Below is sample verbiage that you may use when contacting location owners by letter or email. Replace the elements in parentheses with the specifics for your particular request. You can, of course, also use this as the basis of a script for when you talk directly with a location owner.
Dear (location owner’s name),
Hello, my name is (your name) and I am a student at the Florida State University College of Motion Picture Arts. My team and I are currently in pre-production for a short film that I’m producing. The film is a (genre) and a few of the scenes take place in (briefly describe location). During a recent location scout we noticed your (home/office/location) and felt it might be just perfect for the project. We have some flexibility on the filming date but ideally our shoot would take place on (date) and between the hours of (when to when).
If you wouldn’t mind, I would love to take a few minutes of your time to talk about our film and see if arrangements could be made to film at your (home/office/location).
Safety is of utmost concern for our team. Our film crew is well-trained and professionally advised. Our crew understands the importance of working professionally with location owners and we take this responsibility seriously.
Please feel free to email me, or call at the number below if you would be interested in discussing the possibility of hosting our film shoot.
All community support we receive comes with a special thanks credit at the end of each film.
We appreciate your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
(Your full name)
(Your crew position)
(Your email)
(Your cell)