We strongly encourage using the Location Agreement we created (1-page PDF), for each shooting day at each Location (even if the Location Owner is a friend). Such an agreement is required for the company to pay the associated Location Allowance anyway.
The Agreement sets out the basic tenets of a Shoot Producer paying someone for using their Location, and is designed to remove many potential problems (for example, it’s clear we’re using the location to make porn, that we’ll pay a certain amount, etc). This protects the Shoot Producer from a Location Owner claiming they “never knew we were making porn”, or claiming higher-than-agreed fee.
Similarly, the Agreement puts requirements on the Shoot Producer, for example, the SP must clean the home to be as clean as it was before they arrived, to respect the Location Owner’s privacy, have insurance, and pay the Location Owner promptly (all things we know new Location Owners are concerned about).
If a Shoot Producer has ideas for improving the Agreement, propose them to the Creative Director – making a better Agreement is in everyone’s interests.