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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30 • LMGI COMPASS | Winter 2019 MUST-SEE PLACE: JH: The Cathedral of St. John the Divine is a "secret" place I always love to visit, and share with visitors. St. Patrick's is NYC's world-famous church, but St. John's, the world's largest Gothic cathedral, is a magical, awe-inspiring work of art. It was begun in 1892, and is still unfinished. It is being continually built by hand by master stone masons, using medieval methods. It's a wonderful place for worship, meditation or concerts, like Paul Winter's Annual Winter Solstice Celebration. The scale of the place is breathtaking. I recommend it to any NYC visitor as a peaceful alternative to manic Times Square, and the city's many other busy attractions. LF: NY has so much to offer! Museum fans should visit the Metropolitan Museum (surrounded by Central Park), the Guggenheim, Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum, the City Museum of New York, the Jewish Museum and the Irish Historical Society, all within a mile on Fifth Avenue. The WTC Memorial is a respectful unique visual that should not be missed, as is the nearby Oculus, a state-of-the-art ribbed structure designed by Santiago Calatrava. Walking through the Oculus west, you emerge in another large atrium on the Hudson River, where you can see the Statue of Liberty in the harbor. The best visual value in New York City is the free Staten Island ferry. It sails from the lower tip of Manhattan revealing a dynamic site of the Financial District and a face-to- face view of the Statue of Liberty. Walking across the Brooklyn Bridge is another visual treat. On the Brooklyn side, you are on cobblestone streets of Dumbo. Check out Jane's Carousel and the views of the Manhattan Bridge as well. A midtown lap offers Times Square, Rockefeller Center, Radio City Music Hall, St. Patrick's Cathedral, the Museum of Modern Art and NY Library/Bryant Park. FAVORITE SHOP: JH: Dual Specialty Store, an Indian market, down below street level on First Avenue, around the corner from "Curry Row." It's an incredibly well-organized store, and the owners are always helpful after day, year after year. In locations, I love the constant sense of adventure— new people and places, different worlds. On any one day, I might scout a Bronx botanica, a tattoo parlor and a prison. Or a decommissioned nuclear plant, a dairy farm and a morgue. No matter how long I do this, I'm always surprised, constantly amazed. It never gets boring. LF: Like John, I find that with location scouting there is never a dull moment. I am a visually curious person. I enjoy speaking to people and learning new things. Stevie: WHAT ONE PIECE OF ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE YOUR YOUNGER SELF OR SOMEONE JUST STARTING OUT IN THIS PROFESSION? JH: Trust your instincts, your own aesthetic. After years of nervously interpreting storyboards and treat- ments, taking briefings from some- times inarticulate directors, and nonsensical requests from creative directors, I came to a kind of calm place: I know what they're looking for (even when they can't quite express it). I get what they're talking about and know what it is they'll like when they see it. Trust yourself—don't take it all too seriously and enjoy the scenery. LF: Take accounting! Stevie: WHAT MADE YOU DECIDE TO JOIN THE LMGI & HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN A MEMBER? JH: I was VP on the ALSAM Council that negotiated with the Teamsters for tak- ing on the commercial scouts, as they did in LA. I co-wrote the ALSAM con- stitution with ALSAM President Peter Garruba. I was the first person east of the Mississippi to join the LMGI (then the Location Managers Guild of Ameri- ca), as soon as I heard about it in 2003 or 2004. I appreciate the Guild's efforts to foster a sense of community among location folk worldwide, and to promote recognition of our craft. With the de- mise of the one-hour lab, we no longer saw colleagues at the end of the scout- ing day, and a solitary job got lonelier. Whatever brings us together is a good thing, and the LMGI does so much to keep us connected. LF: John introduced me to the LMGI. I thought it was a great idea. This past year, my colleague Josh Karan was the LMGI Trailblazer Award recipient. I was asked to make a film commemorat- ing Josh and the road to unionization via ALSAM scouts for the 5th Annual LMGI Awards. During the production of the film, I applied to join the LMGI. Encouraged by the positive energy and the professional mission of the Guild, I ran and was elected as a Board mem- ber for 2018. Photo: John Hutchinson/LMGI