Your property could be the reason a film comes to Mariposa County.
Productions don't pick a county. They pick a barn, a porch, a storefront, a stretch of road that looks like 1849. If you own one of those, the Yosemite Mariposa Film Commission wants it in the library that location scouts search first.
Listing is free. It takes about fifteen minutes. You are never obligated to say yes to anything, and your name and street address are never published.
- Free to list · no commission, no exclusivity
- Your name and address stay private
- You approve your listing before anyone sees it
What a location scout actually does
Most owners have never met one. Explain the job and the anxiety drops.
A location scout is the person a production sends out to find real places that match a script. They drive a lot, they photograph everything, and they bring options back to the director and the production designer.
Three things worth knowing:
- A scout is a researcher, not a buyer. A scout who loves your barn cannot hire it. They photograph it and take it back. If it moves forward, a location manager handles dates, money, and the contract. (Source: California Film Commission, “Your Property in a Starring Role.”)
- Being scouted commits nobody. Most scouted properties are never used. That is normal and it is not a judgment of your place — a script needs a north-facing kitchen, or the road can't take a 40-foot truck, and that is the end of it.
- They are looking for real, not pretty. Peeling paint, a rusted implement, an ugly outbuilding, a kitchen last remodeled in 1978 — these are assets. Do not tidy your property for the photos. Period-correct beats well-maintained almost every time.
How a shoot really works
The honest timeline. Owners who understand it negotiate better and complain less.
| Stage | What happens at your property | Typical duration |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Listing | Nothing. You’re in the searchable library. | — |
| 2. Scout interest | We contact you first. Nobody gets your details until you say yes. | — |
| 3. Scout visit | 1–3 people, cameras, an hour or two. No equipment, no changes. | 1–2 hrs |
| 4. Tech scout | If you advance: department heads walk the property — camera, grip, electric, locations. 6–15 people. They measure, check power, plan truck parking. | 2–4 hrs |
| 5. Contract | A written location agreement. Dates, money, what they may and may not do, insurance, damage terms. You read it. You negotiate it. You sign it, or you don’t. | — |
| 6. Prep / set dressing | Trucks arrive. Your belongings may be moved out and stored. Their furniture and props come in. Walls may be painted. | 1–3 days |
| 7. Shoot | The filming days. Long ones. | 12+ hrs/day |
| 8. Strike | Everything comes out. Paint goes back. Your belongings come back and get put where they were. | 1–2 days |
| 9. Possible reshoot | Weeks or months later, they may need a few hours back for pickups. Agree the terms for this before you sign, not after. | varies |
Scale, so nothing is a surprise. The California Film Commission's own owner guide states a feature film brings a cast and crew of 85–150 people, 10 to 25 equipment trucks and 60–95 vehicles, and that an average filming day runs twelve hours, often longer. A commercial is roughly half that footprint. A small documentary or stills shoot might be four people and two cars. (Source: California Film Commission.)
We will tell you which one is asking before you commit to anything.
What we will ask of you
This is the section most commissions leave out. Leaving it out is how a shoot goes wrong.
Your things may need to move.
If they are filming inside a house or a building, the production will usually need your furniture, photographs, and personal belongings out of the rooms they're shooting. Standard practice is that the production pays for a professional mover, professional storage, and the move back, and that everything is returned to where it was. The California Film Commission advises owners to photograph every room before anything is touched and to ask for a bonded mover for anything valuable. Both are reasonable asks and neither should be controversial. Put them in the agreement.
Their things will come in.
Set dressing, furniture, props, sometimes a lot of it. They may repaint a room, change light fixtures, swap out a mailbox, add a fake sign to your storefront. The standard location agreement requires the production to “leave the Property in as good condition as when received,” normal wear excepted. Anything you do not want altered goes in the agreement as a written restriction before you sign.
You will probably not be on set.
This is the expectation that surprises people most, so we would rather you hear it from us now. In most situations you will not be permitted at your own property while filming is underway. It isn't personal. A working set is a hazardous, tightly choreographed, confidential workspace — insurance, safety, and script confidentiality all point the same direction. Productions usually arrange for owners to be off-site for the shoot days and often cover the cost of that.
If being present matters to you, say so early. Some productions will agree to a supervised visit at a specific time. Many will not. Better to know before you sign.
You will need to be flexible about visits.
Scouts work on compressed schedules and a location decision can turn around in 48 hours. We will push for as much notice as we can get you, and we will never send anyone unannounced — but properties that can accommodate a visit on short notice get seen more often than properties that cannot. If your availability is genuinely narrow, tell us in the form; we would rather set a scout's expectation than waste your day.
Things that will be asked about — decide now, not at the gate.
