Film Crews to Get Star Treatment in Scotland
Not everyone's idea of perfect guests perhaps, with their habit of staying out late, getting up early and drinking the house dry in between, but film crews spend money and bring a touch of glamour to the shooting locations they invade.
VisitScotland, the national tourism agency, is now campaigning to give the red carpet treatment to film crews with the potential to inject millions of pounds into the Scottish economy. Its new 'Film Crew Welcome Scheme' was launched at Cannes. A network of hotels, guest-houses, caterers, transport and film production companies is being set up in Scotland to provide film-makers with all the facilities they need.
Visit Scotland believes that not only do local economies benefit during film making, but tourists then seek out the locations they have seen on screen. Studies have estimated that Braveheart, the 1996 epic starring Mel Gibson and Rob Roy, starring Liam Neeson, have between them injected £15m into Scotland.
TV programme and commercial makers are also being wooed. The BBC's Monarch of the Glen series still brings £2m into the Highlands economy every year.
Nick Greenway, an executive with the Big Film Group, which advises major film companies on potential locations, said: "Films bring in tourists. Just look what happened in New Zealand after the Lord of the Rings.
"So if a country makes it easy for film-makers to go about their business then everyone will benefit.
"Film crews' needs are many and varied and they do tend to take places over. The good thing is that their presence brings long term benefits."
When the cast and crew of The Da Vinci Code, which premiered in Cannes, came to Scotland last year, they numbered more than 200.
"All these people needed food and shelter," Greenway said. "And when the film comes out it will give a massive boost to Rosslyn Chapel and the surrounding area that could last for years to come."
Colin Houston, a development manager with VisitScotland, said that under the scheme, filmmakers would be immediately able to identify crew-friendly businesses.
"Flexibility is key as schedules are often prone to last-minute amendments or cancellation because of the weather. Additional parking facilities may be needed for trucks as well as storage for equipment.
"The scheme will be a reassurance that the crew will find the facilities and quality services they require within a selected area."