SCOTS are being offered up to £6,000 a day to let their homes be used in movies and TV shows.
Demand for domestic filming locations is soaring across Scotland and movie makers need everything from mansions to bedsits as locations.
The need is so high in Edinburgh that an arts body has appealed for residents to sign up their homes as potential stars of the big and small screen.
Several major productions have already been filmed in the city, including Trainspotting, Sunshine on Leith and the BBC three-part series Murder.
One lucky family in North Berwick, East Lothian, even got to meet Colin Firth when scenes from The Railway Man were filmed at their house in the seaside town.
Film Edinburgh attracts productions to the city by offering a choice of locations and venues for film crews to work in.
They rely on ordinary people to submit their properties and sign up to their location matching service – giving everyday Scots the chance to see their home appear on camera.
Film manager Rosie Ellison said: “We need as many people as possible to attract production companies, and anyone can get involved in this.
“You don’t necessarily need to have a big country house, it could be a family home, a flat, and on any scale or size.”
When Sunshine on Leith was filmed in Edinburgh in 2013, one of the requests from the location manager was to find a flat where a nurse could live.
Rosie said: “Not many nurses live in stately homes, they live in normal flats and houses, so a second floor flat in Polwarth was chosen and the experience was very exciting for the owner.
“She got to meet Dexter Fletcher, who was very charming to everyone, and she had a great story to tell.”
One home that has been used on a number of productions is Arniston House – a grand Georgian mansion in Midlothian.
It was recently used for scenes in the BBC series Murder, which features Joe Dempsie and Karla Crome.
Three months of filming and production brought £1 million to the city, which went towards crew hire, prop makers, electricians and the owners of the house.
Talking about the property owners, Rosie said: “The location manager will always look after them – they may not have the chance to meet the actors, but it depends on what’s happening in the scene.
“For the filming of The Railway Man, Colin Firth was great. He was out shaking hands with people who had come to see the filming and he wanted to meet the owners of the house.”
A location factsheet, shared by Film Edinburgh, details the location fees paid on average for different types of productions.
If a feature film uses your house for interior shots, you could earn between £2,250 to £6,000 per day.
You could also be paid roughly £5,000 if your house is used in a commercial or a TV drama.
General reality TV programmes fork out anywhere between £500 to £2,500 for interior scenes shot in your home.