- Interior access, or exterior only?
- Overnight or pre-dawn work?
- Generators, and where they may sit?
- Vehicles on grass, and how many?
- Livestock, pets, and who handles them?
- Firearms, pyrotechnics, smoke, open flame?
- Drones over your property?
- Crew smoking, crew dogs, crew in your bathroom?
- Anything structural, historic, or fragile that must not be touched?
Every one of these is a field in the form. Answering them honestly is not being difficult — it is what makes you easy to work with.
What you can expect to be paid
Start here: there is no standard rate. The Texas Film Commission, the Ontario Locations Library and the California Film Commission all say this in their own owner guidance, and they are right. A fee is negotiated between you and the production, every time. The Yosemite Mariposa Film Commission does not set rates, does not take a cut, and does not negotiate on your behalf — though we will happily tell you what we have seen, and we will tell you when an offer looks light.
How a location fee is actually built
You are not paid “a price for the property.” You are paid per day, by day type. Understanding this is worth more than any single number.
| Day type | What it is | Typical treatment |
|---|---|---|
| Shoot day | They are filming. | Your full day rate. |
| Prep / dressing day | Trucks, set dressing, your things out. | CFC advises one-third to one-half of the shoot-day rate. |
| Strike / wrap day | Everything out, property restored. | Same basis as prep. |
| Hold day | They are not shooting but you cannot use the space — it’s dressed and locked. | A reduced rate, negotiated. Do not give these away free. |
| Prelight / rehearsal day | Lighting rigged ahead of the shoot. | Often at or near a shoot-day rate. |
| Reshoot / pickup day | Weeks or months later, a few hours for extra shots. | Negotiate this into the original agreement. |
| Reimbursements | Electricity, water, propane, damage to landscaping, extra cleaning, your accommodation while off-site. | Bundle into an all-in rate, or bill separately — decide which, in writing. |
| Lost business | If you run a business and close for the shoot. | Priced on your actual revenue, not guessed. |
On reshoots — the clause most owners miss. The standard industry location agreement commonly lets a producer return within six months to shoot retakes and added scenes. If that right is in your contract, the rate for those days should be in it too. Agree a reshoot day rate up front. It is a normal, expected ask and it costs you nothing to make. Discovering the return right after you've signed, with no rate attached, is the bad outcome.
Real market figures — context, not a promise
Read this framing before the numbers. Everything below is from the Los Angeles and major-market rental economy. Mariposa County is not that market. Rural Northern California rates are materially lower, and the volume of productions is far lower. These figures are here so you understand the shape of the business — that prep days are paid, that hold days are a real line item, that a 3-person stills shoot and a 120-person feature are not remotely the same deal. Do not anchor on them.
| Market / source | Shoot day | Prep or strike day | Hold day |
|---|---|---|---|
| LA premium private venues, 2026 | $10,000–$60,000 | $5,000–$30,000 | $2,500–$15,000 |
| General US location-listing guidance (undated) | ~$1,000 small crew (≈3 people) → $5,000+ large crew (20+) | — | — |
| Yosemite National Park — what the Park Service charges a production for a permit, by crew size | $0 (1–2, tripod only) · $150 (1–10) · $250 (11–30) · $500 (31–49) · $750 (50+) | ||
The NPS row is included deliberately, because it is the most useful calibration available to a Mariposa County owner: it shows what a serious production is accustomed to paying per day for access to Yosemite itself. Private property in the county is negotiated separately and is not bound by that schedule — but it is the nearest local reference point that exists.
What actually moves your number, in rough order of weight:
- How badly they need your specific property — uniqueness is the whole game
- Production type and budget (studio feature ≫ streaming series ≫ national commercial ≫ indie feature ≫ documentary ≫ student or local)
- Crew size and footprint — trucks, generators, base camp acreage
- Interior vs exterior only (interiors command more; they are more disruptive)
- Number of days, and whether they are consecutive
- How much you are being inconvenienced — moving out, closing a business, losing a weekend
- Exclusivity and how much of the property is locked up
Three things worth doing
- Ask for payment, or a deposit, before the shoot begins. The California Film Commission advises this outright.
- Require a certificate of insurance and an additional-insured endorsement naming you. Productions typically carry $1 million in liability coverage. The certificate alone is just a receipt describing their policy — the endorsement is the thing that actually extends coverage to you. This distinction is the single most valuable paragraph in this document.
- Photograph everything before anyone arrives. Every room, every wall, the driveway, the landscaping. Timestamped. It is your entire position in any damage conversation.
Taxes
Location income is income. There is a federal provision — the “14-day rule,” IRC §280A(g), often called the Augusta Rule — under which a homeowner renting a personal residence for fewer than 15 days in a year may not have to report that rental income. The California Film Commission points property owners toward it.
