How much should you budget for locations on a Nashville production?
Unfortunately, the answer is everyone's favorite production answer:
It depends.
A six-person still shoot in a private home is very different from a 50-person commercial taking over a restaurant for 12 hours. Location fees can change based on crew size, hours, exclusivity, prep and wrap, parking, lost business, equipment, alterations and how disruptive the production will be.
But if you're building an initial Nashville production budget, you need somewhere to start.
Here's a realistic guide to the location-related costs you should anticipate when filming in Nashville and Middle Tennessee.
First: What Does a Nashville Location Typically Cost?
There isn't a standard Nashville location rate.
Current Nashville listings on production marketplaces frequently fall somewhere around $100–$300+ per hour, but professional commercial productions are often negotiated as day rates rather than simple hourly rentals.
For preliminary budgeting, we'd consider ranges like these:
Location TypeRough Planning RangePrivate home$1,500–$5,000/dayHigh-end / architecturally significant home$3,000–$7,500+/dayRestaurant or café$2,000–$7,500+/dayBar / music venue$2,000–$7,500+/dayFarm / barn / rural property$1,500–$5,000/dayLarge estate / horse property$2,500–$7,500+/dayWarehouse / industrial space$1,500–$5,000+/daySmall retail / commercial property$1,500–$4,000+/dayOffice$1,500–$5,000+/dayChurch / institutional property$1,500–$5,000+/day
These are planning ranges, not published Nashville rates.
A small editorial-style photo shoot may come in considerably lower. A national commercial with a large crew, significant equipment and broad advertising usage can come in considerably higher.
The more impact the production has on the property, the more you should expect to pay.
What Does a House Cost?
For a straightforward commercial shoot in a Nashville home, we'd initially carry approximately $1,500–$5,000 for the shoot day.
A particularly high-end, unique or architecturally significant property could easily command $3,000–$7,500 or more.
Why the range?
A homeowner is turning over their private residence to a production.
Crew will be walking through the house. Furniture may move. Equipment is coming inside. Trucks may be parked outside. The homeowner may need to relocate their family or pets for the day.
A 10-person lifestyle still shoot and a 50-person motion shoot shouldn't pay the same rate.
What About a Restaurant or Café?
Restaurants are different because the location fee may only be one part of the conversation.
For preliminary budgeting, we'd carry approximately $2,000–$7,500+ per day for a restaurant, café or bar.
But you also need to ask:
Are they closing for us?
If a restaurant normally generates $6,000 in revenue during the hours you want to shoot, offering them a $2,000 location fee probably isn't going to be particularly compelling.
A restaurant may ask for:
Location fee + lost revenue / buyout.
Alternatively, production may be able to shoot during closed hours, which can dramatically reduce the impact.
A café that closes at 3 PM might be much easier to negotiate for an evening shoot than one you're asking to close during Saturday brunch.
Timing matters.
A lot.
What About Farms + Rural Properties?
For farms, barns and rural private properties around Middle Tennessee, we'd generally start with approximately $1,500–$5,000 per shoot day.
Larger estates, horse farms or particularly cinematic properties could be $2,500–$7,500+.
One advantage of rural properties is that your fee may buy you much more than the picture.
A good farm may also provide:
Crew parking. Truck parking. Basecamp. Holding. Catering space. Multiple shooting environments.
That's real production value.
A $3,500 farm where you can park 40 cars may ultimately be cheaper than a $2,000 location requiring a separate basecamp, crew lot and shuttle.
Don't Forget Prep + Wrap
Your location budget shouldn't automatically assume you're only paying for the shoot day.
If art department needs access the day before to dress the location, or production needs additional time afterward to restore it, expect to negotiate prep and wrap fees.
A common starting point is approximately 50% of the shoot-day location fee for a prep or wrap day, depending on the amount of access and activity required.
So if your house is:
$3,000 shoot day
you might initially budget:
$1,500 prep
$3,000 shoot
$1,500 wrap
That's a potential $6,000 total location rental before permits, parking or other expenses.
Never assume prep comes free.
What About Overtime?
