The Itasca Locations website is an online 'shopping' tool which Location managers, photographers, Event producers and the like use as their first port of call when looking for a location. We house the largest and most comprehensive library in the UK, which is why so many locations choose to be represented by us.

The location is of vital importance for any filming or photographic shoot, or when used as the backdrop for an event. It sets the scene and speaks volumes in conveying what the director or events planner intends its audience to see, hear and feel. Being the owner of a location isn’t as easy as you would think and can often result in making decisions at short notice or preparing yourself for having from 5 to up to 35+ crew to be housed in your living room. While there is a lot of day to day jobs for corporate clients or low level fashion shoots there can always be the possibility of sharing your kitchen/office/park/church/location with a celebrity!

It's completely free to register with Itasca Locations and we can ensure your location gets the right exposure to the right people. If you would like to register your property as a potential film location please continue through the information to get a good idea of what we need from you and what you can expect from us if you get used!

As an agency we're always looking for new locations. There are some factors to consider when we accept registrations onto our library. Firstly we need to ensure that the space is 'workable'. By this we mean whether it's big enough to house a crew with sufficient space away from the action to get the shot. Locations don't have to be huge though; stills editorial shoots will often have only 10 or so people. By submitting your registration you're not guaranteed to be added to our site, this may be because we already have a large amount of locations represented in our library, which is similar to yours. We love unusual features or the unexpected but we also love 'normal' so please don't think we are only interested in glitzy spaces!

Are you situated in England, N Ireland, Scotland or Wales? If so you're in the right area! Most filming takes place with the M25 so Greater London properties are very important to the industry. However for the right location or in the right circumstances crews will travel. We have specific interest in cities such as Bristol, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool, Glasgow & Edinburgh but we're not restrictive. Whether it is a beach house in Brighton, a Church in Coventry or a warehouse in Woking – we're interested!

At this time we are not taking properties outside of the UK.

Our library runs on visual images, it’s the key to getting your property noticed and in the hands of the right people. You don’t need to be a fantastic photographer to be registered with us but we do need clear informative photos. We want to see the rooms from all angles, the more the better. We also want close ups on specific architectural features but not on furniture that you may choose to replace etc in the future. No arty pictures required, keep them simple!

Have a look through our photography guide for some tips:

• wide angle lenses
  Used carefully, a wide angle lens can show much more of a room than a normal lens. But there are dangers: a small room can be made to appear much larger than it really is; the image can look distorted. 
To avoid distortion, shoot with a standard lens whenever possible, moving the camera further back to get the same view. When using a wide angle lens, ensure that the camera angle is level (i.e. horizontal) so that the verticals appear upright through the viewfinder.
• hold the camera steady
  We advise you to use a tripod or monopod wherever possible. If you don’t have access to either of these then just hold the camera as steadily as you can, in order to get the sharpest pictures.
• use available light
  Always photograph interiors in daylight, and try to avoid using a flash. The light coming in the window is the best light possible, and your pictures will most closely resemble what the eye can see.
• what to shoot
  The pictures that end up on our web site will tell a story: as though we are being walked through your home.
  Having your images sent in already ordered saves us time and can mean we get you online much faster. Please try to keep the images numbered rather than descriptive as this keeps them numerical and in order.
• how many pics to shoot
  Shoot as many as you like, hundreds if necessary. We will pick the shots that we think represent your location in the best light.

Having taken your location images, the next step is to send them to us on a CD-ROM or DVD.

• Please send your images as JPEGs
  Other image types are considerably larger. As an example, an image as a TIFF is likely to be about five times the size of the same image as a JPEG.
• Not too small
  Your images will end up on our web site as 640 x 480 pixels, or 720 x 480 pixels, depending on the format of your camera (see diagram below), but please send them larger, at least 1000 pixels (it's pixels that matter, not DPI).
• Do not recompress
  JPEG images use an extremely efficient compression technique, and do not need to be subsequently compressed again using another package, such as ZIP or Stuffit - recompressing them like this is likely to increase the file size.
• Do not package the JPEGs
  We prefer simple, straightforward JPEGs, not embedded in other packages such as MS Word, Photoshop or Powerpoint. If you are providing captions to help us, please put them in a separate text or Word document on the disc.
• Ensure the disc is clearly marked
  We do receive a lot of CD-ROMs, and obviously take good care of them, but an unmarked CD-ROM does stand a chance of becoming separated from its paperwork.
• Sign the form
  Our on-line registration form (available here) enables you to tell us about your property, but, very importantly, it gives us permission to place your images into the web library. Please print it out, sign it, and enclose it with your images.
  
  Itasca Locations charges nothing to represent a location nor for putting your pictures on our web site.
  
  We should also point out that the reason we do not charge is because it is not possible for us to offer any guarantees: the presence of your images in our library cannot guarantee that Hollywood will come knocking.

Itasca Locations, 42 Old Compton Street, London W1D 4TX

The important thing about being a location is understanding that there is no guarantee on when or if you may be used. This is not in any way a judgement on you or your property, it simply comes down to what looks or feels right for the shoot. Therefore we may call you immediately with an enquiry or it could as easily be a month, 6 months or a year before we call. Once you are registered with us there is always an opportunity.

The smallest shoot may have three people, for example photographer, assistant and model. A feature film unit is like a mobile factory, with potentially between fifty and a hundred crew, lighting trucks, camera vans, mobile homes for the stars, catering facilities, a dining bus, and often their own toilets! If you have a modest home, expect a modest sized crew.

Film and photographic personnel are professionals, your property will be treated with the utmost respect.

