Recces, scout decks, owner negotiation, location agreements and on-day location management. From Dublin terraces to the Wild Atlantic Way, with the people who actually know the door codes.
Location scouting is the bit where international productions either win or lose their Irish shoot. A good scout reads the brief properly, builds a longlist from library and local knowledge, gets in the car and physically verifies the candidates, then comes back with a shortlist that is actually shootable on your dates, not a Pinterest board of beautiful images that turn out to be a private home with a recently-bereaved owner or a cliff with no road access.
We work from a combined library across our own files, the established Irish location library platforms (SoScout, Locations Ireland, the IFTN Locations database), and direct owner relationships across hotels, estates, farms, pubs, working businesses, OPW heritage sites and council land. Library is a starting point. Physical recce is the actual product.
One: brief intake. Format, dates, look, budget tier, locked elements, must-haves, must-avoids. Two: longlist. Library, local knowledge, owner reach-out. Three: physical recce. Drive the candidates, shoot stills and video, capture access, parking, power, internet, sun path. Four: shortlist deck. Three to six options per scene, with the honest pros and cons for each. Five: director or DP review. Marks-up, narrowing. Six: secondary recce on the locks. Seven: location agreements signed, permits opened, hand-off to production team. Eight: shoot-day location management.
Per location: wide establishers, key angles for the brief, walk-through video where it helps, lat-long pin and access notes, parking capacity, available power, mobile and Wi-Fi reality, weather notes, sun path with time-of-day reads, fee guidance, owner contact summary, permit complexity flag, dressing notes. Editable shared link so director, DP and producer can mark up. Versioned so the conversation has a trail.
Scout fees are quoted up front against the brief. They cover scout time, recce travel, accommodation where overnight is needed, and any owner fees required to access for the recce itself. They are separate from location fees, which are negotiated with the owner per shoot day and run through the production budget. For projects that go ahead, scout fees are sometimes offset against the wider service production fee, depending on scale.
Most of the best Irish locations are privately owned. Negotiating with owners is half the job. We agree the fee, the access window, the disruption tolerance, the insurance position, the parking and unit base, the reinstatement standard, and the cleanup. We hold the relationships so the second visit goes better than the first. Repeat owners in our network are how a quote on a tight timeline becomes a yes.
The Office of Public Works (OPW) manages state heritage sites including Phoenix Park, Dublin Castle, Kilmainham Gaol, Newgrange, Skellig Michael and most of the postcard-Irish state-owned landmarks. Each site has its own access conditions, fees, lead times and constraints. National Parks and Wildlife Service manages the national parks (Wicklow Mountains, Killarney, Connemara, Glenveagh, Burren) under separate filming protocols. We file the right application with the right body and handle the conditions.
The Wild Atlantic Way is a 2,500 km tourism route, not a single permitting authority. Filming on it crosses multiple county council boundaries, OPW sites, NPWS land and private land. We map permits by exact location and route the application through the right body. The same applies to the Ring of Kerry, the Causeway Coast (cross-border into Northern Ireland), and any production that wants a long west-coast travel sequence.
Plain version: Library shots get the conversation started. The scout product is physically verified shortlists with the access, fees and permit reality marked up. We do that, then we run the locations on the day.
What does scouting in Ireland involve?
Brief intake, longlist, physical recce, scout deck, owner negotiation, lock and agreement, hand-off to permits and production.
Do you have a library?
Yes. Our own files plus the established Irish location libraries and direct owner relationships.
How long does a scout take?
Three to five days for a TVC. Weeks for feature drama. 48 hours for tight content where locations are inside our active set.
What does the deck contain?
Wides, key angles, walk-through video, GPS, access, parking, power, internet, sun path, fee guidance, owner notes, permit complexity flag.
Who pays for scout time?
The production, quoted up front. Separate from location fees, which run through the budget.
Private property?
Yes. Most of the most-shot Irish locations are private. We negotiate owners.
OPW sites?
Yes. Phoenix Park, Dublin Castle, Kilmainham, Newgrange and other state heritage sites all run through OPW filming permission.
National parks?
Yes. Wicklow Mountains, Killarney, Connemara, Glenveagh and the Burren run through National Parks and Wildlife Service.
Wild Atlantic Way?
Mapped by exact location across multiple councils, OPW and private land.
On-day location management?
Yes. Location manager and assistants run the day, manage owners, supervise make-good.
Format, dates, look, region (or open). We will come back with a feasibility read and a scout fee.
Or call +44 7572 373 849.