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October 29, 2009
Renting Your Place for Movie
Any advice for renting out a co-op apartment to a movie production company? Any warnings? For less than a week of shooting, any sense of the range of fees?
Does the co-op usually get a separate payment?
Thanks!
Comments
No I don't but it sounds like a wonderful problem to have. Good luck!
Posted by: scarter at October 29, 2009 9:51 AM
Make sure to have a contract that specifies what would happen in case of damages, what happens if they want to paint a wall, what happens if they scratch the floor, are they allowed to wear shoes in the house, are they allowed to use the bathroom, are they allowed to use the kitchen, remove curtains or window shades, etc etc. They should have insurance - workman's comp & liability, damages, loss. There will be A LOT of people going in and out of your house.
I don't know what the fees are, it would depend on the size of your house, are they leaving equpment there, will you be living there... could range from 1,000 to 10,000 I would imagine.
Posted by: kramer at October 29, 2009 10:01 AM
I'd assume that the board would need to approve. The board would probably require adding the corporation to the production company's insurance as hold harmless or whatever the legal term is. Check the by-laws and house rules to see if anything states how the unit is to be used - i.e. not for commercial purposes unless approved by the board.
Posted by: GeorgeAppo at October 29, 2009 10:01 AM
we looked into this once - and co-op approval was a problem...of course, I don't believe there was any fee given to the co-op kitty which might have made a difference.
Posted by: promenade at October 29, 2009 10:03 AM
Cannot believe that your coop is allowing it...but anyway...
We rented our b'stone for shoot and these are lessons learned:
1) Whatever they are paying its not enough
2) It will go far longer and later than they promise
3) The location scouts sort of lie about number of people, time, disruption
4) Your neighbours will hate you for ever; try and get film company to spray presents, cash anything around; they will do it and it does help
5) They will do damage and they will fix it but usually they want their crew to have a go first
6) See if they can pay you in cash or via an offshore company where they dont have to report how much they paid and to who; they will report the payment to the tax authorities (don't forget they are getting a tax break for filming here) so you will lose your marginal tax rate off the top
Good luck...!
Posted by: morganpony68 at October 29, 2009 10:03 AM
They will also show up earlier than they say. While they didn't break anything in my house, it was more disruptive than I had realized- you will not be welcome in your own home. I also never got a copy of the film, but my neighbors didn't hate me, and my coop was fine with it.
Posted by: harriet at October 29, 2009 10:23 AM
My brother did this years ago in Manhattan. He said it was an absolutely horrible experience and would never do it again. It lasts longer than expected and the crew will completely disregard your home, belongings etc. And, they will completely piss off all your neighbors so that your neighbors ultimately resent you for allowing it in the first place.
Definitely don't do it!!
Posted by: BrianR at October 29, 2009 11:07 AM
We had units scouted in our building...I believe the payment offered was $1500/day for the apartment owner and $500/day payable to the co-op directly. Fell through in the end (production company changed their mind about the shoot locations).
Posted by: arches at October 29, 2009 11:14 AM
Here's something very telling - people who work in film never let film crews use their home as a location. Because they know what happens.
Posted by: traditionalmod at October 29, 2009 11:15 AM
We've had our interior and exterior used twice by "Law & Order" (admittedly not a full-blown movie shoot, but you'd never guess it by the massive incursion of rigs and equipment), and they were WONDERFUL--so careful to replace your stuff that they used a Polaroid to re-situate the knickknacks. They were also just real nice folks, considerate and engaging; they have to be, given how much location shooting they do and how much "L&O exhaustion" some oft-used areas develop. Can't speak to movies or commercials, since we haven't had one of those (yet).
We did turn down two offers, btw: one for a Metallica video (that wanted to shoot on a Thanksgiving day and pitched us desperately the day before--now that would've been an amusing Turkey Day!), and one for a cheap ambush-style reality show called "I Hate Your House" (we don't,thank you very much!)
And of course, we aren't co-op'ers, so we don't have to worry about a Board...
Posted by: Brenda from Flatbush at October 29, 2009 11:54 AM
jeez brenda. you turned down metallica? ;-)
Posted by: CGmodern at October 29, 2009 12:02 PM
Interesting CH5! What are the details? I also liked reading the selection of horror stories and good reports. Do you think you'll pursue it? I guess I think that in a coop, the coop itself does deserve a fee, since most buildings are for residences (only, or pretty close to it), and film shoots can be pretty disruptive.
Posted by: Minmin at October 29, 2009 12:28 PM
A film crew used the interior of our parlor floor to shoot street views for that recent Al Pacino/Carla Gugino movie. There is usually a standard contract. It went later than expected, but then we asked for more money and got it. At my BIL's advice, we made the bathroom off-limits for crew usage.
