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How to spot good filming location

Your filming location is one of the most important elements to consider when planning your video marketing campaign. In order to get the best filming location for your video, you must consider a few key factors. It is important to plan filming locations before filming even begins.

Your filming location should embody your brand. It is important to research filming locations thoroughly so your filming location fits your specific business model and overall message as a company. Your filming location can set the scene for all of your video content, present and future, which means that it will play an integral role in capturing the attention of viewers.

What should you consider BEFORE you start searching for a filming location?

Before you begin searching for the perfect filming location there are a couple of things you should be taking into account.

First, what is the tone of voice of your company? Is it warm and welcoming or corporate and formal? Second, what kind of message do you want to convey about your company? Warmth and friendliness can come from filming in a homey and inviting location, while formality can come from filming in a more professional office space.

Secondly, you should put into consideration that the filming location is often the first thing that viewers see when viewing your finalized video. Are you filming your video in a room? All of your surroundings are caught on camera. Are you filming outside? The surrounding landscape must be taken into consideration.

Finally, filming locations are often the most expensive part of filming your video. You should spend some time deciding how much you are willing to spend on filming locations before filming even begins. What is your budget for this video marketing campaign as a whole? Knowing how much you can actually spend between all elements of the video is important when figuring out the budget for your filming location. You don’t want to spend your entire budget on just one element and allow the rest of the video to suffer. You could be renting an amazing set, but the editing process and film’s wardrobe may not get the attention they need to create a great video.

All of these factors can affect how well your video performs, so it is crucial to choose filming locations that are aesthetically pleasing and fit the tone of your company’s brand. If filming your video in a location that is not aesthetically pleasing, you can still edit the video so that it looks good, but that will take more time, people, and money to edit into something that viewers will enjoy.

Now that you know what to consider when finding a filming location, you can really dive into your search.

Where should I start?

Start by visualizing how you want the finished video to look. What local places have that aesthetic and ability to host your crew? Are you visualizing something indoors and homey, or are you wanting something bright, cheerful, and outdoors?

Creating the “perfect filming location” in your mind before filming will help you avoid filming in an unsuitable place when time is of the essence. By knowing what filming locations you are looking for, it will prevent you from having to waste valuable time filming at a bad filming location after scouting out several different places during your filming location search.

Having filming locations already planned out will help the filming process go more smoothly. It may even save you money, as filming in a public location can be free or cheaper than filming on private property. By having filming locations picked out before filming starts, you are saving time and money by being prepared ahead of time so filming can begin when it is scheduled to.

That being said, finding a great filming location for your video marketing campaign is not always easy.  The filming location you choose will need to have the right setup in order for you to get your message across. If filming in a public location, it is important that filming happens during off-hours so as to reduce interference with other people’s lives and activities.

The best filming locations for video marketing campaigns should allow you to set the scene without having to spend hours filming additional footage. It is also important that you don’t have the glare of street lamps, security lights, or buildings right outside of your filming location window.

Public vs. Private Property

Getting access to filming locations may be easy or difficult depending on the type of filming location you are looking for.

If filming in a public space it is important to think about your filming schedule and make sure filming is done during off-peak hours so as not to inconvenience anyone. However, filming in a public space may require filming permits, which can be an unexpected extra expense that you should account for. Filming in public areas can be free or cheaper than filming on private property, but you take the risk of having large crowds gather around your filming location when you film in these types of places. Public filming locations can also cause problems if there are local ordinances preventing filming in certain locations.

Public parks can make a great filming location. They’re already well-maintained by the local government and, depending on the size of the park, can host a large crew if needed. Depending on the area, you can find public places with different types of flora and scenery, if needed. Beaches, forests, or a lovely green lawn all set a different stage.

If filming on private property you need to get permission from the property owner or manager before filming, especially if there are any cameras or security personnel that will be present during filming.  It is also good to get contact information for the property owner in case of emergencies during filming. It may be as simple as calling up a business and asking to film at their location, or it could require signing an NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) if filming on someone’s personal property.

Private properties range from private homes and gardens to filming studios.

