Film, TV and production

Film, TV, commercial, live media, and stills productions often need secure space before a fixed building is available. A container can be placed at a unit base, studio yard, backlot, event site, remote location, car park, industrial site, or controlled compound to keep equipment close to the crew.

The main advantage is flexibility. A container can support a short shoot, a long drama schedule, a set build, a touring production, or a temporary storage need between location moves. It can also separate departments, protect assets overnight, and reduce the need for repeated transport between the location and an off-site store.

A container should still be planned like any other production asset. It needs permission, access, ground checks, security planning, insurance checks, safe loading, and a clear collection route. These points are especially important where the location is public, historic, rural, residential, environmentally sensitive, or operating under strict wrap times.

Common production uses

Shipping containers are most useful behind the scenes where strength, security, and weather protection matter more than a finished interior. They can support several departments across a production.

• Camera and lighting storage: Secure overnight space for cases, stands, fixtures, cables, chargers, consumables, and associated equipment.
• Grip and rigging stores: Storage for frames, track, scaffold components, weights, clamps, barriers, matting, and rigging materials.
• Props and set dressing: Controlled storage for furniture, dressing items, standby props, signage, small set pieces, and continuity stock.
• Costume and wardrobe: Space for rails, boxes, shoes, accessories, laundry bags, covers, and climate-sensitive textiles where condensation is managed.
• Art department and construction: Storage for timber, panels, paint, tools, hardware, scenic materials, and workshop supplies.
• Production facilities: Back-of-house storage for unit base stock, tables, chairs, barriers, catering support items, waste equipment, and event infrastructure.
• Set design: Purchased or modified containers can be used as set pieces, industrial backdrops, barriers, privacy screens, or structural scenic elements where engineering and safety checks support the design.

Standard containers are not automatically suitable for use with fumes, charging equipment, hot work, fuel, pyrotechnics, hazardous substances, or occupied workspaces. Productions should check risk assessments, fire precautions, insurer requirements, electrical safety, and competent advice before using a container for anything beyond basic storage.

Hire or buy for a production

Container hire is often the best fit for productions because schedules move and locations change. Hire can suit a short commercial shoot, a unit base, a temporary studio store, a location build, a festival broadcast site, or a drama block with a known wrap date. A hired unit can be collected when the location clears, provided access remains available.

Buying is more suitable when the container will be heavily modified, painted, dressed for the camera, cut, clad, branded, or kept for repeated productions. Ownership also makes sense where a studio, prop house, workshop, or production company needs long-term storage across multiple jobs.

Before deciding, check whether the container will be returned in its original condition. Hired containers should not usually be painted, drilled, cut, clad, structurally altered, or used as scenic builds without written agreement. Hire terms should also cover date changes, extension, relocation, collection, cleaning, damage, access, and return condition.

Acorn Containers can help compare container sales and container hire based on production duration, site access, modification needs, stored contents, and wrap schedule.

Choosing the right size

Container size should be based on department use, case dimensions, loading method, access frequency, and the site footprint. Production teams often need aisle space, racking, labelled zones, workbenches, and clear separation between departments.

• 10ft containers: Useful for tight locations, small props, costume accessories, camera consumables, unit base supplies, or compact kit storage.
• 20ft containers: A common choice for camera, grip, lighting, costume, props, or production stores where access and footprint both matter. See Acorn’s 20ft shipping container options for standard storage needs.
• 40ft containers: Suitable for larger productions, set builds, department stores, furniture, rigging stock, or multi-department storage. A 40ft shipping container needs more delivery space and careful collection planning.
• High cube containers: Useful where extra internal height is needed for tall props, rails, racking, lighting stands, set pieces, or bulky cases. High cube means the container is taller than a standard unit.

Measure the largest cases, rails, set pieces, and palletised items before ordering. Check internal length, width, height, door aperture, turning space, and whether the crew will need ramps, trolleys, pallet trucks, or lifting equipment.

Container condition and production suitability

Condition affects security, appearance, weather protection, and the container's use on camera. A unit placed behind a studio may not need the same finish as a container visible in a location compound or dressed into a set.

