All of South West Screen’s projects and activities have now been fully transferred into Creative England, the new agency providing creative industries support in the English regions outside London.

This website is no longer being updated, but will remain here for you to view details of South West Screen’s work over the last decade.

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South West Screen

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Ways we can help

What is the South West region

The areas we cover are Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Somerset, Dorset, Devon, Cornwall.

 (Please use the Map for more information)


How do I find a location in the South West?

Our comprehensive Online Location Library features a wide range of locations from across the region, or phone to discuss your requirements with the Locations team.


Do you charge for your locations service?

No. Both registering your property in the Locations Library and the service we provide for incoming filmmakers is completely free of charge.


Can I book a location through you?

No, we are a free liaison and support service for productions and cannot directly book locations for you - you must do this directly with the location representative.  We will be happy to offer advice and guidance throughout this process, including location selection through our comprehensive Location Database.


How do I register a location?

To register please complete the Registration Form and return the hard copy to us at the address at  the end of the Form.  (We need a hard copy as for Data Protection reasons we have to hold a copy of your signature, allowing us to have access to your personal information.) It would also be ideal to have some pictures.  As a guide, front and rear elevations, gardens and the interior ground floor and landing of the property are most useful to those looking for locations on our website.  They don’t need to be very high resolution; in fact too high and we have problems up-loading them.

Once we have received everything we will upload the property onto the system as soon as possible, although sometimes this may take a couple of weeks.  We will then send you a link so that you can see how the property looks to those viewing it from the website.

We should point out that as South West Screen is a publicly-funded body, we cannot actively promote individual locations and we don’t get involved with financial or contractual  negotiations.  We are, however, more than happy to offer advice to location owners on these matters and to give support throughout the production process.

We would also like to reassure you that all locations on the database are only identifiable by a reference number and a county. Productions wishing to get more detailed information on individual locations will have to make contact with this office, where we can check that theirs is a bona-fide enquiry before giving out any personal information.

If you have any questions about our Locations service, please contact us.

Will you promote my location above others on the database?

No, we won’t.  As South West Screen is a publicly-funded body, we cannot actively promote individual locations and we don’t get involved with financial or contractual  negotiations.  We are, however, more than happy to offer advice to location owners on these matters and to give support throughout the production process.


How do I find local police/council contacts for filming?

You can search the Production Guide for details of local police, emergency service and council contacts or contact the Locations Team.


How do I find local accommodation for crew?

Search our Production Guide for details of accommodation for crew. We have registered tourist accommodation hotline numbers for each local authority, and individual establishments each of which have been advised on the possible expectations and requirements of crew shooting on location.


How much should I charge for using my property as a location?

Fees charged for using properties as locations can vary depending on a number of factors. Different types of production will have different budgets but you should consider how long they wish to use the property for and how much disruption this will cause. The type and size of the property concerned will also have an effect on the fee you charge. South West Screen's role is to put the productions in touch with the locations, and we do not broker the location fee negotiation.  However if you contact us we are happy to advise location owners whenever possible.


How do I find local crew and facilities?

South West Screen has an online database, called the Production Guide, with contact details, profiles and credits of freelance crew and facilities based in our region.


How do I register on the crew & facilities database?

If you are a South West based freelancer or company who can provide services to the production industry you can register on our online Production Guide. The Production Guide is a publicly accessible searchable website and registration on the site assumes consent for your details to be accessed.


What do you do with the information that you hold on me / my location?

Locations on the database are only identifiable by a reference number and a county. Productions wishing to get more detailed information on individual locations should make contact with the Locations Team, where we can check that theirs is a bona-fide enquiry before giving out any personal information.
Crew registered with us will be publicly available for productions to browse on our Crew Database.  If you would like to make any changes to your profile you may do so through our production guide using your personal login and PIN.


How do I update my crew & facilities database entry?

If you are registered on the Production Guide you will have been emailed a PIN and User ID which will allow you to access and update your profile when necessary. If you have forgotten your PIN, please contact the Locations Team.


I am looking for crew to work on a low/no budget shoot - what do you suggest?

Search the 'looking for experience' category on our Production Guide for people who are willing to work for low pay in order to gain more experience. You could also try contacting universities/higher education institutions to see if there are any students who would be willing to help you out. If you are a member of Shooting People you can put out a call for crew on their e-mail bulletins.  You can also look on Bectu for formal work experience guidelines and minimum wage requirements.


Do you hold details of local actors?

We do not hold details of individual actors/extras on our database, but we do register local casting agencies on our Production Guide


How can I be a film or TV extra?

If you wish to get work as an extra on film or TV productions, it is best to is register with a casting agency. Production companies will usually approach casting agencies directly when they are looking for extras or walk-ons, the casting agency will then supply the type of people they require from those registered on their books. Search 'casting agencies' on our Production Guide for more details.


I am shooting a short film, what rates should I be paying my crew?

BECTU should be able to give advice on appropriate freelance pay rates.

How do I get work experience?

You can register on our Production Guide and select ‘looking for experience’ so that production companies can search for your details.

South West Screen also runs placements when possible within the Locations Department during the summer.  Please keep an eye on our Jobs page for more information.

Location FAQ Answers