Film Office Toolkit/Foundations - Setting up a film office from scratch

  • Β£595/yr

Foundations - Setting up a film office from scratch

  • 124 Lessons

A structured toolkit for UK public bodies setting up or formalising how they handle location filming.

Includes a self-audit that scores your organisation across opportunity, capacity, and readiness. Operating model guidance to match your resources. Practical lessons on handling enquiries, approvals, fees, resident communication, and reinstatement. High-level fee benchmarks to sense-check your pricing. A 30/60/90-day implementation plan. 13 downloadable working documents (workbooks, checklists, templates, and letter frameworks).

Plus over 75 real-world example documents from other UK councils and public bodies, covering fee schedules, codes of practice, contracts, filming guides, and more.

12 months of access

Contents

Welcome - How to Use This Toolkit

How the toolkit works, what to expect, and how to get the most from it.

πŸ‘‹
Welcome to the Film Office Toolkit
πŸ“–
How This Toolkit Is Structured
πŸ“¦
Your Working Pack
Why Filming Matters For Your Area

Training - How Location Filming Works

What productions need, the types of filming you'll encounter, who you'll deal with, and what Location Managers actually want from you.

πŸ“
What Productions Need From a Location
🎞️
Types of Production and What They Mean for You
πŸ“†
The Production Timeline and Key Roles
🎯
What Location Managers Actually Want From You

Training - The Foundations Self-Audit

A structured half-day assessment scoring your organisation across three areas: opportunity, capacity, and readiness. The output tells you where you stand and which operating model fits.

πŸ“‹
Introduction to the Self-Audit
πŸ”
Opportunity Assessment
⏱️
Workload and Capacity Assessment
πŸ›οΈ
Organisational Readiness
πŸ“Š
Scoring and Interpreting Your Results

Training - Choosing Your Operating Model

Three models for handling filming, from minimum viable to growth-ready. Match your audit results to the right approach for your resources and demand.

βš™οΈ
The Three Operating Models
🧭
Which Model Fits Your Organisation
✍️
Your Operating Model Recommendation

Training - Setting Up Your Film Office Function

Where filming should sit in your organisation, who needs to be involved, and how to build internal support without waiting for formal approval.

🏒
Where Filming Sits in Your Organisation
πŸ™
Roles and Responsibilities
πŸ—ΊοΈ
Stakeholder Mapping
🀝
Building Internal Support

Training - Core Operations

The practical processes: handling enquiries, approvals, permits, department coordination, shoot-day management, resident communication, and reinstatement.

πŸ“¨
Enquiry and Request Handling
βœ…
Approvals and Escalation
πŸ“ƒ
Permits, Agreements and Paperwork
πŸ”—
Department Coordination
πŸŽ₯
On-the-Day Management
πŸ“£
Resident Communication and Complaints
πŸ”ƒ
Reinstatement and Damage Management

Training - Fees and Charging

How to build a defensible fee structure, which charging model fits your situation, and high-level benchmarks to sense-check your pricing against peers.

πŸ’·
Why Charging Matters
πŸ“
Charging Models
πŸ—οΈ
Building Your Fee Structure
πŸ“Š
High-Level Benchmark Summaries
βš–οΈ
Exceptions and Negotiation

Training - Implementation

A 30/60/90-day plan to turn everything into action, plus briefing checklists for leadership, legal, finance, and comms.

πŸ“†
Your 30/60/90-Day Plan
πŸ—£οΈ
Briefing Leadership, Legal, Finance and Comms
🏁
What Good Looks Like (and What to Expect)

Templates - Working documents

Downloadable templates to fill in, adapt, and use internally. These are practical starting points, not finished policies. Adapt them to fit your organisation.

πŸ“ƒ
How to Use the Working Documents
01 - Self-Audit Workbook.docx
02 - Results Summary.docx
03 - Operating Model Recommendation.docx
04 - Stakeholder Mapping Template.docx
05 - Approval Matrix Template.docx
06 - Department Coordination Workflow.docx
07 - Resident Notification Letter.docx
08 - Complaints Process Builder.docx
09 - Reinstatement Checklist.docx
10 - Fee Structure Builder.docx
11 - Exceptions Framework.docx
12 - 30-60-90 Day Plan.docx
13 - Stakeholder Briefing Checklists.docx

Real World Examples - Fee Schedules and Rate Cards

A collection of published fee schedules from UK councils and public bodies, showing how different organisations structure and price their filming charges. These are real documents sourced from publicly available council websites and FOI responses. Use them to see how others present their fees, what they charge for, and how they tier pricing by crew size or production type. They are not templates to copy directly, but practical reference points as you build your own.

