Gucci reportedly paid £20,000 for Harry Styles to have a bag of chips at a chip shop in St Albans. The pop star, in pinstripe suit and pink socks, was seen filming an ad for the fashion brand there, and the owner let slip his supersize fee.
It highlights how even ordinary spaces can be attractive to a location scout for a film or ad. Rates vary, but filming, say, a furniture ad in a semi could bring in upwards of £1,500, according to Michelle Shashoua, co-founder of agency Fresh Locations. “Some homes could be double or three times that.
“It’s got to be worthwhile to the owner,” she says. “It is a lot of disruption, not only to the owners but also to their neighbours.” A film shoot “is not to be underestimated. It’s a minimum of 30 people and 12 hours for an ad, and they will need the run of your house.” For a feature film, it could be more.
A business would have to shut down for the day. “If people have to work from home that day, it’s whatever’s worthwhile [to the business]. Usually, it will be upwards of £3,000 a day for an office.” A local cafe could cost about £2,000, but it depends on the shoot. “A high-end beauty or fashion brand, involving a high-profile model or celebrity, could stretch to around £15,000 for a well-known restaurant, and if you are dealing with a hotel, it could be between £15,000 and £30,000 a day.”
Some organisations have their own prices, depending on who is paying. Network Rail, for instance, charges a £7,000 day rate (plus staff costs, such as electricians and security staff) for shooting a commercial on its property, and upwards of £11,000 for a feature film. The Royal Parks also has its own rates, with large shoots costing about £6,000 a day. A smaller park or garden, run by a council or charity, “might be quite happy to do it for a lot less,” says Shashoua. She once used a community allotment for a fashion brand for £700.
Despite the disruption, Shashoua points out, having your shop/cafe/chippy made famous in a film shoot “can drive business”. The owner of the St Albans chip shop could look forward to years of Styles’ fans’ pilgrimages for a saveloy and chips.