• One-trip containers: Newer units that have usually completed one cargo movement before sale. They often suit visible sites, long-term use, cleaner storage, and set dressing where appearance matters.
• Used wind and watertight containers: Used units intended to keep out wind and rain when the roof, doors, seals, walls, and floor are in suitable condition. They may show dents, rust, repairs, and cosmetic wear.
• Cargo-worthy containers: Units assessed for cargo transport use, subject to inspection and carrier requirements.
• IICL grade: A higher repair and condition standard often linked with leasing fleets and stricter inspection expectations.
• CSC plate: A safety approval plate used for international container transport. It may be needed if the container is shipped rather than used for static storage.

Inspect or specify the unit for the intended use. Costume, camera, archive props, and sensitive electronics usually need cleaner, drier, better-controlled storage than timber, barriers, or general set dressing. If the container will appear on camera, confirm colour, dents, markings, branding, repairs, and finish before delivery.

Security for high-value kit

Productions may store expensive equipment in temporary locations with changing crew, contractors, security teams, and vehicle movements. A steel container is a strong base, but security depends on the full location plan.

A lockbox is a steel guard that helps protect a padlock from attack. It should be paired with a suitable padlock, controlled key handling, and site security measures.

• Check insurer requirements before storing cameras, lenses, lighting, sound kit, drones, computers, or specialist equipment.
• Use named keyholders or controlled code access.
• Keep a stock list and record what enters and leaves the container.
• Position containers within the secured compound where possible.
• Consider lighting, CCTV, fencing, guards, vehicle barriers, or alarmed compounds for higher-value stores.
• Separate high-value items from general stores and avoid leaving obvious branding visible where it increases the risk of theft.

Do not assume that a locked container automatically satisfies the production insurance requirement. Confirm cover, overnight storage rules, unattended vehicle rules, lock standards, and any location-specific conditions with the insurer or production risk adviser.

Condensation, costume, props, and electronics

Condensation can damage costumes, paper props, artwork, archive material, electrical equipment, cardboard boxes, tools, and metalwork. Condensation forms when moist air meets a cold surface. Risk increases when the damp kit is loaded, doors are opened often, or the container sits in shade during cold or wet weather.

Reduce risk by loading only dry items, using racking or pallets, leaving air gaps, keeping stock away from walls, and inspecting regularly. Sensitive goods may need anti-condensation coating, vents, insulation, lining, dehumidification, or a different storage method.

Wardrobe teams should consider rails, breathable covers, labelled garment zones, ventilation, and regular checks. Camera and sound teams should follow manufacturer and insurer guidance for batteries, chargers, electronics, and storage temperature. Acorn’s guide to insulation options for shipping containers explains common approaches for improving internal conditions.

Modifications for production use

Modifications can make a container more useful, but they should be planned around hire status, safety, power, security, ventilation, and reinstatement. Purchased units are usually better suited to substantial changes.

• Racking and shelving: Helps departments organise cases, props, consumables, tools, and labelled boxes.
• Hanging rails: Useful for costumes, standby wardrobe, uniforms, and garment bags.
• Lighting and electrics: Helpful for early calls, night shoots, and detailed stock checks, but installation should be designed and checked by competent persons.
• Extra vents: Supports airflow where condensation risk or repeated access is expected.
• Personnel doors: Can improve day-to-day access where cargo doors are too heavy or exposed for frequent use.
• Workbenches: Useful for art department, standby props, maintenance, or technical preparation where risk assessments allow.
• Respray or scenic finish: Useful where the container must blend into a location, match a brand, or appear on camera.

Any structural use, stacking, cutting, set integration, scenic loading, or public-facing installation should be checked by competent production safety and engineering advisers. A storage container should not be treated as a designed performance structure without an appropriate assessment.

Delivery access and location planning

Delivery and collection should be planned as part of the location schedule. HIAB is a common term for a lorry-mounted crane used to lift a container from the vehicle to the ground. The vehicle needs enough space to enter, park, stabilise, lift, place the unit, and leave safely.

Before booking, check:

• Road width, gates, turning space, parked vehicles, road closures, permit windows, and unit base layout.
• Overhead obstructions such as cables, trees, lighting, signs, bridges, building overhangs, and studio structures.
• Ground conditions such as concrete, tarmac, compacted hardcore, grass, mud, slopes, drains, ducts, cellars, and underground services.
• Space for crane stabiliser legs and a safe exclusion area during lifting.
• Pedestrian routes, cast and crew movements, public access, residents, traffic control, and emergency vehicle access.
• Collection access at wrap, including whether set builds, vehicles, fences, crowd barriers, or other units may block the route later.

