-string budget production, you'll give them some money to make it worth their while. I've gotten away with people accepting as little as $50 bucks a day, but don't be surprised if they don't budge for 250-500 or more. Oh, and you may have to write the check out to the person your're talking to on the phone rather than the real estate company itself,,, dig? ; )

Now, if they don't ask for insurance or money, that's great! BUT... be prepared to buy that dang insurance at 4:55pm the night before the shoot anyway. People have a way of getting nervous the day or two before the crew shows up-- their boss or lawyer might rear their ugly head at the last minute.

Let me know if you need any more assistance, and remember that insurance is not just protection for the property owner, it's also protection for YOU. Let's pray your soundman doesn't get smashed by a jib arm--- but if he does... his wife/girlfriend/mother/kids are going to come after YOU for big dollars.
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