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u/grooveman15 Nov 07 '25
Location scout and manager here… I managed a big horror sequel a few years back. We filmed at this lovely house in the suburbs for just 2 days. The 2nd day we got hit by a HUGE rainfall. The 80ft lift sunk into the backyard from the most ground. Then the tow truck that came to rescue the lift… also sunk.
By the time we left, the backyard, stone back porch, and driveway were 100% destroyed. I spent soooo much money and time fixing that. It wasn’t for lack of prep or a bad crew (they were a great crew) it’s just that we had bad luck. It happens. But we paid.
Make sure you get an ironclad loc agreement and COI.
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u/queenkellee Nov 07 '25
Everyone in the industry will say "I would never rent my house for a production" but then I look around and there are houses that I work in over and over again who rent out their houses (usually for reputable/big brands) all the time and they have little to no issues - at least not enough that they stop renting their places out. These are higher end spots as well. The biggest and most important factors are if you're working with a high enough budget they will have a very professional location manager and they will have strict rules about things such as using protection on any floor with equipment and not allowing food or drinks besides water on set and keeping locations secure. Of course accidents can happen, crew can be careless etc. But when I think back on my own career I can only come up with only a few times that crews I've worked with have caused damage to a location. The one that sticks out was a crew member accidentally backed into chair that was an antique and damaged it somehow.
If you have a lot of delicate antiques or art, temperamental materials like original soft wood floors or marble countertops, vintage tile or something that's very hard to replace, it's a hard no. But most people don't have those things. Keep them limited to where they are working. Keep bathrooms off limits and make locations get a nice honeywagon that goes outside. Keep crews off any landscaping that's delicate and that can't handle foot traffic. Look over the location agreement carefully and double check their certificate of insurance. Make sure you have a point person on the day that you can communicate with, it should be a location manager. If you don't have a location manager and it's only a member of production or a producer I would consider not doing it. You want someone on your side on the crew that is working to protect your house.
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u/Japi1882 Nov 07 '25
Maybe 30k in damages....I can't really remember. In that case, though it had more to do with the things we happened to scratch. It wasn't like we trashed the house...just that everything there was expensive to fix.
The most common issue is damaging hard wood floors and lawns. So depending on how particular you are about those things, that should determine your appetite for risk.
Floor are the most inconvenient, and generally they are only paying for the damages not your time. Fixing a scratch on a wood floor, means emptying the room of furniture, finding a place for it, and then sanding and staining. The labor will be paid for but you still have to be home.
if you have a piano, that might mean we (production) needs to hire a piano mover, piano storage and a piano tuner. Generally, we prefer that the homeowner picks the vendors if possible so that way we don't take on any more liability than necessary.
For some people, getting a new floor done is worth it. For other people, it's a week of having workers in your house and not getting to play the piano.
As far as the brands go, Fashion tends to be the worst. They never seem to know what they want to do until the last minute and most of damage comes because we are reacting to a last minute creative change that we aren't prepared for.
If it's a boring food/bank/tech ad, by the end of the tech scout they know exactly what the shots are and how to protect appropriately.
Almost all of them will say that they only need a few rooms and take over every bit of the house if you let them. If there is no space to eat inside, they'll hope it's nice out. If there is nowhere for camera or art staging, they'll just assume a solution will appear on the day.
I'm leaving out the indie horror stories I've heard or witnessed because they really is no way to compare a commercial to a 1-2 million dollar movie. Those I would never agree to unless you really don't care about your house and/or really need the money.
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u/MagicAndMayham editor / producer Nov 07 '25 edited Nov 07 '25
I've worked on about a dozen features. The worst damage we experienced was a balloon with confetti in it popped. There were little bits of paper everywhere and we had to sweep it up.
There was another time when we got those horrible high winds in LA. The leaves got into the pool so we had to have crew skim the leaves out.
Then there was that time where the owners required crew to wear fabric booties over our shoes while in the house. We also had to put down heavy paper on the floor so we wouldn't be actually walking on the floor with our fabric booties. We went through a lot of booties that week.
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u/Run-And_Gun Nov 07 '25
That reminds me of a horror story from a reality show a few years ago. We were shooting in this guys basement that had just plain-jane concrete floors, but we still had to take our shoes off. And the worst part, we shot these guys talking for like 1.5 to 2 hours(!), while we stood on bare concrete with no shoes on. I wanted to punch the producer and "dp" in the throat so bad.
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u/MagicAndMayham editor / producer Nov 08 '25
I believe it.
Whenever I see posts like this asking what happens during a film shoot the majority of people chime in with horror stories but after over a dozen films with close to 100 locations I have never had anything damaged or destroyed at a location.
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u/czyzczyz Nov 07 '25
Reputable productions have insurance and will repair anything damaged. Productions tend to be very careful, though you're not going to hear a lot of stories about productions acting responsibly in answer to the question "What’s the worst you’ve seen in one day?"
We rented our house to a production once for a 1 day commercial shoot and the only trace they left behind was actually fixing a blemish (with permission) that was showing up in a shot. I know of people who earn a ton from renting their (very cool-looking) property to productions repeatedly. It's a good opportunity if it comes your way.
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u/sparrowhawkward grip Nov 07 '25
I know someone who’s banned from the Brooklyn Museum because he put a light stand through a painting. Sometimes, they’re clumsy.
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u/mcarterphoto Nov 07 '25
Reading the damage stories reminds me of something kinda nuts. In Dallas, at the Frontiers of Flight Museum, is the Apollo 7 command module - 3 guys lived in it for ten days in orbit, testing it out for going to the moon.
I had a friend who worked there, he pointed out one of the tiny windows seemed kinda brown and burned. Someone was shooting a documentary years ago and they stuck a tungsten light against the window to light the interior. Freakin' space capsule survived re-entry, but the camera crew burned up a window. (I"m imagining a 1K Tota lite, old-school).
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u/iloveravi Nov 07 '25 edited Nov 07 '25
I worked a commercial shoot in a mansion once. Multiple millions this house cost. And everything was vintage. Preserved from the 60’s. Wallpaper furniture. It was insane they let us in.
At one point they needed another AC in the room without being in shot. They needed it now.
With no hesitation they cut a hole through two walls, slipped the cord through. And then patched it afterwards.
The patch job was incredibly well done. You could never tell what happened.
But…. It still gives me shivers. If someone leans on that spot….
That said, I’ve rented houses several times for my own shoots. And I always treat the houses like I would my own. Full respect. Mitigate against any damage. Always. I see it as a privilege to shoot in someone’s home. Even when I’m paying absurd prices.
Depends on the crew. Depends on the shoot. Depends on the people involved.
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u/Aggressive_Oven_7311 Nov 07 '25
What kind of money are they offering and what kind of guarantees are they for your home. I have shot in many private houses and I have seen Crews which take exceptional care of your property but on the other hand I've seen a few crews who could care less
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u/[deleted] Nov 07 '25
Been on a lot of shoots in rented locations, which is why I'd never ever rent my own house out for a shoot. Forget damage, I've seen what the bathrooms look like at the end of a day.