Filming locations websites that aren't paywalled?
December 3, 2022 11:12 AM   Subscribe

I've got to find a very specific type of house for a low budget indie feature shot completely inside the house, but the location can be in any state or country where there are good tax incentives. Since professional location scouts are area-specific and we haven't narrowed it down to an assigned region yet, I can't just hire a location scout generalist. So I'm trying to find websites with lots of filming locations listed so I can eyeball houses without having to pay a subscription to do so. More inside.

For example, Location Department was great for looking at NYC/NJ/CT houses. I'm hoping to find more websites like this -- where if I can locate the right house we will of course pay the subscription etc to get more information. Just looking for leads at the moment and most state film commission websites have like, three locations listed on them. Please send any along if you know of a good match! I don't want to have to resort to looking through Zillow listings in the vain hope that the owner would be open to a film shoot. Thank you!
posted by egeanin to Media & Arts (7 answers total) 2 users marked this as a favorite
 
I've heard Oregon has "good things" for filming here, but I don't have any first person info about that.

However, I *do* have a possible suggestion. Might be ridiculous, but mentioning it anyway, since I thought of it, just in case it might help.

There are quite a few people out there who make somewhat a habit of browsing RMLS, Zillow, AirBnb, etc. I hadn't realized just how many people do it for a variety of reasons, not just intention home-buying. Wishful thinking, remodeling/landscaping ideas, scavenger hunt-style games, writers looking for setting ideas, and probably several more I've yet to encounter.

So you might - if you described what you were looking for, and suggested lists of preferred areas/states, be able to massively shortcut the "resort to looking through Zillow listings" by crowdsourcing the search through real estate and short term rental sites.

Alternatively, it's something a virtual assistant who is decent at research could probably do, if your time is more valuable than what it would cost to pay the VA.
posted by stormyteal at 12:11 PM on December 3, 2022 [1 favorite]


Best answer: Georgia's Reel Scout (incentives) is letting me poke around quite a bit, and you can narrow by architectural style and keyword.
posted by Iris Gambol at 12:51 PM on December 3, 2022 [2 favorites]


Best answer: There's a lot of filming in Toronto and incentives.
The Ontario government has a website to help filmmakers

It also has an Ontario locations library
posted by yyz at 2:18 PM on December 3, 2022


Best answer: Nee Mexico has https://nm.locationpro.com/locations/housing, sorted by different types of housing and different settings
posted by yohko at 7:59 AM on December 4, 2022


I'm sure most municipalities have some sort of film office and webpage. Here's one I just happen to be familiar with. It doesn't have a list of properties but it shows you what properties have been used by movie and TV crews in the past. And as was mentioned above there is A LOT of filming happening in and around southern Ontario, so if your preferred locations doesn't present itself on that page, there's probably another city or town nearby that has what you're looking for.

As somebody suggested above, if you give us your dream list of what type of property you want, MeFites may be able to offer up some suggestions.
posted by sardonyx at 7:07 PM on December 4, 2022


Other nearby filming offices.
Kitchener
Hamilton
Guelph

(These locations and the one posted above are all in the general Toronto vicinity.)
posted by sardonyx at 7:17 PM on December 4, 2022


I use peerspace for small commercial shoots.
posted by greta simone at 8:02 AM on December 6, 2022


« Older What career path should I pursue?...   |   Slice-of-life sci-fi anime? Newer »
This thread is closed to new comments.