Camera Obscura & World of Illusions has welcomed various filming and photography shoots over the years including feature films, travel programmes, children’s television and news broadcasts.
Our unique location, scenic rooftop views and large collection of optical illusion exhibits provides a huge variety of backdrops with great stories to match. The attraction is also home to hundreds of years of Scottish history, as the oldest purpose built visitor attraction in Edinburgh since 1853 and was managed as a centre of learning by Patrick Geddes, the famous town planner.
We welcome enquiries to film and photograph at our attraction. However, we must ensure that the building and exhibits remain protected throughout the process and that the visitor experience is not significantly compromised. For this reason, we will not allow film crews to ask visitors to move out of shot etc. However, with sufficient planning we can facilitate early opening or late closing times to accommodate requests. We will explore options to meet your production needs, while fulfilling our obligation to safeguard the attraction and experience.
Access to Camera Obscura is from Castlehill, at the top of the Royal Mile; there’s a narrow staircase only to access all floors, exhibits and rooftop.
Camera Obscura’s experienced team will help you find the perfect location and provides a single point of contact from your initial enquiry to the shoot. All fees from filming go directly back to the location. Get in touch by emailing info@camera-obscura.co.uk.
Please note that all productions will need to provide public liability insurance documents to film at our location. We also ask for at least 7 days’ notice to turn around filming enquiries.
Fees
Fees will apply to all filming at Camera Obscura & World of Illusions except:
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Promotional filming – where our attraction is being directly promoted or where filming has been commissioned by Scottish tourism partners
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Student filming – filming carried out as non-commercial, educational projects by students/school children
Fees will vary depending on the nature of your filming, duration, crew size and are always subject to negotiation. Additional charges may be applicable depending on your requirements. For example, the cost to Camera Obscura & World of Illusions of providing additional staffing to supervise your filming or loss of admissions income if the site needs to close to visitors.
For full information on fees, discuss your project with us by emailing info@camera-obscura.co.uk