Posted by: tiptoe at October 29, 2009 1:16 PM
I work in the industry and I wouldn't do it. The damage that kind of equipment can cause is huge. It may be little things but they are bound to scratch floors, ding up walls, etc.
If you do decide to go for it put hours restriction as part of the deal, make them pay you overtime. Any studio would do the same thing. If they aren't paying hourly they are bound to take longer.
Posted by: jo84 at October 29, 2009 1:51 PM
In my professional capacity I've hosted ~15 shoots in various properties (all historic, all with busy schedules) and in my personal life, we've had a 7 day indie release shot in our house. From my perspective, here's a short list of good/bad:
BAD: HUGE numbers of people on your site. A small/mid size motion picture unit is 5-10 trucks plus 50-75 crew. A large is 15 trucks and double the crew. Not all of the crew will be in your space at the same time but all of them will need access to your surroundings. Streets, sidewalks, stairwells, whatever. They'll need it and take it.
BAD: Many film people tend to ask for forgiveness instead of permission while they are doing their job. This comment isn't meant to be slanderous to the profession, it's just the nature of their job. They're under a serious time crunch and chances are that when they're on location, they're working 16 hours out of 24. Anything that slows things down is a problem that they want to solve in the shortest/quickest way possible.
GOOD: For the most part, the first offer of cash is the low ball. Even indie shoots budget much higher than the $1500/$500 offers. For the indie shoot (with major stars) in our house, we got $3k/shoot day plus $1500/prep day. Majors, depending on how invasive they are (I'm thinking special FX here. Pyro, blood, stunts) commonly settle for a LOT more than that.
GOOD: It's fun. Crazy but fun. And you'll have a momento for your grandkids to laugh at later.
The biggest piece of advice I can give is that you should never assume that their understanding of terms is equal to your understanding of terms. If you're not in the business, you won't have the same context for terms as they do. See my note about unit sizes. You might hear them say small unit and think a couple of trucks and they might actually be saying much more. Don't be afraid to ask many, many questions. The location folks that approached you will be more than happy to answer them and unless they're bad, they'll be inclined to give you a clear and honest (ish) answer. After all, there's nothing worse than having to talk a panic ridden location owner down from the ledge as their units are pulling up to the door.
Hope this helps.
Posted by: fauxvic at October 29, 2009 1:51 PM
Dont do it. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/923415.stm
Posted by: sjcg at October 29, 2009 1:52 PM
Dont do it. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/923415.stm
Posted by: sjcg at October 29, 2009 1:52 PM
I think I'm more inclined to blame the government person who thought it was ok to have a film shoot on Machu picchu than the film crew.
Posted by: kramer at October 29, 2009 3:09 PM
fauxvic is right $1500/$500 is definitely their low ball offer. When we rented our house in L.A. for a commercial we were paid $6K/day plus hotel expenses. We had an agent representing us that had someone on site to monitor the production and to communicate directly with us for anything that varied from what was agreed upon. They also supervised clean-up.
Posted by: HDL at October 29, 2009 4:08 PM
If I was on the board of your coop I would never allow it. It will disrupt the entire building for the gain of a single shareholder. Plus it constitutes commercial use. I can't believe a board would let you do this.
Posted by: denton at October 29, 2009 6:10 PM
They probably wouldn't, but if the fee to the coop was worth the trouble (are they doing exteriors?) they might at least discuss it. Who knows? The commercial use clause might be the kicker though,
Posted by: Minmin at October 29, 2009 6:14 PM
I work in the film business (as tech crew).....make sure they tie into their own source of power, not yours. Or charge them extra for electricity. You won't believe how much amperage lights draw....and I second all the above "cons" even though I have shot in many, man homes around the area.
Posted by: sogo at October 30, 2009 7:58 AM
We were asked by a film company to use our Brooklyn Heights Brownstone -- hallway, front, steps, etc. for a couple of days prior to the Christmas holidays one year. The money was a pittance compared to what looked like to be 18 hour days leading right up to the holidays. We said no. Film crews also think they own their locations and that includes city streets, like we should be privledged to have them around. There is a little beach community in Staten Island that regularly uses its area for Law and Order episodes and for some reason that is usually not disruptive, but fun for the people there. But it is an open area near the beach and it is a regular thing so the neighbors welcome them.
Posted by: donatella at October 30, 2009 4:26 PM
MAKE SURE THEY HAVE A CURRENT INSURANCE POLICY FOR A HIGH AMOUNT. Ask to see it and call the insurance company to verify.
Posted by: Ysabelle at October 31, 2009 11:08 AM
OP here: Thanks so much for all the knowledgeable comments. If this happens, I will report back.
Posted by: CH5 at November 1, 2009 10:13 PM
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