Location agreements should clearly establish your permitted hours.
If you've booked a house for 10 hours and you're still shooting at hour 12, the homeowner is probably going to want to be compensated.
Overtime structures vary, but productions should establish the rate before the shoot.
You don't want to negotiate location overtime while the director is asking for one more take.
Nashville Film Permit: $130
If your production uses Metro Nashville public property, streets, sidewalks or public right-of-way, you may need a Nashville film permit.
The current standard Metro Nashville film permit application fee is $130.
Metro requires applications at least three business days before filming, although we generally recommend allowing 5–7 business days whenever possible.
Current requirements are available through the Metro Nashville Film + Special Events Permit Office.
Private-property shoots don't automatically require a Metro film permit simply because you're filming in Nashville, but your production activity outside that property can trigger permitting requirements.
For example:
The house is private.
The grip truck occupying public curb space isn't.
Production Parking
Parking is another location-related expense that should make it into the budget.
Metro's current film permitting materials list reserved paid public parking spaces at $21 per space, per day.
If you're shooting downtown and need six spaces for production vehicles:
6 spaces × $21 = $126/day
That's before considering private lots, garages or a separate basecamp.
Outside downtown, parking can become considerably easier.
A residential property may have a large driveway. A commercial property may have its own lot. A rural property may have enough acreage to accommodate nearly the entire production.
For more detail, see our guide to Where Can Production Vehicles Park in Nashville?
Street + Sidewalk Closures
If the production needs greater control of the public right-of-way, additional permit fees can apply.
Nashville's current NDOT fee schedule lists temporary:
Street closures — $160 for up to five days
Lane closures — $160 for up to five days
Bike-lane closures — $160 for up to five days
Sidewalk closures — $160 for up to five days
Additional daily fees apply beyond the initial five-day period.
The permit itself may be the inexpensive part.
Depending on the scope of the closure, production may also need a traffic-control plan, barricades, signage, police officers or other traffic-control measures.
That's where costs can start climbing.
Do You Need Police Officers?
Not for every Nashville shoot.
A straightforward commercial filming entirely on private property generally isn't going to require you to hire police simply because you're filming.
Police costs become more relevant when the production needs traffic control, road closures, intermittent traffic control, public safety support or other activity where Metro requires or approves officer involvement.
The Metropolitan Nashville Police Department allows productions and other organizations to hire officers through its Secondary Employment Unit.
Current rates are:
Police Officer — $77/hour
Sergeant — $87/hour
Lieutenant — $97/hour
A marked police vehicle is currently an additional $9/hour.
There is a four-hour minimum.
So one officer with a marked vehicle for four hours would currently start around:
($77 + $9) × 4 = $344
Two officers with vehicles for eight hours would be approximately:
$1,376
And that's before any other traffic-control equipment or requirements.
Holiday rates are higher.
The exact number and rank of officers needed should be determined with Metro based on what the production is actually requesting.
Do You Need the Fire Department?
Again: not for a normal shoot simply because you're filming.
But the Nashville Fire Marshal's Office may become involved when your production introduces certain fire or life-safety issues.
Think:
Open flame. Pyrotechnics. Flame effects. Significant propane. Certain compressed gases. Welding or hot work. Special effects. Large assembly conditions. Temporary changes affecting fire protection or egress.
Current Nashville Fire Marshal operational permit fees include examples such as:
Open flames / candles — $151
Pyrotechnics + flame effects — $290
LPG / propane permits — generally $149–$151 depending on quantity/use
Cutting + welding / hot work — $151
If the Fire Marshal determines that on-site standby personnel are necessary because of hazardous conditions or reduced life-safety features, Nashville currently lists an Afterhours Standby permit at $213.
There is also an owner-provided Special Event Fire Watch permit listed at $88, where applicable.
Fire requirements are extremely project-specific.
If the creative says fire, smoke, sparks, welding, propane or pyro, we'd start the Fire Marshal conversation early rather than figuring it out on tech scout.
Site Representatives
Some properties will require a representative to remain on-site while production is present.
That might be:
A homeowner representative.