Lambeth - Fees and Lead Times 2025-26.pdf
Royal Parks - Rate Card 2024.pdf
Lambeth - Fees and Lead Times 2024-25.pdf
Ealing - Fees and Lead Times 2025.docx
Bristol City Council - Film Office Fees.pdf
Liverpool - Film Permit Fees 2023.pdf
Camden - Fees and Charges.pdf
Hackney - Fees and Charges 2025-26.pdf
RBKC - Filming and Photography Fees 2024-25.pdf
Hackney - Proposed Fees and Charges 2025-26.pdf
Lambeth - Filming Fees and Charges.pdf
Islington - Rate Card December 2025.pdf
Northeast Screen - Location Fees Guide 2022.pdf
Hillingdon - Fees and Charges.pdf
Islington - Filming Fees.pdf
Hammersmith Fulham - Fees and Charges.pdf
Ealing - Proposed Schedule of Licence Fees.pdf
Screen Hackney - Fees and Charges 2025-26.pdf
National Archives - Filming Fees.pdf
RBKC - Filming Fees Appendix 2025-26.pdf
Shere Parish Council - Filming Policy and Fees 2024.pdf

Real World Examples - Filming Policies and Codes of Practice

Published filming policies and codes of practice from UK councils and public bodies, covering everything from general filming guidelines to specific policies on drone use. These documents were publicly available at the time of collection. Review them to see how other organisations set out their rules, conditions, and expectations for productions filming in their area.

Dacorum - Filming Protocol 2025.pdf
Royal Parks - Filming and Photography Policy.pdf
North Herts - Filming Code of Practice 2023.pdf
Windsor and Maidenhead - Filming Code of Practice.pdf
Windsor and Maidenhead - Drone Filming Policy.pdf
Film Hampshire - Code of Practice and Guidelines.pdf
South Gloucestershire - Code of Practice for Filming.pdf
Screen Highland - Code of Practice.pdf
Film London - Code of Practice 2025.pdf
Filming in England - Code of Practice 2024.pdf
Northern Ireland Screen - Code of Practice.pdf
RBWM - Filming Code of Practice.pdf
Royal Holloway - Location Filming Code of Practice.pdf

Real World Examples - Contracts and Agreements

Real filming agreements, terms and conditions, and licence documents used by UK public bodies and cultural institutions. These were sourced from publicly available council and institutional websites. They show how different organisations structure the legal relationship with productions, including liability, insurance, reinstatement, and permitted use. Have your own legal team review any language before adopting it.

V&A Museum - Filming Conditions Form.pdf
DCMS - Reproduction Agreement Sample.pdf
Sheffield - Filming Conditions of Use.pdf
Hart District - Open Spaces Booking Terms.pdf
Cumbria Archive - Media Licence Agreement.pdf
Film Birmingham - Film Permit Agreement Terms and Conditions.pdf
Network Rail - Location Agreement Template Unscripted.pdf
Museum Development North - Filming Contract Template.pdf
Network Rail - Location Agreement Template Scripted.pdf
Islington - Finsbury Square Unit Base Terms and Conditions.pdf
Portsmouth - Event Land Hire Terms and Conditions.pdf
Islington - Northampton Road Unit Base Terms and Conditions.pdf

Real World Examples - Application and Enquiry Forms

Filming application and notification forms published by UK councils. These show what information other organisations ask for at the enquiry stage and how they structure the intake process. Use them as reference when designing your own form, but adapt the fields and format to suit your organisation.

Glasgow - Filming Notification Form.pdf
TfL - Application to Film on Roads.docx
GLA - PSG Application Form Filming and Photography.pdf

Real World Examples - Filming Guides

Guides produced by UK public bodies for visiting productions, covering how to make an enquiry, what to expect from the process, local information, and FAQs. These are some of the better examples we found during our research. They show what a genuinely useful filming page looks like when it goes beyond a phone number and an email address.

Royal Parks - Guide to Filming 2021.pdf
Dacorum - Key Information for Productions.pdf
Windsor and Maidenhead - Filming FAQs.pdf
Hammersmith and Fulham - Film Guide.pdf
Kingston - Filming Guide.pdf
Film Edinburgh - Location Factsheet.pdf
Network Rail - Producers Guidance.pdf
Historic Environment Scotland - Filming Guidance.pdf
Creative Wales - Location Guidelines.pdf
Westminster - Event Guidelines.pdf
Guildford - Filming Guidelines.pdf
GLA - Guidance for Filming on Trafalgar Square and Parliament Square.pdf
Islington - Drone Guidance.pdf
Screen Scotland - Film in Scotland Brochure 2024.pdf
VisitScotland - Set in Scotland.pdf
Cadw - Filming Locations Brochure 2025.pdf

Real World Examples - Highways and Road Closures

Published guidance documents covering how road closures, parking suspensions, and traffic management for filming are handled by different UK authorities. Road closures are one of the most complex and time-sensitive elements of location filming, and these documents show how other organisations set out the process, timelines, and responsibilities.

Wokingham - Responsibilities for Highway Filming.pdf
Glasgow - Events and Filming on the Road.pdf
Northern Ireland DfI - Special Events on Roads Guidance.pdf
Wokingham - Filming on the Public Highway.pdf
Film London - Application Process Flowchart.pdf
Islington - Road Closure Application.doc
Met Police - Guidelines for Filming on the Move in London 2025.pdf

Real World Examples - Events Frameworks

Events policies and frameworks from UK councils that include provisions for filming alongside other outdoor events. These show how some organisations handle filming within a broader events management structure, including charging, health and safety, and stakeholder coordination. Useful if your council manages filming through its events team.

BCP Council - Events Framework.pdf
BCP Council - Events Policy (Appendix 2).pdf
BCP Council - Outdoor Events Handbook (Appendix 3).pdf