When I’m watching a movie/TV show, sometimes it’s hard to shut off the location scout part of my brain that’s analyzing every scene and thinking about how they pulled off their shoot. One location that always triggers instant anxiety is The Gas Station…
Gas stations are, unsurprisingly, expensive. But unlike the majority of expensive locations, there’s really no negotiation to be had. Each pump is expected to bring in an average amount per day. That’s the starting number. There’s simply no reason to charge below that.
And being seen in a movie doesn’t carry any advertising benefit that will, say, generate future business. In fact, it’s the opposite; people who are told their regular gas station is closed for the day will go somewhere else, and that might become their new go-to place.
So the final cost is always a combo of pump price + business interruption, and that can easily be in the low tens of thousands. The way to save money is to reduce to a single island of pumps, or seriously minimize your hours – but those are often nonstarters for production.
Now, around LA, a number of movie set gas stations exist, as well as some out of business places, and they’re workable.
But any decent production is going to want to heavily dress such a location to make it look active and contemporary, which can be equally expensive.
So what’s the best option? Never an easy answer for gas stations… But maybe just have your characters gas up right before the movie begins?? Just a thought! 🙂
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