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Experience it! MODERN MOCKTAILS: a summer essential 5 PLACES TO BURY your nose in a book Beauty in a beat: FAST SUMMER LOOK FIXES From fine art to science to history, Houston’s museums and galleries have got you covered. > PAGE 68 Art Attack Tourist in Your Town Ice cream as big as your head and 50+ other cool things to do this summer in the Bayou City. > PAGE 55

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Experience it!

M O D E R N M O C K TA I L S :

a summer essential5 P L A C E S T O B U R Y

your nose in a bookBeauty in a beat:

FAST SUMMER LOOK FIXES

From fine art to science to history, Houston’s museums and galleries have got you covered. > PAGE 68

Art Attack

Tourist in Your Town

Ice cream as big as your head and 50+ other cool things to do this summer in the Bayou City. > PAGE 55

Page 2: DownHome

Lights, Camera, Action!Get your home camera-ready for the next Bayou City-based film project.

BY JULIE OSTERMAN

DOWN HOME TO THE 9s TECH SAVVY IN FIVE embody

Big-name movies set in Houston may be few and far between (think “Terms of Endearment” or “Reality

Bites”), but our mild climate (summer notwithstanding), evergreen trees, big business and small-town charm attract more film, TV and photo shoots than you might expect.

The stress-free permitting process doesn’t hurt either, according to Bo Svennson, a Houston-based film scout and manager who works chiefly on TV commercial shoots, many filmed in a house or ’hood just like yours.

“Last week, I wrapped a job for Kia Motors that will be seen worldwide,” Svennson says. “Also this year, I’ve scouted and managed for Chevy Suburban, BMW, Joe’s Crab Shack, Foot Locker, Macy’s, Panasonic, and Volvo.”

You might also spot a Bayou City scene or two in the recent coming-of-age drama “Hellion” starring Aaron Paul, Juliette Lewis and newcomer Josh Wiggins, released in January at the Sundance Film Festival.

Think your home is ready for a close-up? The industry may just want to be on location in your living room. Here’s how to find out.

IN THE SPOTLIGHTIn 2013, the Houston Film Commission (HFC) completed 203 film and video proj-ects, with direct expenditures totaling $18.2 million. And although that seems like a hefty sum, compare that with the economic impact of nearly $55 million. Needless to say, filming in Houston is no small business.

When a production company considers filming in Houston, the first point of contact is usually the HFC, a division of the Greater Houston Convention and Visitor’s Bureau.

“Predominantly, we send out our location photos first, mainly because they don’t have to pay us,” says HFC executive director Rick Ferguson. “But that gives them some idea of what the area has to offer. If at that point they are convinced that Houston works, then they will contact a local location scout.”

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scan this pageto see more of Houston’s photo-shoot spots.

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simple as contacting the HFC, or a scout in the area, and providing photos of your abode.

“We will go out as soon as possible and take our own photographs, which we keep on file,” Ferguson explains. The HFC and location scouts share these photographic archives, which preserve homeowners’ privacy, and all communication is funneled through the scout.

“Once the client narrows down the look they are after, we call the homeowners to check their interest level,” says Svennson. Often, the production company will visit two to three homes before giving the green light.

RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIMEFor Memorial resident Angie Steadman, whose bathroom gleamed in a recent shoot for a new Panasonic ionic hair dryer, her home’s debut was more a matter of luck.

“Bo was in the area looking at other homes and just happened to knock on my door,” she says.

The scout was interested in her black-and-white outdoor kitchen for the recent HEB commercial about backyard barbecues featuring J.J. Watt. Steadman’s backyard didn’t make the cut for that project, but soon enough she received a call about her bathroom.

The all-day Panasonic shoot encompassed a film crew of nearly 30, plus execs and talent, which happened to be Alex Morgan of the women’s Olympic soccer team, who dried her tresses in Steadman’s white marble master bath.

explorefilming FAQsHouston-based location scout Bo Svennson shares the nitty-gritty of opening your home to film crews.

WILL YOU HAVE TO MOVE FURNI-TURE OUT, REPAINT, ETC.?Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Scouts take restoration photos prior to filming so that everything will be put back in its exact “as found” condition.

 WILL YOU HAVE TO MOVE OUT OF YOUR HOME?TV commercials and photo shoots typi-cally don’t require the homeowner to stay off-site. If we anticipate going late, we offer the homeowner that option and the production company pays for lodging and meals. In the past, we have also paid to have the homeowner’s pets boarded.

 DO YOU NEED TO GET INSURANCE? No. Any legitimate film shoot provides the homeowner with a certificate of insurance for $1 million, listing them on the policy as “additional insured” prior to filming.

 HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE?TV commercials and photo shoots typi-cally last a day or two. Film shoots may last from days to weeks.

 WILL YOU GET PAID? A typical exterior-only residential shoot in Houston pays $500. Interior filming can pay anywhere between $1,000 and $2,000 per 12-hour day.

 WILL YOU GET FREEBIES? We usually have a sit-down catered lunch, and homeowners are always welcome to join us.

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“You might expect them to be stuck-up Hollywood people or New Yorkers, but they’re not,”

Steadman says. “They were extremely nice people. They were very conscientious of my home, very careful about everything. It was a really enjoyable experience.”

What was it about her bathroom that caught the producer’s eye? Steadman thinks it was the minimalist backdrop. In other words, no clutter. “It’s not how I live,” she admits, “but it is pretty.”

OUR PEOPLE WILL CALL YOUR PEOPLEOther aspects that tend to be a plus for film crews include long sight lines, an open floor plan and neutral color scheme. But Svennson says every project is different.

“I’ve been tasked with finding homes in pastels, rustic style, high-end mansions, you name it,” he says.

Sometimes the desires are a little ambigu-ous, he admits. “They might say, ‘We want something more aspirational.’ Well, what does that mean?” he laughs.

But other times they know exactly what they want. ABC Network recently scouted locations here in Space City for its summer drama series “The Astronaut Wives Club,” based on the spouses of the “Mercury Seven” astronauts who manned flights in the early 1960s. In this case, ABC was searching for a very specific look: “mid-century modern time capsule.” So your eccentric neighbor down the street who’s never renovated may be laughing all the way to the bank.

Angie Steadman sits in her camera-ready bathroom, which was featured in a commercial for a Panasonic hair dryer.

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