Location, location, location: How to make up to €1,500 a day letting your home for TV and film shoots

Irish Times

16 hours ago

Has your
home
got what it takes to play a starring role in a
movie
or
TV
series? While it sounds potentially lucrative, location manager Peter Conway says filming in somebody's home is difficult. 'It is the most private space and it needs a level of trust to give over your home to film and TV production,' he says.
It's a delicate business finding homes that are essentially characters in a storyline, particularly so if they are playing the part of a backdrop that isn't
Irish
.
'Because we service a lot of TV shows set in the
UK
or in
America
, it can be a challenge trying to match American architecture. In Cocaine Bear, set in Georgia, for example, I had to ensure that we didn't get too close to any Irish town – it would give the game away.' A log cabin near Lough Dan in Co Wicklow made the cut in that instance.
When they do find the right place, location managers go through all the changes they want to make – line by line – to make sure the homeowners are comfortable. Conway says it is preferable that people move out of the property for the duration, even if it's only for a few days.
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'There will be equipment and people all over the place. On bigger productions there can be up to 200 people on set. It is best if you move out for the process. People with young kids might find it too disruptive,' he says.
Choosing the right location is important for fleshing out characters, Conway explains; who they are, where they would live. Ensuring the property selected reflects both character and screenplay requires a huge amount of co-ordination between him, the production designer and the producer.
A well-known example is Knockmore House in Enniskerry, Co Wicklow; formerly the real-life home of ex-politician Shane Ross, it played the fictional home of Marianne in the BBC television series Normal People.
Location manager Mick Swan says he makes owners aware of which rooms will be used and for what. He will send them a script to flag scenes depicting anything they might consider offensive or controversial, such as horror or violence.
Paul Mescal as Connell and Daisy Edgar Jones as Marianne in Normal People. Photograph: Enda Bowe/Element Pictures
So, how does Conway go about finding homes? For 'ordinary' properties, he says, he will identify a street that the production team likes and agrees on, and do a letter drop. He will then follow up on any responses and outline the filming process.
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The community of location managers share intel and a photographic portfolio of properties on their books.
Is it lucrative?
Interior designers Stephanie O'Sullivan and Sinead Wallace, who worked together at architectural firm Henry J Lyons, set up a locations company after O'Sullivan, wanting to list her own concrete brutalist property, Coal Lane House, on a locations website, discovered there wasn't one in Ireland. Theirs,
SoScout
, now lists almost 150 homes.
Their main business comes from content creators and production companies working for advertising agencies. The average shoot duration involves an eight-hour day with smaller crews; rates for that period range in price from €700 to €1,500.
Dublin and Wicklow are more in demand and can command higher fees. Vogue Williams used one of SoScout's homes for a shoot for her jewellery line, and Paris-based Numero magazine did a show with Oscar-winning actor Cillian Murphy, then a brand ambassador for Mont Blanc.
What clients are looking for is as much variety as possible, and that the home has personality, says O'Sullivan.
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'Personality takes precedence over valuable furniture. It is something that can't be created,' she says.
The fees on bigger productions will reflect the duration of the shoot and level of disruption, says Swan.
'The figure has to be attractive and appealing to the owner. That will depend on how much you make. A Killiney mansion might cost €10,000 to €20,000 per week. But a two-hour minimally invasive shoot, to film the exterior of a typical mid-terrace home, might only net you €500.'
In situations where homeowners have to move out of a property, an amount for alternative accommodation will be factored into the overall payment, at least on bigger-budget productions. Some homeowners might take this fee but sort out their own alternative accommodation and instead put it towards a nice holiday, for example.
Liz Allen of Liz Allen Location Services says that while home location filming is 'a sexy business', it is 'massively invasive'. 'You have to protect the house, the crew and the equipment,' she warns.
'It's not money for nothing,' says Swan. 'You have to sign a contract agreeing to the terms and read all the emails. There can be multiple visits from crew even before they decide to use your home.' And if they do choose your place, you are uprooted for the duration.
'We have to trust the owner isn't going to mess us around. And the owner has to trust we're not going to wreck their house,' says Swan.
But, at the end of the day, location managers agree, everything is put back exactly as it was. And it can be a currency for a homeowner too, giving them bragging rights and adding to their property's allure, should they wish to sell.
What's it like to see your home on the big screen?
Currane House owners Carmel Sweeney and Alex Blackmun
When husband and wife Carmel Sweeney and Alex Blackmun finally got the keys to Currane House, a former hunting lodge and pub on the shores of Clew Bay on Achill Island, they got ready to let it out for filming.
Sweeney's mother Nora Moran had come from Currane. She emigrated to London where she met her husband, an Achill man from Derreens. Sweeney had approached the owners about buying it. When they agreed, she and Blackmun planned to sell their London properties to fund the purchase of the house, which required some renovation. Covid slowed the process down but they finally got the keys in May 2021.
For My Sailor, My Love, a later-in-life love story involving a retired sea captain and a widowed housekeeper, was filmed on Achill in the summer of 2021 – coincidentally at the same time as The Banshees of Inisherin, which was also filmed on the island.
Given that the couple's plan for the property was to run part of it as a guest house, their main concern was the script and how it might read and portray the place, Sweeney explains.
'It was about a retired sea captain living in a run-down house. They said they wanted it just as is,' she says.
The location manager telephoned in advance of calling to the house, and the couple left him and the art department keys to let themselves in to survey it.
Currane House, Achill Island, Co Mayo
My Sailor, My Love: James Cosmo and Bríd Brennan in the movie, filmed on Achill Island
One of the guest bedrooms at Currane House
The family room at Currane House has custom-built bunkbeds that can sleep up to four, in addition to a double bed for parents
The residents lounge of Currane House was used in the film My Sailor My Love
'They told us which rooms were to be absolutely left 'as is'. Some of the rooms were not to be used at all.'
These included what had been one of two pubs in the village, The George, now the residents lounge.
The production team wanted to use the place for 12 weeks, four weeks of pre-production for the art department to weave their magic, six weeks of filming and a week or two to wrap up and rip out anything they'd installed. By the second week in August, the place was crawling with crew.
The couple were able to decamp to an aunt's house for this period, and were paid in the region of €30,000.
Their plans for upgrading Currane House included rewiring, replumbing and insulating the property but, as with most renovation jobs, other problems arose. They discovered they needed a new septic tank, drainage and groundworks. The majority of the film money went on that; the stone they needed cost €5,000 alone.
The house has been transformed since the film circus packed up their flight cases and moved on. It has been divided into two distinct areas, one for guests, the rest for their own use. Their side of the house includes a cosy sittingroom with views south across the lawn to Clare Island and Achillbeg.
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The breakfastroom has similarly dramatic views to digest over a full Irish. They've upgraded all the rooms and enlarged some, installing new sanitary suites. The bedrooms are calm, with those to the front boasting the same stellar views – on a clear day, at least. The family room, once the property's principal bedroom, has a double bed and four built-in bunks, painted in Farrow & Ball's cheery Citron No 74.
It was pretty amazing to see the house on the big screen, Sweeney says.
'We couldn't believe how much it was in the film and thought the scenery was shown off to its best.'
Houses for rent
The Arcadian Gardens, Co Meath
The Arcadian Gardens, Co Meath
Available for rent through
SoScout
from €137 an hour
Melmore House, Co Antrim
Melmore House in Co Antrim
Available for rent through SoScout from €162 an hour
The sculptor's house, Dublin 7
The sculptor's house in Dublin 7
Available for rent through SoScout from €137 an hour