Filming in a private home can be a great filming location if the homeowner is willing to have filming done on their property. In this case, filming in a private residence may not require filming permits or any additional permissions from the local government. However, filming in a private home requires you to maintain good standing with the homeowner’s neighbors who may see filming take place.

Film studios, on the other hand, often allow filming without filming permits and are a great filming location in general as they usually have the proper equipment available for use, too. However, you want to consider the cost of renting a studio as they can take a big chunk of your budget.

When filming your video marketing it is vital to not only look for the perfect filming location but also make sure that you can film there legally and stay within your budget.  You don’t want to be filming an awesome video marketing campaign and have all of your videos taken down because they were filmed on private property without the consent of the owner. You also don’t want to be banned from a perfect filming location in the future because you didn’t go through the proper legal systems to be able to film there.

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Outdoor vs. Indoor Locations

It is important to think about filming location based on the type of video you are filming.  For example, filming an instructional video in a public park may not be the best idea if it will be raining or if there are large crowds of people that would get in your way during filming. Similarly filming an interview with just one person inside of a busy retail store may not be ideal, as you risk filming other people that are shopping in the store.

In order to prevent filming from being interrupted by crowds of people or poor weather conditions, it is important to think about both indoor and outdoor filming locations before filming your video marketing campaign.  You should also look to filming locations that can accommodate a large filming crew if needed.

Lighting is also important to consider when deciding between indoor and outdoor venues. In order to create a professional filming environment, filming during the day with natural lighting is typically more preferable to filming at night.  Filming at night may require additional equipment and lights which can end up being a hassle if filming late into the evening.

When considering indoor filming locations it is important to think about how many people will be filming in the space at the same time. Will filming take a long period of time and will other people need access to the filming locations during filming? These types of logistical questions should be considered before filming even begins.

By considering filming location based on filming schedule and logistical concerns you can ensure that filming for your video marketing campaigns is an enjoyable experience for both the crew and the viewers.

Local or Travel?

How far are you willing to travel for the perfect filming location? While filming in your hometown may be easier logistically, filming on location elsewhere can create a more interesting filming environment for the viewer.

Filming on location not only provides new surroundings but also allows for unique shots of video marketing. Constantly using the same hometown location may become stale for your viewers.

Traveling to filming locations can be typically more expensive than filming on location locally but the cost of travel filming can really depend on what filming location you choose. Filming in New York City is obviously going to be much more expensive than filming across the street from your business, but there may be some benefits to filming in New York City. For example, filming a video marketing campaign about your credit card processing services at the Empire State building may provide a more interesting filming experience than filming across the street from your business location at the local pizzeria.

Keeping filming locations local is advantageous for controlling costs and hyping up your hometown and bringing in new business to the area. That local pizzeria may benefit from your advertising, too, and you could build a great working relationship going forward.

Other things to consider:

Having a backup filming location is a good idea, just in case you or your video marketing campaign need to film in an unexpected place. Having a list of possible filming locations to turn to when needed will allow you to have peace of mind knowing that an acceptable filming location is always available in a pinch.

It is always good to have equipment on hand just in case the filming location has poor lighting or filming needs to take place outside of your ideal filming location. Having the ability to be flexible with filming locations will help keep your video filming on track!

You should also consider the idea of being able to return and film more videos in the same location in the future. Being able to have multiple videos in a marketing campaign in the same setting shows a seamless, well-planned campaign that customers, clients, and potential; business partners will take notice of.

If you’re new to video marketing, it would be wise to hire a professional video production company like C&I Studios. We have much experience filming marketing videos in various locations and can help point you in the right direction for finding filming locations as well as help you through every part of the video content creation process. You can check out the services we offer by visiting our site here.

C&I Studios has created video marketing campaigns for many companies and we look forward to working with any business, big or small. Our video marketing portfolio is available here and you can get a grasp of what we have created in the past and what we can do for your business’s marketing campaigns.

 

By considering filming location carefully before filming your video marketing campaign, you will have a higher chance of success.  Not only will the right filming locations be aesthetically pleasing, speak to your brand’s message, and allow for flexibility, but you’ll also be able to set yourself up for filming in the same place multiple times which is ideal to show repeat customers and clients that quality videos are being produced by your business!

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