Building manager.
Venue manager.
Property employee.
University representative.
Museum staff member.
Security guard.
Their cost may be included in the location fee — or it may be additional.
For preliminary budgeting, we'd ask about this during the first location conversation rather than discovering another 12-hour labor charge after the location is already locked.
Security
Most small private-property shoots won't need dedicated security.
But larger productions, high-profile talent, valuable equipment, downtown locations or venues open to the public may.
Security requirements may also come directly from the property.
That's particularly common with larger venues and institutional locations.
Treat it as a potential location expense rather than assuming production can decline it.
Cleaning Fees
Some locations charge a separate cleaning fee.
Others simply require production to return the property exactly as it was found.
For houses and smaller commercial locations, a few hundred dollars for cleaning isn't unusual as a budget placeholder when required.
For larger properties, the cost can increase.
The important part is understanding whether cleaning is included in the location fee before you sign the agreement.
Location Security Deposit
Private properties may also request a refundable security or damage deposit.
This isn't necessarily a true production cost if everything goes well, but it affects cash flow and should be anticipated.
The amount depends heavily on the property and production.
A homeowner handing over a multimillion-dollar house is understandably going to think differently about security than someone renting an empty warehouse.
Location Manager + Location Assistants
Don't forget the people actually managing all of this.
On larger shoots, your location budget may also include:
Location manager
Assistant location manager
Location assistants / PAs
Prep + wrap labor
The appropriate staffing depends on the size and complexity of the production.
A simple 10-person still shoot at one house may need very little location staffing.
A commercial moving between downtown streets, a restaurant and a residential property is another story.
Basecamp + Crew Parking
Sometimes the hero location doesn't have enough space for the production.
That's when you may need to rent a second property or parking lot for:
Motorhome. Catering. Wardrobe. Hair + makeup. Crew parking. Client parking. Trucks.
This is easy to overlook when budgeting from reference images.
Your restaurant may cost $3,500.
But if you also need a nearby parking lot for 30 cars and a separate holding space, the true location cost is higher.
That's why we evaluate location + parking + basecamp together whenever possible.
Neighborhood Notification
Depending on the production footprint and permit requirements, you may need to notify surrounding residents or businesses.
Even when formal notification isn't required, it's often smart location management.
If you're bringing trucks, generators, crew and equipment onto a quiet residential street at 6 AM, introducing yourself to the neighbors beforehand tends to produce better results than introducing yourself with a diesel engine.
A Sample Nashville Location Budget
Let's say you're shooting a mid-sized commercial at a private Nashville home.
You might initially carry something like:
ExpenseExample BudgetHouse location fee$3,000Prep day$1,500Shoot-day location$3,000Wrap / restoration$1,500Metro film permit if required$130Production parking$250Site representative$500Cleaning$300Example location subtotal$10,180
That's only an illustration.
A smaller still shoot might spend substantially less.
A national commercial at a high-end house could spend considerably more.
And if you add police, traffic control, a separate basecamp or multiple locations, the budget grows quickly.
So, How Much Should You Budget?
For a straightforward single-location Nashville commercial, we'd generally start by carrying at least a few thousand dollars for the physical location itself.
Then build outward.
Ask:
Do we need prep?
Do we need wrap?
Do we need a Metro permit?
Where are the trucks parking?
Where is crew parking?
Do we need basecamp?
Do we need traffic control or police?
Does anything in the creative trigger Fire Marshal involvement?
Does the property require security or a site representative?
That's your real location budget.
The location fee is only the beginning.
Need Help Budgeting + Scouting Nashville Locations?
Nashville Location Company provides location scouting, sourcing, vetting, location management and permitting support for commercial photography, advertising, branded content, film and motion productions throughout Nashville and Middle Tennessee.
Send us your creative brief, preliminary production footprint, shoot dates and location specs.
We can help determine what the right Nashville location should realistically cost — and identify the permitting, parking, staffing and logistical expenses that should be in the budget before the estimate goes to the client.
Because nobody enjoys adding a police detail to the budget after it's already been approved.