Shoot Checklist

If you are a location home owner and want to make sure you are in tip top shape before your film shoot arrives, listen up! 

Whether you are hosting a small social media job or a large feature filming- your home is being rented out as a professional work space and needs to reflect this. Remember when we came to photograph your home? It needs to look the same here, even better!

If you’re feeling overwhelmed, like there is too much to remember- don’t worry, we are here to hold your hand along the way. We will always remind you prior to shoot day. Below is our detailed list of how you can prepare your home before your shoot arrives and what to do afterwards. The good news is, the more shoots you have, the more this will become second nature.

1. Get a set of cups, glasses, and teaspoons ready
2. Make sure you have coffee, cafetiere, and a variety of tea bags provided
3. Sugar, honey, semi-skimmed milk and oat milk
4. Jug of water
5. Bin bags, cloths, and tea towels near the sink
6. Spare loo roll in all the loos
7. Post-it notes saying “no entry” on all the doors of the rooms you do not want the shoot to go into.
8. “Cast and crew loo” sign on the main loo you want them to use
9. Empty your main bin and your recycling bin so you are ready for the rubbish
10. Clean the house, hoover, dust, tidy, clean loos etc
11. Clean handtowels, anti-bacterial soap and sanitiser by the kitchen sink and cast/crew loos
12. Make sure the wifi code is displayed and easy for crew to use – place it near your coffee station with any house rules with your name and contact number
13. Doormats – doormats outside the front door and inside your house – ideally four in total – two outside
14. and 2 inside so all the outside dirt gets removed before they come into your house.
15. If you do not want any shoes in the house at all – make sure there is somewhere for them to go or supply shoes protectors. If the shoot is using your garden, the removal of shoes downstairs is trickier.
16. Work out what to do with pets and children on the shoot day so they are not in the shoot spaces.
17. Ideally get everything ready before you go to bed, so you are ready to go in the morning.

1. Be ready and dressed at least one hour before the shoot is due. People always arrive early.
2. Re-check the rooms they are using – last minute hoover, mop and tidy up/ empty the dishwasher so it is ready for the shoot cups and mugs.
3. When people arrive, always introduce yourself, as it leaves a good impression and crew are more likely to want to come back – “hello, I am xx and I live here. Please come in, here is the wifi code and would you like a drink” (sorry if that is a bit obvious – but they are all useful things to say)
4. Ideally find out who the main contact is – so the person who did the recce or the person who booked the house. Offer them a tour of the house– usually it will be the photographer, director, producer and art director.
   There should be a tour of the house so people can work out their shots, but also
5. a tour so everyone can see what the house looks like, so that it can return to that state at the end of the day.
6. Make sure the main person knows the house rules.

1. No smoking outside the front of the house or on the street (to avoid annoying the neighbours).
2. No mobile calls outside the front of the house (as above)
3. Only smoke in the allocated area (ideally bottom of your garden)
4. No food or drink upstairs (except water)
5. No shoes upstairs
6. Only eat and drink in the kitchen 
7. Order Ubers away from the house (to avoid a traffic jam near your house at the end of the day)
8. No blocking of neighbour’s driveways or blocking of the road (hence the ordering of ubers at the end of the day should be away from the house)
9. Please say your goodbyes in the house rather than on the street (to avoid lots of noise on the street at the end of the day)
10. No alcohol or drugs

Overtime: If they run over by around fifteen to twenty minutes – it is okay, but if they are still filming/taking photos when they should be out of the house, then you need to say that they will have to pay an hour’s overtime. More than thirty minutes over, will be counted as an overtime. 

You should make sure you are very clear with them and note down what time they leave and make the main person is aware that you will be charging them overtime. It can be a tricky conversation if one person says one thing or if the client was not aware they were going to be charged.

Report overtime back to the agent straight away.

End of the day house Tour: This is the most important thing you need to do with a shoot. Please do a tour of your house at the end of the day to make sure there is no damage, and everything is put back where it should be.
At the end of the day most shoots will not hoover/clean – some may, but most won’t. Be prepared to have a bit of hoovering and cleaning to do.

Photograph any damage and report to the agent straight away – but please make sure the client is aware of it by doing the house tour at the end of the day. Any damages need to be reported to us within twenty four hours of the shoot, so we can get it sorted.

Whether it is your first shoot, or you are just brushing up on the etiquette (bonus points), we hope this list can be your backstop. Please refer back to it every time you have a job in the house or get in touch for the pdf to print it out. 

Still not sure? Let’s chat