We are not your accountant and neither is this page. Whether it applies to you depends on facts we don't have. Ask a CPA before you rely on it. We will not answer tax questions, and you should be suspicious of any commission that does.
Your privacy: exactly what is published and what never is
Say this plainly and in full. It is the objection that kills the most submissions.
Published, once you approve it
- Photographs and video of your property
- A general description — “working cattle barn, c. 1940, corrugated roof, 60' × 30'”
- Property type, approximate size, and notable features
- Approximate location and proximity to what a production needs: “22 min from Mariposa town centre · 45 min to Yosemite Valley entrance · 8 min to paved highway · cell coverage: partial”
- Your stated usage restrictions
Never published. Not now, not ever, not to anyone browsing
- Your name
- Your street address
- Your phone number or email
- Your APN or parcel record
- Anything you write in the internal-notes field
How the map works.
Residential properties default to an approximate pin — offset roughly a kilometre, labelled by area (“near Hornitos”) rather than by address. A commercial property on a Main Street may show its real address, because that is already public, and only if you choose it. You control this setting, and you can change it later.
How contact happens.
A scout who wants your property contacts us. We come to you. You decide whether we pass your details on. Until you say yes, the production has photographs and a map pin and nothing else.
You can withdraw at any time, for any reason, without explaining. We take the listing down.
How you will know a scout is real
Nobody has built this. It is a genuine trust differentiator and it costs almost nothing.
Inviting a stranger onto your land on the strength of a phone call is a real risk, and “film scout” is an easy thing to claim. So we verify, and we hand you the verification.
Before any in-person visit to your property, you will receive a Visit Confirmation from the Yosemite Mariposa Film Commission containing:
- The name and photograph of every person who will attend
- Their role — scout, location manager, production designer, director
- The production company's legal name and the project title, or, if the project is under an NDA, a project code plus our written confirmation that we have verified the company
- A direct phone number and email for the production's location department
- The date, arrival window, and expected duration
- A six-digit visit code
Ask for the code at your gate. If the person at your property cannot produce the code on the confirmation we sent you, they are not who they say they are. Turn them away and call us.
Nobody comes unannounced. Any contact that did not come through us, or that pressures you to skip this step, should be reported to us immediately. A legitimate location professional will expect to be checked and will not be offended.
You are in charge of this
Four things that stay true from the day you list to the day you sign:
- Listing obligates you to nothing. It is not a commitment to host, to accept a price, or to answer any particular enquiry.
- You have a voice in the negotiation. The fee, the days, the hours, what rooms they may enter, what may be painted, whether the dog stays, whether there is a hard out at 8pm — all of it is negotiable. An offer is an opening position, not a verdict.
- You will get a written contract, and you should read it. No property is used on a handshake. The location agreement sets the dates, the money, the permissions, the insurance, and the restoration terms. Take the time you need. Have a lawyer read it if the money is meaningful to you. A production that pressures you to sign quickly is telling you something.
- “No” is a complete answer. At any stage. It does not remove you from the library and we will not think less of your property.
Questions we actually get
Do I need professional photos?
No — and if photographs are what’s stopping you, tick "I’d like help photographing my property" on the form. We have photographers available for stills, b-roll, short films, and drone aerial work over county property, and we will come to you. (Aerial work inside Yosemite National Park is a different matter — the Park Service restricts drones severely and rarely approves them. Nothing we offer changes that.)
How long until something happens?
Honestly: it may be a long time, and it may be never. We are building a library. Some properties are enquired about within weeks; others sit for years and then match a script perfectly. Listing costs you fifteen minutes and nothing else.
Does the commission take a cut?
No. We do not take a commission, a finder’s fee, or a percentage. You are never charged to list.
What if they damage something?
The location agreement covers restoration and damages, and the production’s liability policy sits behind it — which is exactly why the additional-insured endorsement matters. Your before-photos are your evidence. Raise damage immediately, not after wrap.
Can I list more than one property?
Yes. Submit each address separately — that is how every major film office does it, because a scout searches for a place, not an owner.
My property is listed for sale. Can I still submit?
Not while it is actively for sale or for rent. A scout who falls for a property that sells mid-negotiation has wasted a production’s time and ours.
I’m a Main Street business. Isn’t closing for a day a loss?
It is, and you price that in. Lost trading revenue is a legitimate, expected line item in a location fee. Bring your actual numbers to the negotiation, not an estimate.
Ready? The form below takes about fifteen minutes for the parts we need — everything else is optional and can be added later.
Already listed a property and want to change something? Email us — see the contact details on our permits page.