The first call will be from Itasca Locations, establishing the availability of your location on a particular date, or set of dates. Assuming you are happy with the proposed project, and the fee that is on offer, the first visit to be arranged is the "recce", where the location manager comes and assesses your property for suitability.

It is usual for the location manager / photographer to take their own snaps of your property - to keep as a personal reminder, or to show to perhaps the director or advertising agency.

Please note that it is against our terms of business to permit such "recce pictures" to be used for any other purpose. We strongly advise that you do not give your permission for these pictures to be used without consulting with us first.

It is part of the experience of being a location owner that you may have several recces before you actually get used: your property is usually in a short list. There are many reasons why your property may not be right, and sometimes the reason somewhere else is chosen can be completely subjective, perhaps to do with scheduling and the proximity of another important location.

Once your location is chosen, Itasca Locations will draw up a Location Agreement between yourself and the Hirer. The agreement covers the times of preparation days (known as "prep days"), filming, and re-instatement days ("strike days"), also the areas to be used, extra facilities, payment terms etc. and, importantly, insurance matters. We have many years of experience in doing this, and you may rest assured that your interests will be best served, and that we will get the best and fairest price for the job.

Itasca Locations insists on payment being made prior to commencement of any photography / filming / hire. We will then forward the payment to you within 7 days of the shoot.

On the day, the photographer / production company will expect to find the location as it was when they did their recce: they would be annoyed to arrive and find that, for example, builders are working on the roof! Your property should be as you would expect it to be for the visit of an important guest: neat and tidy.

It may be a long day, and a most unusual experience, but always fun!

Each and every production will have a different working budget. This will vary as some jobs may be an hour or two and others could be for a week or two. This means rates can range from a few hundred pounds up to many thousands.

When we call you with an enquiry we will have an idea of the budget available from the client. You are not obliged to accept this budget, we will advise you of current rates and if we think this is a fair offer for type of project and the disruption it may cause.

There is no set rule on rates but from lowest to highest this is how you could expect to grade hire fees by job type:

• Photography for editorial purposes
• Photography
• Corporate
• Advertising
• Commercials
• Feature Films

Registering with Itasca Locations is free however when negotiating rates for your hire we will include a 20% commission. Our commission charge covers our work in getting your location online, ensuring that your location is seen with constant marketing of us and our site, liaising with you regarding enquiries and upon confirmation writing detailed contracts, checking insurance and handling payments.

It's always in our best interest to get you a fair and satisfactory price for the use of your location. We do this by working closely with you and our clients to ensure that they stay within budget and you get a fee your happy with.

Itasca Locations has a strong commitment to safeguarding the security of our location owners.

Photographs of your property, and your details, are held securely within our offices here in London. The photographs are stored in our library and your details are held in our computer database, which is password protected, and inaccessible to the public.

Your security is important to us: we will NEVER give out your personal details to any client without your express permission, and without us establishing the authenticity of the enquiry.

When your property is under consideration by a photographer or production company, we will, with your permission, give out your address and arrange a recce. Even then you may opt for anonymity and all negotiations will be handled directly by us.

Itasca Locations is registered under the UK Data Protection Act 1998, reg no. Z2235545.

Many of the locations we represent are exclusively represented by us, in other words they are not on the books of other location libraries. Such a decision is entirely yours, and may be influenced by the type of location you have. If your location is 'ordinary' (is there such a thing?) you may decide to get it seen by as many potential clients as possible by registering it with many libraries (see our links page for a listing of film commissions in the UK and abroad).

If, on the other hand, your location is likely to generate a lot of interest from film companies, advertising agencies, etc., we recommend that you consider applying to be exclusive with us. The advantages are as follows:

• If you are accepted, we will charge you 15% commission instead of our standard 20%. This is because acceptance into the exclusives club means we anticipate you will get a lot of bookings.
• If appropriate, one of our professional location photographers will photograph your location specifically with a view to promoting its use as a location. There is no charge for this service, and you may have have copies of the images for your own use.
• If appropriate, we will make larger images available on the web site. Larger images means that decision makers will have a much clearer idea of the potential your location offers. Example images may be seen here.
• We will ensure the location pictures feature prominently in our website. (The Itasca Locations web library is the largest and most comprehensive in the UK - and the most widely used - so being represented at all on our site is a guarantee that your location will be considered by top decision-makers within the industry. Exclusively-represented properties are ensured a higher position within our category pages, increasing your profile.)
• We will send a 'mailshot' using our extensive database of top professionals in the feature film industry, and to advertising agencies, television companies and photographers.
• Along with the images of your location will be a downloadable PDF location sheet which can be used for presentations. A sample location sheet may be seen here.
• A member of our team of location co-ordinators will personally visit the site so that they are familiar with what is available, and any restrictions or limitations which may exist.
• While hiring your space as a location may generate income, it is unlikely to be your primary business - and your time is precious. With exclusive representation you will have one point of contact to run your location "diary" for you, giving a clear view on what's happening and when.
• Contractual matters will be handled by our full-time staff of location co-ordinators. We have years of experience handling the most complex of shoots in the most sensitive of locations, and so can considerably ease the process for you. Our staff's knowledge of your site and its special requirements can avoid the many pitfalls that can arise.
• We will be polite but firm about your pricing structure. Since we handle so many shoots per annum, we know the right price for the job and will negotiate the best possible price on your behalf.
• You will have access to your own personal stats page, where you can keep track of the number of "hits" your location has received.

Only selected locations qualify for this service: please get in touch if you'd like to discuss this further.

Many thanks for reading through our registration pages. We wish you every success as a future location owner!