Working at Location Creation and As a Shoot Home
Ritherdon Road owner on hosting shoots in her London home and working
in the film world.
Molly Winters
Introduction
Imagine owning a location home and working for Location Creation Ltd.
Well that is what life is like for Dinah, owner of Ritherdon Road Film Location and business partner at Location Creation. From corporate lawyer to host of cocktail, cleaning and cooking shoots in her London home, let’s discover more!
Q: Dinah, please tell us a bit about yourself?
I started my working life as a private practice solicitor in a big City firm and then via an in-house job at an IT company. I worked in charity and school PTA committees, then did an administrator role at an interior design and house refurbishment business. I love how entirely different the shoot and creative world is to my old work.
Starting to work With Location Creation
In April 2022 I was introduced to Gillian through a mutual friend and ended up working with her at Location Creation. I instantly fell in love with our little team that has since grown from three to seven. The rest is history!
Q: What was the design inspiration for Ritherdon Road?
We bought the house in 2014 and did a full back-to-bricks renovation in 2017. We have been all over South-West London; Battersea, Clapham, Balham and now Tooting for over thirty years. We have since taken on ever more adventurous property renovations and the home is always evolving.
The ground floor spaces had some challenging floor and ceiling levels to sort out. We wanted to maximise space and volume, combine period details with modern functionality and create a fabulous garden. We had excellent architects and builders. The interior is not any particular “look” or “style” it is just what we all liked. A few shoots have mentioned that it has a more international look. This has proven desirable.
Becoming a Shoot House
Gillian and Molly encouraged me to set up as a location myself, which made so much sense. Now the knowledge I have from being an owner and part of the staff helps me to guide our other owners through set ups and shoots. Having done it all myself, I know the expectations and can provide them with personal tips.
Q: What Shoots does your home attract and what was your favourite?
I have had a real variety. I get approached by production companies for food and cleaning shoots mostly needing lots of space around the island bench. We have worked with brands like Grants Whisky and Dishoom.
I have been told that not looking too classically “English” is useful for brands with overseas markets. We have done cleaning product demonstrations and a mouthwash commercial. The kitchen, hallway, garden, living room, bathrooms, master bedroom and daughter’s room have all been used also.
My favourite shoots are the ones with fun people; teams producing such incredibly creative work seemingly so easily. Their enthusiasm is really infectious and they are usually all chatty and very friendly. I have not had a single bad or unhappy experience with people filming in the house.
Shoots are also renowned for excellent catering and I have been given some wonderful left overs! A recent favourite was the Dishoom event we hosted. The wonderful chefs threw a first-class barbeque in a very delicious fare. We had a pleasure hosting the lovely team and enjoyed the tasty leftover food as a perk. Winner!
Q: What do brands look for in a location?
Other Location Creation houses have defined looks that make them very popular such as: colourful kitchens, living rooms and bathrooms, period properties, vintage or retro style. We do however get asked for very normal family homes as well. World Customer interviews or documentaries look for:
1: Somewhere versatile to provide a variety of backdrops
2: Good sound insulation and nice (but not overpowering) light
Q: How has your lifestyle changed since becoming a location home?
Well my three (now grown up children), have all got used to tidying (which is good!) Doing recces, living around shoots in action, dealing with me chucking them out of their bedrooms really early in the morning and helping with post shoot checks. It has been a great experience for my family, plus I have been introduced to various products and brands I would never have come across otherwise.
There are pros and cons - like with everything
1: It is always a bit chaotic at the start with lots of questions
2: There will be people and kit all over the place
3: Sometimes you only get last minute notice of whether something is happening or not, so you do need to be quite flexible
Shoots love when you are helpful and welcoming. It’s a strange experience - it is your home but it has been hired as a professional location space for the day, and you need to respect that.
Q: What would you like to see shot at Ritherdon Road Film Location?
I am open to anything that continues like this, so long as the teams are professional and my house is returned to me as it was. As long as people are reasonable and the neighbours are not inconvenienced, I am happy.
It is alway exciting seeing the content afterwards, mainly due to the wide variety of shoots that we get across all the location houses. Our properties have featured in some incredible filming and television series recently and my whole TV watching experience has been upgraded.
Dinah’s Top 3 Tips For Other Location Home Owners
1: Do as much prep the day before:
Clearing away personal items, and cleaning to the highest standard. Shoots start early, they want to walk in and get started immediately. So I am up early, dressed, putting up no entry signs on closed off rooms, opening up locked garden doors/window locks and emptying the fridge shelves for them to use.
2: Leave your contact details out for the crew:
This includes your wifi network and password and your mobile number so they can call you about any practical questions. Especially if you are out of the house for the shoot, which is often expected.
3: Check the house thoroughly afterwards:
For the big things like damage but also the smaller things - people leave things behind, chargers, coats, often everything is tidied up in a rush and they may scoop up your own things accidentally. I’d make sure to check cables have been put back, smoke detector covers are removed and very importantly the rubbish has been taken away.
To take a tour of Ritherdon Road and get to know Dinah more, watch our virtual tours. Thank you to our partners Josh Cohen, Tutti and Scouty for the videos.