The role of the location agency

Like agents in other industries, it is our job to connect our locations with the clients who wish to use them. In a nutshell, we offer a shortcut to producers, directors and photographers who need a location for their production but don't have time to go knocking on property owners' doors in the hope of finding their perfect location. But if you think that our job ends once a location has signed up, think again. Here are the top 10 roles of a location agency:

There's no point in us offering a service where we only represent a handful of locations. Our clients come to our website knowing that we'll have an extensive and diverse collection of high-quality properties that will ultimately save them a lot of leg work. We make sure that we have as many property types as possible, from foreign look-a-likes to archetypal family homes.

Once we receive your photos, it is our job to put them in the right categories and to tag each image (feature) so that someone searching will find what they want. If a production wants a Georgian house with a conservatory and a roll-top bath within the M25, we make sure that it's never more than a few clicks away.

"We make sure your perfect location is never more than a few clicks away."

In truth, many clients don't have the time to search our website themselves. This is where our expert team of location bookers come in. They spend every day searching through our location library matching our properties to specific briefs that clients send us. They know our website inside out and can quickly put together a portfolio of suitable locations.

We receive hundreds of briefs from location managers every month, and it is our job to create a portfolio of potential locations that match their requirements. A typical brief will specify the area, the property type, the period and the style. It will usually ask for special features (this could be anything from a grand staircase, some outbuildings or even a particular outlook or view). 

If the client likes the look of any of the suggestions we send, they typically want to visit to see the location in real life. Some smaller shoots may skip this stage and book the property straight away, but for larger shoots and filming, where logistics need sorting too, the next step is almost always a recce. 

Our clients work to very tight deadlines, and we're often juggling the client's itinerary with our location owners' diaries to arrange viewings. Making sure that you or a representative can be available at short notice is key to having a successful film location.

There is no fixed rate card in our industry for location hire which means that we are negotiating terms for every booking. We make sure that we ask for the budget upfront so that we can suggest locations most likely to accept the fee and can manage expectations. We will always try to work with a client to find a solution within their budget, but if they don't have sufficient funds, then we will be upfront about that too. It's in our interests to get you the best fee we can. 

We make sure that locations know the budget, as well as what is required (dates, rooms, crew size etc) before we start arranging recces and reserving dates. This means that by the time we come to draw up the contract, all the finer details have been addressed and there are no surprises.

"by the time we come to draw up the contract, all the finer details have been addressed and there are no surprises."

The vast majority of the shoots we arrange use our agreement which all our location owners pre-sign. This means that the contract can be signed and returned in a timely manner before the shoot date. Larger productions, mainly feature films, will have their own agreements and it is our role to make sure that any contract protects your interests at all times. We won't allow any shoot to go ahead without a signed contract from the user (client).

Just as we need a signed contract, we also need to make sure that the client has sufficient insurance cover in case anything goes wrong. We ask for, and keep on file, a copy of the insurance before every shoot. 

Once the client signs the agreement, we will invoice them on your behalf. As far as possible, we aim to have received payment before any filming takes place. Payment in advance isn't possible for some photographic shoots, but we will always make sure that you know when you are likely to be paid. As a location owner, you don't need to invoice us as we issue a "self-bill" which means that we invoice ourselves on your behalf. As soon as the client has paid us, we will pay you.

"We aim to have received payment before any filming takes place."

We usually check-in with you on the day after a shoot to make sure that everything went smoothly. It is very common for a shoot to exceed the contracted hours and if so, we will invoice the client for the additional hours at the overtime rate agreed. 

Unfortunately, film and photo shoots do come with some risk of damage to your property. We recommend walking around your location with a crew member as soon as possible after filming has ended. It means you can agree both the extent of any damage and whether it was the fault of the shoot (it may have been already there). Typically you will be asked to get a quote for making good, and once agreed, we will then invoice the client. 

Some owners often wonder whether they could manage their location themselves, and for some of the biggest and best-known stately homes which employ staff, this is entirely feasible. Even then, many of these properties choose to register with a location agency to benefit from the sheer number of film and photoshoot enquiries we get every week. Remember, our clients are trying to find a location as quickly and efficiently as possible; they want us to do their leg work. By registering with an agency, you put your property in the running for many more opportunities for filming and photography than you would by going it alone. 

Location agencies typically work for a wide range of clients, often juggling many briefs at the same time. At Lavish our clients can be major film production studios filming a feature in the UK or TV production companies making anything from a period drama to a TV reality show. We work for stills production companies, picture editors, photographers, major brands and more. And then in between are the documentary makers, the video producers and vloggers. We work with students at the start of their careers to film directors who are household names. In fact, anyone who needs a location for filming, photography or an event is a potential client of Lavish.