Hosting shoots, pop-ups and events in your warehouse

Three kinds of booking

A shoot with a crew is people working in a building. An event with an audience is people gathering in it, and buildings are regulated very differently for the two.

Why a public event is a change-of-use question

A warehouse is designed and classified for storage or industrial work. Public gatherings fall under assembly occupancy, which assumes more people, more exits, wider paths of travel, and emergency lighting, alarm and washroom capacity to match. Using a warehouse as an event venue can be a change of use that requires a development permit and a building permit, and it may change the building-code occupancy classification.

For occasional events, a special-event permit may apply instead, often with fire-authority conditions or inspection. The rules differ by municipality and by event size, so ask the municipality and the fire authority before you accept a booking, not after. Retail pop-ups raise the same questions, and vendors may each need a business licence.

Fire, exiting and the space itself

• Occupant load. The maximum number of people the space can safely hold, which the fire authority may set for an event.
• Exits. Clear, marked, unlocked and unobstructed, with nothing staged in front of them.
• Racking and stock. Moved, secured or fenced off. High storage near a crowd is a hazard.
• Systems. Emergency lighting, alarms and extinguishers in working order.
• Sets and decor. Staging, drapes and temporary structures may need to meet fire-safety standards.
• Effects. No open flame, pyrotechnics or haze without the fire authority's approval; haze can set off detectors.
• Power. Generators, cable runs and the load on your panels, agreed in advance.

Your consents and insurance

If you lease the building, your lease commonly limits use to a stated purpose. Get your landlord's written consent before hosting anything. Tell your insurer what you plan to host, too; many commercial policies don't contemplate film production or public events, and you want to know before a claim, not after.

Require every production or organizer to carry commercial general liability naming you, and your landlord if you lease, as additional insured. Collect the certificate before you confirm the booking, and check the dates, limits and named parties. Ask productions about coverage for damage to your property. If alcohol will be served or sold, a liquor licence is needed; check with AGLC, Alberta's liquor regulator, well ahead of the date, and confirm liquor liability coverage.

Noise, parking and neighbours

Production trucks, trailers and guests arrive in numbers an industrial street doesn't expect. Plan where trucks, crew vehicles and guests will park, and make sure they won't block neighbours' loading. Check municipal noise bylaws, especially for late load-outs and amplified sound. If production vehicles or crew will use public streets, a filming or street-use permit may be required. Decide which of your doors, docks and areas stay in use, and who from your team stays on site. A heads-up to neighbours before a bigger booking prevents most complaints.

How day rates are structured

Owners commonly quote by the day or half-day, with prep and wrap days (for building and striking sets) priced differently from shoot or event days. Typical additions are overtime beyond an agreed number of hours, holding days when sets stay in place but nobody's working, power, heat, cleaning and security, a site representative from your team present throughout, and a refundable damage deposit returned after inspection.

What drives the rate: size and ceiling height, truck access, the look and condition of the space, power supply, washrooms and green-room space, and how much of your own operation you have to shut down. Don't underprice the cost of pausing your business. For the booker's side, see renting a warehouse by the day.

The booking agreement

Use a written agreement for every booking, even a one-day shoot. For film and photo work it's usually called a location agreement. It should cover:

• Dates, hours, areas included and the number of people.
• Permitted activity, and anything excluded, such as alterations, painting or effects.
• Whether the building, signage or address may be shown or identified.
• Fees, deposit, overtime and cancellation terms.
• Insurance, release and indemnity.
• Restoration to the condition recorded, with photos, before arrival.
• The booker's duty to obtain its own permits and follow fire-authority conditions.

Before you accept a booking

• Is it a closed shoot, a private function or a public event?
• Have I asked the municipality and fire authority what applies?
• Does my lease, insurance or mortgage allow it?
• Are exits clear, and is racking secured or fenced off?
• Do I hold a certificate of insurance naming me as additional insured?
• Is alcohol involved, and is it properly licensed?
• Where will trucks, crew and guests park?
• Is there a signed booking or location agreement?
• Who from my team will be on site throughout?