Locations in filming, whether it's television or movies, are an essential
part when shooting outside the studio. Many productions are no longer made
in the setting of a Hollywood studio.
All this location shooting is good news for location managers. They are
the professionals who recommend locations to the producer and director. They
usually review the script before suggesting places to film.
There are really two people who do this. One is the location scout. The
other is the location manager. A location scout takes thousands of pictures
of one location that film crews can select from. After the location is chosen,
scouts are usually not involved in the production.
The location manager manages the location. He is usually responsible for
being the liaison between the owners of the property and the crew.
Timothy Stone, a location manager, says the job is really at the hub of
production. "Everyone comes to locations when they need something."
The main job of location managers is basically keeping everyone happy.
That's sometimes an impossible task. Location managers also secure the permits
and paperwork necessary for shooting.
Stone says he breaks down the script and analyzes the creative needs of
the director. In the beginning, location managers also work very closely with
the production designer, who knows which scenes will be shot on location and
which will be shot in a studio.
Once the location manager has found the locations (which can include finding
housing and offices for the crew), he must begin negotiations with the owners.
"Legal, business and personal correspondence takes place every day," says
Stone.
The location manager may also be responsible for hiring a local crew, says
Ashley Hathaway, a location manager. Hathaway had to do that for a job in
Arizona.
As the time for shooting comes closer, every department comes to the location
manager for details. They want to know everything from where to park their
car to how to get to the location.
"The details of the shoot will overwhelm many first-time location managers,"
Stone says. Wrap (when the shoot is over in a certain location) is just as
detailed, says Stone. "The location manager must return the locations to all
parties as found, or many times better."
To make matters more difficult, a location manager works with new people
on each shoot, usually in an unfamiliar location. Still, you have to pretend
you know everything, says Hathaway.
"I cannot stress enough the need for a strong grasp of logistics," says
Stone. This means that you must be able to move a crew of 250 men and women
with 3,000 feet of trucks and equipment.
"Finding a place to put all of it can be a display of masterful logistic
management. And sometimes it is done every day while shooting, moving from
location to location," says Stone.
Many location managers just fall into their jobs while working on movie
sets. The directors they work with see that they are effective as location
managers.
Hathaway received her communications degree and then worked on sets as
production manager, associate producer and coordinating producer. Stone went
for his business degree and then took the production assistant route.
If you're interested in becoming a location manager, become familiar with
all locations in your area. This will be a big asset to you.
Stone says one of his pet peeves is when people think the job is glamorous.
It is work. "Real work," he says. Location managers do get to hang out with
the stars. But stars are co-workers, just like in any other office environment.
They can make you angry when they are inconsiderate.
"Like every job, there are better days and worse days. But the glamour
is not overflowing. I don't watch shows like E! Entertainment News or Entertainment
Tonight because that image of Hollywood is sorely distorted. Swimming pools
and movie stars it is not," says Stone.
Deannie Sullivan-Fraser has been a freelance location manager for eight
years. "I do commercials or do some film and some videos. Corporate [videos]
and commercials are the mainstays of what I do."
Chances are you've seen the results of her work. "I've done local, regional
and a couple of national commercials. And there was one international one
for Peugot."
Location management was a natural choice for Sullivan-Fraser. "Previous
to coming here, I had my own production company -- communications. So when
we did videos or multimedia productions, I wore a lot of hats. So that's when
I started doing it."
Sullivan-Fraser says the field isn't as simple as picking a pretty spot
to film a production. "The more training you can get, the better, because
you don't want to go in there and flounder for either yourself or the production
-- because productions spend a lot of money."
Part of the stress comes from the importance of the work. "As a location
manager, you do a lot of stuff up front, finding the location for the production
to happen. And that has to be done with the director, so you really have to
know what you're doing."
Sullivan-Fraser says it's not as hard as you might think to get that experience.
"You can get entry-level positions. In a bigger milieu like a movie, where
there's a variety of levels from location manager to location assistant --
that's a good place to get into."
She also advises starting small. "Let's says someone is doing an art movie
-- that's another good place to get in. People who have a love project going
and really can't afford to do a lot. I'll drop my rates to work with someone
like that."
In short, taking a lower wage to get the experience is a good way to get
yourself to the ultimate location for people in this field -- the film set.