Location Release

What this is about

The document does more work than people expect. It names the exact dates and hours, the areas the crew may use, whether the address or a recognisable logo may appear, who pays for damage, and what happens if the shoot overruns. Production usually attaches proof of liability insurance, because most owners ask for it before they sign. For rented flats the tenant alone may not be enough, and for a shop the manager on duty rarely is. Getting the signature from the wrong person is the expensive version of this mistake.

A term only helps when everyone on set means the same thing by it — so what follows is how it is used, not a dictionary definition.

What runs differently here

In planning terms, that means:

• Private property needs a release from the owner; public space needs a permit from an authority — large shoots usually need both.
• Check who may sign: landlord or tenant, management company or shop owner, and for listed buildings a heritage office as well.
• Write the usage into the release, or a client may find out later that the footage cannot run as a paid advertisement.

With TillyGen

TillyGen tracks which locations already have a signed release, so an unsigned address never quietly reaches the call sheet.

Change one constraint and the consequences travel through the whole plan: affected shots are flagged, the call sheet is regenerated, and nobody keeps working from yesterday's version.