You know that Connecticut or English or Mid-Century Modern home you drool over in your current binge series on Netflix? Chances are good that that home is right here in Pasadena.
According to visitpasadena.com, Pasadena issues nearly 500 filming permits annually and has roughly 800 film days per year.
In the 1991 film, Father of the Bride, the house is a huge part of the plot, with most of the major action occurring in or near the house. That iconic home is, of course, in Pasadena.
The charming colonial-style house where the family of Mad Men ad man Don Draper made their home in Ossining, New York, is also in Pasadena. In fact, it’s just across the street from the Father of the Bride home.
Fans of Mad Men will remember the bright red door on the Draper house, but in reality, the house’s door is blue. In fact, according to the show’s crew, the door was painted red, then repainted blue after every single time the show filmed at the location.
Back to the Future (1985) took advantage of Pasadena’s versatility, as it portrayed current 1985, as well as 1950s Mill Valley. The location for Doc Brown’s garage and laboratory is the gift shop at the Gamble House, formerly its carriage house.
“You can film Anywhere, USA, in Pasadena,’ says Ariel Penn, the former Filming Manager for the Pasadena Film Office, where in 24 years, she handled over 10,000 film shoots.
Penn now runs her own company, Film Location Properties.com, and helps owners promote and coordinate filming on their properties.
“Pasadena has a variety of looks,” said Penn, “anything from Craftsman to Colonial to Tudor. It doesn’t just look like Southern California.”
While having your home featured in a movie is likely a dream come true for homeowners, much is involved, which is why Penn’s company is so important to the whole process.
As Penn explained in a recent interview, “A lot of the owners will face a lot of unknowns when they work with the crew, because many owners haven’t done filming before. And there’s a lot of duties to be performed.
“There are usually multiple showings for the crew,” said Penn. “First with just the location scout, and then there’s usually a second follow up showing with not only the location scout, but the director and the production designer. And if they like it and they want to film it, they bring over all the department heads for what’s called a ‘tech scout.’
There are obviously a lot of other factors to consider, says Penn. “There’s insurance, preventing damage, and making sure things are protected. We’re able to handle a lot of those stickier issues for the property owner.”
The company is basically a “one stop shop,” for location filming, says Penn, handling a myriad of issues that could possibly arise.
“I’m a licensed realtor,” Penn explained, “and, by state law, the only people who are allowed to handle those types of negotiations on behalf of property owners, are licensed realtors. A lot of owners don’t know that when they’re approached by folks to assist them with promoting their properties.”
Truth be told, noted Penn, an owner can negotiate their own contract, “but it’s not recommended,” she said, “because you really need someone who’s a production expert like Film Location Properties that understands how production works, and understands how it could affect your property, and be able to step in to the benefit of both the owner and the film company.
“We help the owner, as well, to understand the needs of production,” she continued. “And then they can decide if a particular activity works for them or not.”
“A lot of our clients are extremely busy,” Penn continued. “They have successful careers and don’t have time to handle all of the logistics that go into hosting filming, but they do like the compensation. So, with us, they have the best of both worlds. They have someone to handle the coordination and then they have the extra rental income, which in many cases, is free of State and Federal taxes for the first 14 days of filming, but do consult with your CPA about your situation.”
And what about that compensation? How much is it, really?
“Actually,” Penn offered, “I can give you a guideline that can be applied in a lot of situations. If you go to (real estate site) Zillow, and you look up your monthly rent, they call it your ‘Zestimate,’ that would be on average, the daily rental rate. ‘Prep and strike,’ which is preparing the property and then putting it all back together at the end of the shoot, is half that rate. Also, you have to be sensitive to various production budgets and smaller crew sizes in terms of the rates and have some flexibility.”
Penn also noted that she is always looking for all types of properties, from homes to commercial buildings. And she also works with buyers and sellers who love filming income properties.
Lights, camera, your place!
More information using your home as a film location is available at www.filmlocationproperties.com. (626) 375-8731
