Want Filming at Your Place of Business? Put Your Front Door to Work!

When you think about it, the front door of any retail business has a big job to do.

That’s the go-to place for would-be customers to find critical information about the business.  There wait answers to all the important questions: Have I come to the correct place?  What are the hours of operation?  What payment forms are accepted?  And perhaps most important, to avoid an awkward moment: should I be ready to “push” or “pull” if I decide to step inside?

Today, the front doors of LA businesses have even more to say. That’s because many retail stores and restaurants now feature a “Filming Welcome Here” window cling from FilmLA.  When businesses display this symbol, it sends a powerful sign of support for LA’s signature industry and for local on-location filming, whether it happens on-premises or within the immediate vicinity.

How did the clings come to be?  The decals are tied to FilmLA’s LA Loves Film program, which is focused on filming sustainability in local neighborhoods. Now and through the end of 2020, FilmLA is providing “Filming Welcome Here” window clings free of charge to interested business owners and residents.  All FilmLA asks in exchange is for film hosts to honor the Community “Good Neighbor” Code of Conduct, available from the California Film Commission. 

FilmLA’s Vice President of Integrated Communications Philip Sokoloski said of the program, “Our outreach team is active every day in communities throughout LA, where the number one question members receive is, ‘how can I get filming at my home or business?’  That’s an enthusiasm we want to support, not only through online education and events but through fun, low-cost promotions like this.  Our aim is to put 5,000 out into the field over the next year.”

Of course, posting a sign in your window is no guarantee that the film industry will come calling, otherwise there wouldn’t be printed guides and businesses that specialize in marketing locations for filming. 

Regardless, the opportunity to have one’s business used in the production of a film, television, or commercial is a realistic dream in Los Angeles, above any other place on Earth.  That’s what 36,000+ Shoot Days per year makes possible. 

Location professionals, always on the look for new options, are working in conjunction with FilmLA to distribute window clings when out in the field.  

“Location teams and Scouts are always looking for sites that might be interested in filming, either as a primary location, on the same block, or in the same vicinity of another already chosen location,” noted Ed Duffy, Vice President / Business Agent for Teamsters Local 399.  “These stickers are a welcome sight and will definitely encourage Location Managers to explore these film-friendly locations either for their current projects or for the future.”

To request your Filming Welcome Here decal and LA Loves Film supporter kit, register your information below.