Frequently Asked Questions

If the company decides to use your house then 5 Star Film Locations, Inc. re-enters the process and negotiates the rate that they will pay you for the job. Our commission is added to your rate. (Standard commission in the industry is 30%.)
Example: If you are receiving $7,000 dollars for a day of filming, the company pays $10,000. Our commission is $3,000. 5 Star Film Locations, Inc. will never charge more than 30%.

Next, there will be what they call a "tech scout". This usually occurs a couple of days before the shoot. The company comes to your house and walks through each step of the shoot with the director of photography. 5 Star Film Locations, Inc. will attend this part of the process and then prepare a contract to specify exactly what was discussed and agreed upon during the tech scout. (Frequently, 5 Star Film Locations, Inc. may decide to charge the company more after the tech scout because new areas of the house will have been added to the shoot.)

When the actual shoot begins, 5 Star Film Locations, Inc. will have a site representative on hand all hours of the day to supervise things. This person is there to protect you and your home. They also serve as a liaison in helping the company use the property within the parameters of the contract. And don't worry; our site representatives are experts at watching for any damages that may occur during the process of the shoot.

5 Star Film Locations, Inc. will pay you in check before anyone steps foot on the property to begin work on the actual production.

Most times the production company leaves the property exactly the way they have found it. It saves them a lot of money to do it this way. If they choose to move furniture, remove a light fixture, paint a wall etc, it is their responsibility to put the property back the way they found it. Unless, of course, you like it they way they left it.

We pride ourselves very highly on protecting the homeowner, financially and legally, throughout the production. Therefore, we collect a security deposit from the company in cash and hold it in an escrow account until the homeowner has had time to inspect the property for damages. Usually, we will hold the money for about a week or until any damages are completed.

It is important to note that about half of all shoots have had no damages at all. Furthermore, the ones that have had are within a small percentage and the damages are never over a thousand dollars. A scratch on a wall or a broken sprinkler head are common. The production company is responsible for paying for all damages and will take great care to protect your house from damage for that very reason.

5 Star Film Locations, Inc. will make sure the company's damage and liability insurance is adequate and properly written before the shoot. Frequently, the policy will cover up to two million dollars. But we have never actually had damages that required the use of the insurance policy.

During a film shoot, the homeowners are welcome to stay. If the whole house is being used or the hours go into the night, the company will put you up at a hotel and lend you a couple hundred dollars for food. Weddings and events sometimes ask to have privacy but more frequently, will invite the homeowners to attend. Regardless, 5 Star Film Locations, Inc. always has our site representative on the premises to supervise.

5 Star Film Locations, Inc. site representative is responsible for opening and closing the house every day. He or she will meet with the homeowner beforehand to discuss the workings of the house. Lock ups and handling keys are a big part of our site representative's responsibilities. This part of the job is taken very seriously. Any losses are covered by the company. We have never had anything reported stolen in relation to a shoot.