The site is usually responsible for confirming that the ground and access route are suitable. Soft ground, wet fields, heritage surfaces, lawns, and environmentally sensitive sites may need trackway, ground protection, sleepers, pads, or a different placement point.

The UK government publishes a simplified guide to lorry types and weights that can help production teams understand why vehicle access and ground conditions matter. See the guide to lorry types and weights. Acorn’s delivery information can help you prepare access details for a quote.

Permissions, public safety, and location risk

Productions should confirm permission before placing a container on private land, public land, highways, car parks, parks, heritage sites, studios, farms, estates, residential streets, or environmentally sensitive locations. The approval process may involve the landowner, the location owner, the local authority, the highways team, the police, the fire service, the insurer, the event safety team, or the production safety adviser.

Planning requirements depend on duration, use, visibility, land status, and local rules. Check with the local planning authority where there is any doubt, especially for longer placements, public areas, conservation areas, listed settings, or roadside locations. General public authority information can be found through GOV.UK.

Public safety must be considered where containers sit near pavements, queues, unit bases, schools, homes, businesses, or event crowds. Avoid blocking fire routes, sight lines, emergency access, disabled access, traffic routes, drainage, exits, or safe pedestrian routes.

This page is general guidance only and should not be treated as legal, insurance, tax, customs, planning, health and safety, highways, or compliance advice. Productions should check with the relevant authority, landowner, insurer, freight forwarder, customs agent, or competent adviser where specialist advice is needed.

Moving kit internationally

Some productions move sets, costumes, props, cameras, lighting, and event infrastructure between countries. Static storage and international shipping are different uses. A container hired for a UK location may not be suitable or available for export.

Export use may require a valid CSC plate, carrier acceptance, packing plans, customs clearance, carnet or other documentation where applicable, insurance, destination checks, and clear responsibility for loading and unloading. Speak to a freight forwarder, customs agent, shipping line, insurer, or production logistics specialist before arranging overseas movement.

trade.gov.uk can help UK organisations find export support. Incoterms 2020 are international trade terms that allocate certain responsibilities between buyer and seller. For the official source, see the International Chamber of Commerce, and read Acorn’s guide to Incoterms 2020.

Cost drivers and schedule risks

Production teams should judge container costs by total fit for the schedule, not only the supply cost. A unit that cannot be delivered, collected, insured, modified, or safely placed can cause avoidable delays.

• Container size, condition, type, colour, finish, and availability.
• Hire duration, extension, relocation, collection, cleaning, damage, and return condition.
• Delivery distance, vehicle type, crane requirements, waiting time, permit windows, and restricted access.
• Ground protection, trackway, sleepers, pads, traffic management, and unit base layout.
• Security features such as lockboxes, padlocks, lighting, CCTV, fencing, and guards.
• Modifications such as rails, racking, vents, lining, lighting, doors, workbenches, respray, or set dressing.
• Insurance, permissions, location fees, highway restrictions, environmental controls, and export documentation, where relevant.

Confirm collection access as carefully as delivery access. Productions often build around containers during the shoot, then discover that parked vehicles, fencing, sets, marquees, trackway, or crowd barriers block the lorry at wrap.

Before you request a quote

1. Confirm whether you need to hire, hire long-term, purchase, or use a modified container.
2. List the department's use, stored items, high-value kit, sensitive materials, and any controlled goods.
3. Confirm shoot dates, delivery date, collection date, wrap constraints, and any likely schedule changes.
4. Measure the proposed location and allow room for doors, loading, crew movement, emergency access, and future collection.
5. Check the access route from the public road, including gates, road closures, turning space, slopes, and overhead obstructions.
6. Confirm the ground surface and whether trackway, sleepers, pads, or other protection may be needed.
7. Check landowner approval, planning, highways, insurance, security, environmental, and production safety requirements.
8. Decide whether lockboxes, racking, rails, vents, lining, insulation, lighting, personnel doors, respray, or scenic treatment are needed.
9. Prepare photos, a location plan, a unit base plan, a delivery postcode, and placement orientation for Acorn Containers.