So this happened today - NetFlix

So a Netflix location manager dropped by our place today literally out of the blue after I spotted a van cruising by several times with a guy in the passenger seat snapping pics with a large fancy camera.

Turns out they want to potentially use our place to film a new series - "Maid". Never heard of it, I gather its a new series.

I'm told by some Vancouver contacts that work in the industry that if a production company selects your home it can be potentially very lucrative if the series lasts more than a few episodes, and especially if its renewed and interior or exterior property scenes are required over a period of time. What they do is literally take over and put the family up in a hotel of their choice with a daily per diem for food, etc. In our case I hope they intend to pay the kennel bill for two cats as well.....

Is anyone on VV in the local movie biz and/or are there any homeowners on here who have done this sort of thing in the past? I presume all the big production houses are bonded and insured out to the kazoo, but still I can picture some 300 lb oaf of a gaffer tripping and breaking something....

I've no clue whatsoever what these companies pay homeowners for location shoots but apparently it can be substantial, even going so far as to paint interiors or re-do floors (presumably with the owner's permission lol) if the shoot requires it. One of the Vancouver guys, who has produced shows for everyone from BCTV to CBC to PBS said if they selected our place and the series was successful, i.e. lasted more than a few episodes, we could dust off our retirement plans. Hm. Not sure if Mark was telling me the straight goods or just having me on for a laugh. Seriously - anyone have any knowledge in regards? 

I have no idea how much it pays. 

I only have experience in the crew end. I've told this story but I got a call once from a friend--she was in over her head in work and needed a hand, fast. So I hustled down to a house in Fairfield, a beautiful arts & crafts heritage home, right out of a museum. The owners were so proud their showcase home was going to be used in a movie. The crew then moved out all their furniture and replaced it with furnishings from the clearance room at the Salvation Army. My job was to cover up their expensive custom-printed William Morris wallpaper with grey-painted temporary adhesive wall paper. The back was like a Post-It note adhesive. The wife asked me with concern: will this harm our expensive wallpaper? I said, oh, no ma'am. But I had only been in the movie business one hour at this point and actually I had no idea. I hope her walls were ok.

Once the walls were all grey we took some furniture wax and mixed a little brown paint into it and rubbed it around the door handles and light switches so it looked like the walls hadn't been cleaned in years. I've never put so much effort into making a spotless house look filthy before.

But I would recommend it because, hey, free money. I figure it must pay well because using location interiors is cheaper and faster than building a set from scratch. But keep in mind they will put a ding in your wall. They will fix it but something will get bumped.

But I would recommend it because, hey, free money. I figure it must pay well because using location interiors is cheaper and faster than building a set from scratch. But keep in mind they will put a ding in your wall. They will fix it but something will get bumped.

Almost word for word what a Vancouver buddy who shoots on set stills for a living said; he's worked on everything from Smallville to the Green Hornet to Supergirl and his comment was that "......it will be inevitable that some 300 pound gaffer will trip over something and break it. Guaran-f***n teed...." lol.

When we lived in Queens Park in New West it was a hotbed for film production. People we knew had their home used for several seasons. They got a new roof, exterior repainted, etc along with hotel & meals paid for and large amounts of $$, I never heard how much, but i think considerable.  

Other friends had their house used for a commercial, her vintage linoleum in her laundry room was damaged beyond repair. She tried having it replaced from a spendy place in LA that had vintage stuff but eventually gave up & got new flooring put in.

Our driveway was used for parking a production vehicle and I think we rec'd a couple of hundred a day which was fine because we were at work.

i've met the author of "maid" (the book the tv show is based on).

it's simply the story of a single mother who thinks the welfare system should pay lots more free cash.  her solution to her "poverty" is always more free money without having to work for it.

it's actually quite remarkable how hard she thought life was in port townsend working as a mobile house-cleaner - for 10 hours per week.

Eventually, Land carves out enough time to start work for a cleaning service.

Land finds the  work arduous and impossible to survive on. Initially she does not work more than 10 hours a week, but there’s drive time, and gas to pay for, and body aches and the work itself, which she finds demeaning. She proves good at it, though, which gets her more work, a cycle that feels like an existential trap as well as an economic one; she just cannot seem to get financial traction.

 

There is certainly cause to show the reader the indignity of wiping pubic hair from the underside of a toilet seat, and a little of this might go a long way in summoning compassion (or the "Ew!" factor). But Land’s complaints about the work go on for nearly the length of the book — her dissatisfaction with clients, co-workers and family; with mothers who have more resources than she has, friends she feels have betrayed her, and strangers she perceives as saying negative things about her because she gets assistance from, at one point, seven social agencies.

