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
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26 • LMGI COMPASS | Winter 2019 IN OUR CITY: NEW YORK possible direction. Almost every job had to have the Chrysler Building, Brooklyn Bridge, Empire State, Times Square or Central Park. As I moved into American commercials, people asked for almost anything, from Upper East Side posh to Norman Rockwell main streets, from Williamsburg funky to magnificent country estates. We have a huge variety of locations in the five boroughs of NYC, and then when you add in the outer areas of New Jersey, Westchester, Long Island and the Hudson Valley, the possibilities are endless. We've shot Iraqi desert at a NJ quarry, Hong Kong and India across the street from each other on the Lower East Side and China in Staten Island. With NY's incentives, it's not unheard of to hear of a feature shooting Staten Island for Ohio. My favorite looks are period Americana, like diners, barber shops, bowling alleys, old theaters. I recently scouted dozens of classic theaters in NY, NJ and D.C. for the David Letterman/Netflix show My Next Guest Needs No Introduction. Another favorite look has always been gritty industrial, though that's getting harder to find in the NY area, with our endless real estate boom. LF: New York has cinematic energy everywhere you look. The primary draw for filming in the New York area is the amazing creative tal- ent pool, professional union crews, combined with a pro filming government in New York and New Jersey. All set in a visually historic urban landscape of iconic landmarks known world- wide with farmland, mountains and beaches nearby. With multiple new glass buildings also creating an "any town" look. Location scout- ing gives me incredible access such as filming on the gargoyles of the Chrysler Building with Gordon Willis. Or flying with famed helicopter pilot, Al Cerullo, hovering so close to the tip of the Chrysler Building, I could almost reach out and touch it. The skyline's massive build- ings create visual canyons of light and shadow. The night lights sparkle against the dark sky palette for superheroes. Unique rooftop and skyline shots are achievable from buildings like the "Top of the Rock" Rockefeller Center or the former heliport on 200 Park Avenue with close-up views of the Chrysler Building and the Empire State Building. A perfect penthouse location for 360-degree views of uptown and downtown is the NoMo-SoHo Hotel. The hotel offers other interior visuals, a welcoming staff with great food. Stevie: WHAT TYPES OF PRODUCTIONS FILM IN THE CITY? DOES NEW YORK OFFER ANY INCENTIVES TO FILMMAKERS? JH: New York is the second biggest produc- tion center in the country; every conceivable type of production shoots here daily. Over the years, I've worked here on commercials, photo shoots, Hollywood films, European in- dies, TV series, music videos, PSAs, industri- als and documentaries. New York State offers a 30 percent incentive to productions filmed in NYC, Long Island, Westchester and Rock- land counties. If a company films in a county north of Rockland and Westchester, the incen- tive increases to 40 percent. Nearby New Jer- sey, a very important location for many NY- based productions, recently began offering a 30 percent incentive as well. The NJ incen- tive increases to 35 percent for more southern counties, beyond the NY studio zone. LF: The booming growth for New York film and television production has definitely been enhanced by incentives. This year, the NYC Mayor's Office of Media and Entertainment lists over 45 television shows and 30 feature films in production, along with popular day- time, late-night, news and talk shows. Stevie: WHAT CHALLENGES DO YOU FACE IN YOUR JOB AND FILMING IN NY SPECIFICALLY? JH: Time! When I started in commercials, there was a reasonable prep time, and more scout- ing days per project. There was usually enough time for scouting and permitting. When agen- cies got used to viewing locations online, everything changed. First came the location service websites, where clients could instantly see hundreds of locations without spending a penny. And now, increasingly the first call on a job is for a "file pull," regardless of how ob- scure the request may be. Clients don't want to spend the time and money for scouting. They often seem to think everything that exists has already been scouted, and they can see it in a file pull today, and be shooting there by Friday. As agency turnaround times shorten, municipalities have simultaneously increased the time required for permit applications. Instead of focusing on getting the "right" lo- cation, I'm often more concerned about get- ting a permit approved in a ridiculously short amount of time. The main challenge to filming in New York is that it's too popular. There are too many productions fighting over the most Top and far right: Photos: John Hutchinson/LMGI. Bottom left: Photo: Les Fincher/LMGI