Prison break
17th century prison
year client relationship
revenue
Challenge
The House of Detention is an atmospheric 9,000 sq ft former prison built in the 17th century and used until Victorian times. It is a completely unique London building that Location Collective have been proud to represent for filming for a number of years. We were originally approached by the owners when looking for a new filming agency to represent them. They were keen to generate income from the site whilst they worked on their longer-term plans for the building and were also very interested in filming and events processes. However, the building came with challenges. It was very damp, was hard to access, and had nearby residential neighbours to consider.
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Solution
Location Collective have developed a close working relationship with the owners over a period of more than five years, and have worked hard throughout that partnership to secure a steady stream of hires that work logistically, and that are of suitable calibre and content.
We have maintained a steady pulse of marketing to keep the industry engaged and interested, thought laterally about how the House of Detention could work for new briefs that have landed on the desks of our Account Management team, and all production recces have been supervised by our own team to give productions maximum flexibility and minimise inconvenience to the owners.
Over the course of five years, more than 20 productions have filmed at House of Detention; a diverse collection including Suffragette, Mr Selfridge, Lucky Man, Hitman’s Bodyguard, Harlots, Hamlet, and a Tetley Tea commercial! Over that time, we have generated over £300k in revenue from the site.
Myself and my business partner have had a long and fruitful relationship with Location Collective. We enjoy the experience of hosting film productions at the House of Detention, and we have seen a steady stream of quality filming and events enquiries over the years. The team understand the site and its challenges well and we appreciate the fact that they are able to oversee any filming recces themselves, which makes the whole process much more convenient for us.