A group of friends and I are filming a no-budget movie and we need a “torture room” for a couple of the key scenes. Something like that set from “Saw.” Any helpful ideas? I’ve looked high and low and am unable to find something that is a) scummy enough, b) is not already occupied by a small business, and c) the owners will let us film there, content in the knowledge that we are not making a porno.
Posting here was really my last resort, as we have to film on the 18th and 19th of November (due to the actors’ availability), and location-wise we’re up a certain creek without a certain rowing instrument. I was hoping someone out there might know of a place in a building in which they live or work, or pass by everyday, that might suffice. We could even pay a couple of thousand bucks to grease the wheels, if needs be.
I appreciate your help. Unfortunately I can’t offer much for your assitance, beyond maybe a credit for “Location Scout.” Either way, thanks!
You can check into any old hotel for the weekend… Just use your imagination… What do you need? Ropes? Rubber restraints… I am sure they can fix you up at the Prosecutor’s office in Taoyuan…
Thanks for the input. As it happens, we found an old abandoned building that turned out to be perfect for the job, and we filmed those scenes last weekend. I had picked up some antique surgical tools from eBay for our torturer to use, and the lady next door let us plug into her outlet (for a small fee) and it worked out great.
Now I am looking for a room that can stand in for a museum gallery. We have a scene where a female cat burglar, in black suit and balaclava, sneaks into a room in a museum after closing and has to deftly avoid a criss-crossing series of laser beams to get to the other side of the room. You know – the old spy film standby!
For this, I’d also like to find a gymnast or dancer who could wear the costume and perform the part with some really dazzling moves. Does anyone know someone who would be interested?
I love it when people are making movies and start asking for weird things. Somebody asked me to “crucify” somebody once. It was fun nailing him up.
For dancers, you might try contacting some of the art schools or performing groups. They should have a person that can suggest someone. For the “spy” scene I don’t know. Many corporate office buildings have expansive lobbies with art in cases that maybe would let you do a quick scene, but I think you need lots of time to set this up. Try asking an actual museum if they will let you do this after hours?
Those are good ideas. The museums I’ve spoken to have either given me an outright “no” or been polite enough to couch their “no” in requests for me to fill out reams of forms, write project descriptions, await authorization from people with long titles and not call them, they’ll call me.
I have the props, so really all I need from this is a big empty room. Like a conference room, but with no conference table, chairs or windows.
I also tried a performing arts school, as you suggested. It was a Peking opera college, and I suggested to the administrator that a film credit might be good way to kick-start one of her student’s careers, especially for only an hour’s work. “They have no time” was her answer, “They are very busy.”
This has been a very long project, and it is very near completion. One thing I have learned is that to ask permission is to beg for a “no.”