Location is the first thing an audience feels before they consciously register anything else. Before dialogue. Before performance. Before music. Get it right, and a small film can look like it cost ten times what it did.
Everything I've learned about location — after a decade of shooting feature films in Paris, Germany, Iceland, Alaska, across Europe and Canada, mostly with a crew of four or five people — comes down to one discipline: never settle for something that looks cheap.
The Fundamental Principle: Size Is a Myth
Most people equate impressive locations with expensive locations. They're not the same thing.
For April Skies, I shot at the Louvre in Paris. The location didn't cost me a cent. I contacted them, explained the project — one actor, one sound person, a monologue — and they said yes. We looked like tourists. Nobody stopped us.
For Runaway, I filmed at the Nobel Prize venue and in front of Mont Saint-Michel. For The Art of Telling Lies, I rented a castle in Germany. These aren't locations that scream "independent film shot on a shoestring."
The key is staying small. A crew of four or five people looks like a group of tourists. A crew of twenty looks like a production, which triggers permit requirements, liability concerns, and fees.
Ask. More Often Than You Think, the Answer Is Yes.
About 70% of the locations in my films cost nothing. Not because I found clever workarounds — because I asked.
The process: contact the location, be honest about what you're doing, show your work. I keep my demo reel updated for exactly this reason. When a property owner can see the quality of the finished film — that their space will be represented professionally — the conversation changes.
Be transparent. Be polite. Show up with fewer people than you said you would. Leave the place exactly as you found it.
Airbnb as a Production Design Tool
For interior locations, Airbnb has become one of the most underused resources in independent filmmaking. Hosts who rent on Airbnb have usually invested real thought into how their space looks — interesting furniture, curated decoration, distinctive architectural details. They've already done a significant amount of production design work for you.
When you find the right one, you're not dressing a set — you're moving into a space that already has a coherent visual identity. The cost is usually far less than a traditional location rental, and the result is far better than a friend's apartment with generic white walls.
The Problem With Scouting Remotely — And How to Handle It
Because I'm often shooting in countries I'm visiting for the first time, I can't always scout in person. That means trusting photographs, which means accepting that photographs lie.
For The Art of Telling Lies in Germany, I rented a castle that looked extraordinary in the listing photos. When we arrived, the walls had been repainted — pink in one room, yellow in another, completely inconsistent. I rewrote the scenes to match what was actually in front of us. The locations that looked worst ended up producing some of the film's most distinctive shots.
The principle: the script is a blueprint, not a contract. When the location changes, the scene changes. When the scene changes, sometimes it gets better. Google Maps and Street View are your best tools for cross-referencing what a location actually looks like before you board a flight.
What Makes a Location Work
The question I ask when evaluating any potential location: does this make me say "wow"? Not "this could work." Not "this is fine." Wow.
I avoid anything that is:
- Wide, beige, and generic. The default interior — cream walls, unremarkable furniture — is the visual equivalent of silence when you needed music.
- Familiar in the wrong way. The friend's apartment. The office meeting room. Audiences have seen these places as "film locations" too many times to feel transported.
- Flat. Depth, layers, architectural interest — these are what the camera finds to work with.
What I look for: spaces with strong visual identity, interesting light, and locations that feel specific to a place or culture. A location that could only exist in Berlin, or only in Iceland — that specificity is value that no set build can replicate.
The Location as Creative Catalyst
The best locations don't just support the script — they generate ideas the script never anticipated. I shoot without a storyboard. The camera movement comes from the space, from what the location makes possible.
Build enough flexibility into your schedule — even fifteen minutes per scene — to explore what the location offers beyond what you came in to get. The thing you didn't plan for is often the thing that ends up in the trailer.
The Practical Summary
For exteriors: Ask for permission and stay small. A minimal crew is practically invisible.
For interiors: Airbnb first. Pay when you have to — it's almost always cheaper than a traditional location rental.
For international locations: Cross-reference every listing with Google Maps. Plan for adaptation, not just contingency.
For all locations: Apply one standard — does this make you say "wow"? If not, keep looking.