I was delighted to be interviewed by the Financial Times House & Home for a feature exploring how film location scouts and location managers find and secure extraordinary properties for film and television.

Finding and Securing Film Locations

The article, “Homes on screen: how scouts find the perfect film locations,” looks behind the scenes at the work involved in persuading homeowners to open their doors to major film and television productions.

As any location scout will tell you, finding the right location is only the beginning. Once a director or production designer falls in love with a property, the real challenge can be gaining the owner’s trust, negotiating access and explaining exactly what having a major film crew in their home actually involves.

I spoke to the Financial Times about some of my experiences scouting locations across the UK, including stately homes, country houses and private London properties.

Scouting Locations for Wonder Woman, World War Z and Kingsman

The feature references my work on Wonder Woman 1984 and World War Z, as well as one of my favourite location stories from Kingsman: The Secret Service.

For Kingsman, I was tasked with finding a London house to play an oligarch’s home. We eventually found an extraordinary property that required very little alteration for filming — something incredibly rare with private residential locations.

The owner agreed to filming on one very firm condition: nobody could know whose house it was.

That’s location work. Sometimes finding the perfect location is the easy bit.

Behind the Scenes of Film Location Scouting

The Financial Times feature also explores the wider world of location scouting, from securing homes for productions such as Succession to the practical and personal negotiations involved in bringing a film crew into someone’s property.

After nearly three decades working in film locations, I have learnt that every property — and every owner — is different. The job is as much about people, trust and problem-solving as it is about architecture and finding a great-looking location.

A fascinating look behind the scenes at a part of filmmaking that audiences rarely get to see.

Read the full Financial Times House & Home feature: “Homes on screen: how scouts find the perfect film locations.”