You don’t need hundreds of millions of dollars, the industry’s best crew, and Brad Pitt to make a great movie. In fact, plenty of movies with those kinds of resources are down right agonizing to watch. It all comes down to the story you’re telling and how you’re telling it. With that in mind, anyone can make a movie! And you’re right, anyone can. You just need to be creative with how you get it made and how you find the necessary pieces to make it. There are countless stories from now famous directors and producers who started out with nothing but a script and a dream, Robert Rodriguez being one of them. One major aspect is your locations, and we’re here to help.
Before we start, I may be a bit biased, but I suggest checking out our AKS Rentals section for all of your location rental needs! We have tons of options on there, many of which might be free.
The Secret to Free Filming Locations
The secret to acquiring free locations to film at is simple – ask! You’d be surprised how many people are willing to help out a film with no budget. The obvious people to ask are friends and family but most of the time they won’t have exactly what you’re looking for. If you do need something else, do some scouting, find the owner, and tell them your case. You might just be surprised at how receptive they are. If they’re unsure, give them some sort of incentive other than money. What kind of incentive you might ask? Well, if it’s a business, you can offer to feature one of their products in your film or shoot a commercial for them on the side. They’re are endless possibilities you can offer, get creative!
If you’re able to get free locations, that will drastically save money for other parts of production that you might be neglecting. Remember, if you don’t ask, you don’t get!
Some filmmakers will go with the motto of ‘It’s better to ask for forgiveness than for permission’. What they mean by this is, start shooting at a location and if you get caught, apologize and make up an excuse. Most of the time they’ll let you off the hook and no negative outcome will occur, you might even get to finish shooting! If you don’t get caught, everything works out! Now, I’m not condoning this by any means, I highly recommend doing everything by the book, but it’s something to keep in mind.