A new location can bring your story to life. It can also introduce unfamiliar requirements, unexpected expenses, and logistical challenges that affect your entire production.
Whether you are filming a commercial across the state line or moving a movie production across the country, preparation involves more than booking hotels and transporting equipment. Producers need to understand how the destination affects permits, crew arrangements, insurance, and daily operations.
Here are eight issues to address before your team hits the road.
1. Research Local Permits Before Finalizing Your Schedule
Do not assume the permitting process will work the same way it does at home. Contact the local film office and identify who controls each proposed location.
Ask about filming permissions, parking, street access, noise restrictions, and special activities. Give particular attention to scenes involving weapons, traffic control, stunts, or special effects.
Some locations require multiple approvals. New York City, for example, identifies parks, bridges, subways, tunnels, and city building interiors as locations requiring additional permission from the controlling entities.
Build approval time into your schedule before committing to nonrefundable travel and rentals.
2. Review Insurance Before You Travel
Send your insurance professional the destination, travel dates, filming dates, locations, and planned activities early in preproduction.
Ask them to review:
- Whether your policies cover the planned operations and locations.
- Insurance requirements in permits and location agreements.
- Additional insured endorsements requested by property owners.
- Coverage for rented equipment and vehicles.
- Any exclusions affecting stunts, aircraft, watercraft, or other special activities.
Insurance documentation can also affect your permit timeline. New York City requires proof of commercial general liability coverage for film permits, subject to specified exceptions, and requests supporting documentation before the project application is filed.
A last-minute certificate request may uncover a coverage change that takes longer to arrange.
3. Confirm Workers’ Compensation Requirements
Workers’ compensation deserves a separate review whenever employees travel across state lines.
Do not assume that coverage in your home state automatically satisfies every destination’s requirements. The answer can depend on where employees were hired, where they normally work, how long the assignment lasts, and agreements between states.
Oregon’s Workers’ Compensation Division, for example, explains that additional coverage requirements depend partly on reciprocity with the other state and applicable restrictions.
Tell your broker and payroll provider where your traveling employees will work and whether you will hire local crew. Resolve coverage questions before anyone begins work.
4. Check Local Employment and Payroll Obligations
Have your production payroll provider and legal adviser review the destination’s employment requirements.
Ask them to confirm applicable wage and overtime rules, meal and rest requirements, payroll withholding, employee classification, and any business registration obligations. Review union agreements separately when they apply.
If your production includes minors, investigate those requirements early. Oregon Film specifically reminds producers that states handle minors in entertainment differently and directs productions to the applicable rules.
A familiar call sheet or employment agreement should still be checked against the destination’s requirements.
5. Protect Equipment Throughout the Journey
Think through every stage of equipment movement, including packing, loading, shipping, overnight stops, unloading, and return transportation.
Ask your insurance professional how coverage applies while equipment is:
- In transit with your crew or a shipping company.
- Stored overnight in vehicles.
- Kept at a hotel or temporary storage facility.
- Used at remote or exposed locations.
- Rented from a local supplier.
Confirm deductibles, valuation terms, security conditions, and any unattended vehicle restrictions.
Create an equipment inventory with serial numbers and photographs. Assign responsibility for checking equipment in and out so missing items are identified quickly.
6. Plan for Weather, Terrain, and Emergency Access
A location that looks ideal during a scout may operate very differently during the shoot.
Review seasonal conditions, daylight hours, road access, cell service, and the availability of medical care. Ask local contacts about flooding, wildfire exposure, snow, extreme heat, and other conditions that could affect your dates.
Prepare practical alternatives:
- A backup location or indoor scene.
- A weather decision process and designated decision maker.
- Appropriate shelter, hydration, and temperature controls.
- Emergency access instructions.
- A communication plan where mobile service is unreliable.
Discuss potential interruption expenses with your broker. Do not assume weather delays or access problems are covered simply because the production carries insurance.
7. Vet Local Vendors and Location Agreements
Local vendors can provide valuable knowledge and reduce transportation costs. Check their references, availability, equipment, insurance, and ability to meet your schedule.
For locations, confirm access for scouting, setup, filming, and restoration. Address parking, power, restrooms, security, cleanup, and responsibility for damage in writing.
Document the property’s condition before setup and after wrap. Make sure someone has authority to approve changes if the production needs additional time or space.
8. Budget for the Full Cost of Working Away
An attractive location rate can hide significant travel expenses.
Include lodging, baggage and freight, ground transportation, parking, tolls, local support, equipment storage, and travel days. Allow for schedule changes that extend hotel stays or rental periods.
If incentives are part of your financing plan, verify eligibility, application deadlines, qualifying expenses, and payment timing directly with the administering agency before relying on the funds.
Build your budget around confirmed arrangements and realistic contingencies.
Give Your Production a Strong Start
Successful location filming starts with understanding the place where you will work. Early coordination with the local film office, payroll provider, vendors, and insurance professional can help you uncover problems while there is still time to solve them.
At MovieInsure, we help producers review insurance needs for movies, television, commercials, and other productions. Before your next out of state shoot, contact our team to discuss your destinations, activities, and coverage requirements.
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