 

she is lazy and blames everything on others - including her pregnancy.

but that should not prevent you from renting the space to them.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 14 October 2020 - 03:33 AM.

Please contact the Victoria Film Commission - they are very helpful and will happily provide you information.  https://www.filmvictoria.com/ 

They will also help determine that these people who 'stopped' by are legit and not scammers.

Also, important to know, lending your property to a film production will make you a bit of coin,

it is generally just that, a bit of coin and not a cash windfall unless you have a castle

But make sure your neighbours would be cool with this because it's organized chaos in the neighbourhood with cars and trucks parked everywhere, bright lights set up on your lawn, people coming and going and generators running all day.

It creates a lot of excitement in the neighbourhood but all it takes is one douchey neighbour to put a damper on the fun.

But make sure your neighbours would be cool with this because it's organized chaos in the neighbourhood with cars and trucks parked everywhere, bright lights set up on your lawn, people coming and going and generators running all day.

 

It creates a lot of excitement in the neighbourhood but all it takes is one douchey neighbour to put a damper on the fun.

The Victoria Film Commission takes care of community relations for the movie and best left to those professionals.  They work directly with the municipality, the neighbourhood, the street.  

What I'm saying is even a modest shoot will be more disruptive than you might think and IF you already have a problem neighbour you will want to take that into consideration.

What I'm saying is even a modest shoot will be more disruptive than you might think and IF you already have a problem neighbour you will want to take that into consideration.

We have such a neighbor right next door; she is one of those superficial people impressed by flash, and above all "celebrity" and $$$ - and is also the first person to call the bylaw people at the first hint of even the most minor of infractions, i.e parking on "her" boulevard, what she considers excessive noise (neighbors talking "loudly" on their sundeck, lol), and literally anything else she can think of..... 

Regardless after a night of sober reflection (no "honestly" I was sober)........given some of the changes the NetFlix people want to make including tearing out a 25 year old hedgerow comprised of three mature fir trees my wife planted, which is not thrilling her, and much more critically the fact I am mandated to work from home by my employer probably until spring 2021, which further requires no one except me can view my computer screens due to the sensitivity of the information I work with - we are probably going to have to decline the offer.

On the document they provided NF made it clear they require exclusive use of the home for the duration of the shoot hence the offer of the hotel, which given the aforementioned work caveat is simply not possible. 

It is really invasive. I don't think you'd want to be there even if you were allowed. There's wiring and cables the diameter of a python snaking into every room so you can't even close a door. I was brought into a chaotic house because the set decorator asked me to spackle a small ding in the attic ceiling a clumsy crew member made. The director said cut and turned around and glared at me and bellowed, "What's this guy doing on set! Let's get all unnecessary people OUT!" and we high-tailed it out of there and later I thought, cool, I got yelled at by an actual Hollywood director, that's a bucket list item.

Spackle and paint are easy but tearing out hedges is a big deal and a potential deal-breaker.

But imagine if that hedge actually was a bother to you and you've wanted to remove it for years but couldn't bear the work or expense. Then out of the blue someone says they'll pay you to take it out. You use the money to pay for a resort stay in Tofino. It's like a gift from the gods.

Again, call Film Commission.  FYI - everything, EVERYTHING is negotiable.  They have their list of needs/wants...

you counter with your list of needs/wants.

What if they paid you $100k to take that hedge out?  What if they set aside a space that is closed, off-limits to anyone but you so you can work in-house?  What if they offered your neighbour a 'spotlight' in the movie?

You get the idea.

It is really invasive. I don't think you'd want to be there even if you were allowed. There's wiring and cables the diameter of a python snaking into every room so you can't even close a door. I was brought into a chaotic house because the set decorator asked me to spackle a small ding in the attic ceiling a clumsy crew member made. The director said cut and turned around and glared at me and bellowed, "What's this guy doing on set! Let's get all unnecessary people OUT!" and we high-tailed it out of there and later I thought, cool, I got yelled at by an actual Hollywood director, that's a bucket list item.

second only to being yelled at by Christian Bale.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 14 October 2020 - 12:59 PM.

There's a big electronic sign on the side of the Pat Bay Highway warning about the closures.

On the document they provided NF made it clear they require exclusive use of the home for the duration of the shoot hence the offer of the hotel, which given the aforementioned work caveat is simply not possible. 

That's why you demand a hotel with a second bedroom

I think the employer would not be thrilled with a request to set up a trusted VPN connection from a hotel, heh....