What makes a property a good ‘shoot location’?
As you may, or may not know, Amazing Spaces was founded over 20 years ago to merge the gap between production companies and homeowners. At the time, there was no such thing as a location agency, and production companies did not have the resources to source - nevertheless manage - locations for their shoots. Today, our portfolio is one of the biggest in the country and we work with international production companies, facilitating the rental of locations for movies, series, magazine features, adverts and more.
We thought we would take a moment to share what we look for when searching for new locations to add to our portfolio and what locations are in demand at the moment. Our lady on the ground, Renee Stopforth - Client Services for Amazing Spaces Locations - gave us some of her trade secrets.
What do you look for in a property?
There is no specific type of property that we look for, we are open to anything such as farms, warehouse, restaurants, homes and more. The ideal shoot location would have wooden floors, high ceilings, big rooms, big windows, textures, arched doors, open plan kitchens and stunning gardens. We are usually looking for something unique that you cannot build in studio.
What doesn’t work?
Tiles and enclosed kitchens rarely work. As we work with a lot of European production companies, thatch isn’t a favourite and they normally do not want a view of Table Mountain or gardens with fynbos or succulents - as they need to make the shoot for their countries. If the properties do not have lovely pieces of furniture, still shoots will generally not book as the production companies will not want to hire new furniture (unless it is a furniture shoot, of course).
What properties are most popular at the moment?
Right now, most production companies are looking for modern homes with wood and warm feelings, as well as generic suburban family homes, open plan with big rooms.
Does the area that the property is in matter?
To answer this, one needs to understand that depending on the shoot that is books, there could be huge trucks bringing prep equipment. If the client, being the production company, loves the property, they will book it - but some homes we simply can’t take on due to the accessibility. So, yes and no to the area.
What would you like more of?
Easy question. Retro 70’s homes, we can never have enough modern homes, beach houses right by the sea and beautiful gardens.
Changes an owner can make if they want their home to be a shoot location?
If a property isn’t suitable, small changes generally won’t work. However, some houses just need a wall to be broken through to make an open plan kitchen/living area, lifting carpets to expose wooden floors, decluttering the home, bring in texture with wallpaper, a wooden wall or accent wall, and painting rooms white for big spaces with stunning windows to give a studio feel.
What is one of your ideal shoot locations?
Stargazer is a quintessential shoot house. Playdate received multiple bookings this year. Other top favourites include, Les-Abres, Green-Acre and The Midden Cottage.
If you are interested in knowing if your property could be fit for a shoot location, get in touch with Renee to chat about your options.