The Location Managers Guild International (LMGI) is the largest organization of Location Managers and Location Scouts in the motion picture, television, commercial and print production industries. Their membership plays a vital role in the creativ
Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1065362
LMGI COMPASS | Winter 2019 • 25 Stevie: ARE YOU BOTH NATIVE NEW YORKERS? HOW DID YOU MEET? JOHN HUTCHINSON: I was born and raised in Brooklyn, educated in the New York City public schools. I've known Les for at least 20 years. I don't remember how we met but I do remember when I first became aware of him. I was doing my first commercial at HSI, and I saw a stack of location folders with his name and number stamped on them. The photography was impressive. I asked the production manager about him, and she said he was one of the best. We have worked together for years, on com- mercials and print jobs. LES FINCHER: I was born in Dallas, Texas, but have called New York City my home for 41 years. I was a founding member of NY-based ALSAM (The Association of Location Scouts and Managers) and I meet John professionally when he joined AL- SAM in the mid-'90s. John has a serious independent vision with drive and discipline. John takes every photo with a logical studied approach. Stevie: YOU SHARE TEACHING IN COMMON. HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN WORKING IN LOCATIONS? HOW DID YOU START & WHAT DO YOU PRIMARILY WORK ON? JH: I've been working exclusively in locations for about 25 years. After college, I taught 10-14 year olds English, history, math, mythology and soccer in an alternative school. After three years, I took a break and enrolled in graduate school in English at NYU, driving a yellow cab at night. I was looking for an- other flexible way to pay the bills when a college friend got me some low-budget PA gigs on music videos and industrials. I finally gave up my cab license when I started working with a NY production service company that did Japanese commercials in North America. I quickly went from PA to PM. In addition to production managing, I scouted locations. It didn't take me long to realize I'd rather be out on the streets instead of in the office. After grad school, I worked for three years on Japanese shoots from NYC to Missouri to the Bahamas. From there, I got involved with an Amsterdam-based production service com- pany for European commercials (and sometimes features) shot outside of Europe. At first, I did all their NY jobs and eventually became their worldwide location manager. I studied Spanish, French, Italian and Japanese, and though I was not fluent in them, I somehow communicated with people, working comfort- ably in foreign cultures. I eventually got international work with American production companies, working in Australia, China, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Grenada, Vietnam, Tunisia, Thai- land and Haiti. Over the course of my career, I've been very fortunate to be able to scout and manage in 52 countries. In recent years, my work has focused more on the US, and has expanded beyond commercials into print. I'm based in Manhat- tan, as well as the Hudson Valley, and I split my time working in NYC and exploring the wide variety of amazing locations that lie just north of the city. LF: After graduation from the journalism school at the Univer- sity of Texas at Austin, I attended grad school at Texas A&M- Commerce (ETSU). As a GA, I was invited by Life magazine cover photographer Philippe Halsman to come to New York for a master's photo class presented in his historic studio. The fol- lowing year, I accepted a teaching position at the New School/ Parsons School of Design. After working as a still photographer on three feature films and trying to find my way as a "photogra- pher," I was asked by a director to shoot with a Polaroid, a pre- selected location for a commercial. I approached the project as a photojournalist, telling the story of the location. Soon after, I was asked to actually scout the locations. Not being a native New Yorker, I functioned as a professional tourist, exploring my hometown for work. This was during the heyday of television commercials, sorta like after the last scene in Mad Men where the show ends on the classic "I'd like to buy the world a Coke" commercial in 1971. Don Draper's vision was "on location" (re- spect to the real team at McCann-Erickson). My jobs have taken me all over the country as the eyes of the project. Over the years, I have worked as location manager/scout on thousands of television commercials, photography projects and four features. Stevie: WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE PRIMARY DRAW FOR FILMING IN & AROUND NYC & ITS SURROUNDING AREAS IN GENERAL? WHAT KIND OF "LOOKS" ARE THERE? WHAT ARE YOUR PERSONAL FAVORITES & WHY? JH: People come because it's unique—and it's also anywhere. When I first started in commercials for foreign clients, it was all about iconic NY locations. We shot the NY skyline from every Top row: Photos: John Hutchinson/LMGI. Center and bottom row: Photos: Les Fincher/LMGI John Hutchinson (left) and Les Fincher. Photos courtesy of John Hutchinson/LMGI and Les Fincher/LMGI Co-editor Stevie Nelson is in a New York state of mind with John Hutchinson and Les Fincher. The two have been friends and colleagues for many years. Between them, they have covered every inch of the city that never sleeps! John Hutchinson was the LMGI's first New York member and Les Fincher joined the Guild this past year, currently holding a seat on the LMGI Board of Directors.