Location, location, location! Make sure you set the stage to create the perfect atmosphere.
When we do a corporate video, we absolutely want to shoot it at the client’s venue. Finding locations and paying for them can be time consuming and costly. In most cases, their location works fine, but one time we had the client repaint the premises and use the signage we selected. It would have looked a little rough. The result? It looked incredible.
Always remember that the background is an ‘unseen actor’ in your project playing a very important role. Luckily, we had Setscouter to cut down the search process and give us exactly what we needed. The site that made up our film backdrop turned out to be totally suitable. It was a bit of a challenge to find a home that had a beautiful and somewhat magical exterior, access to the kitchen around a small wall from the family room, a big, beautiful staircase, and close hallways and bedrooms that helped frame the story. Everything needed to be in the right place. It wasn’t cheap to rent the location, and some filmmakers will compromise here using what’s close and available, but in the end, that background visual lives on and on. We were so happy that we held out for the perfect location because it helped make our film look professional.
I give a big thanks to Corinne Shalley for evaluating this site, and her help in the decision, as well as the effort she expended to dress the set and make it into something unique. Oh – remember to get your property released as well. It’s part of you owning all the IP of your project. At the same time, get a contents release as sometimes personal property gets shown on film too. In the case of our little Christmas project, there was some Canadian Group of Seven framed art prints on the walls. Normally all artwork requires an artist release as well, but all the art images at this location were in the public domain, so we were good here. It makes sense to scan the walls as part of your location walk through. You don’t want surprises after you’ve wrapped your film.
Where do you get your Christmas goodies in the summer? In the Greater Toronto Area they shoot lots of Christmas movies, so we are fortunate to have a dedicated Christmas prop and décor warehouse near us called Creative Display. They not only had everything we needed but also helped choose a perfect tree for our film with 800 ‘film friendly’ twinkle lights. At Creative we were able to rent and purchase all the items needed to create a warm and family-friendly set which I think translated well in the final product.
