Locations are critical to the independent filmmaker. Without them, we might as well be shooting in our living rooms. They can mean the difference between a visually appealing place that fits the mood of the story and, well, a home video.

On larger productions a Location Manager is responsible for managing the relationships with the owners of these locations, while the Location Scout finds candidate sites for filming. If you’re reading this, chances are good you have neither and are resposible for both job titles.

Drafting a legal agreement for using someone’s house or land for shooting at the independent (and especially no-budget) level can be daunting. For many home owners, looking at a multi-page contract can also put them off.

Now we’ve got you covered with this: the Location Agreement Short Form. What we did was distill everything down to a single page, with the required legalese to protect both the filmmaker and the location owner.

I’ve made this available in several formats for your needs.

Links:

Location Agreement Short Form (MS Word)

Location Agreement Short Form (OpenOffice Writer)

Location Agreement Short Form (PDF)