Location Managers Guild International

Summer 2019

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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LMGI: The Next Generation by Paul Messana All photos courtesy of Jen Farris/LMGI PAUL MESSANA: Where were you born and how did you get started in the Location Department? JEN FARRIS: I was raised in Atlanta—I was a newborn when my parents moved back to Georgia from Illinois. I got started in locations around 2011 after receiving a phone call from a colleague, Karen Mason, whom I'd met 10 years prior while working at ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers). She needed a reliable, self-sufficient day player to location scout for a few days on a new pilot TV series called Second Generation Wayans. Her call arrived the very day a new camera I ordered online arrived in the mail. I saw that as fate. Of course, I took the job and her phone call changed the trajectory of my life. PM: Where did you go to school and what did you study? JF: I went to school twice. I finished my bachelor's degree in mass communications from Bennett College in Greensboro, NC, where I studied broadcast journalism. At that time, in the southeast region, mass communications heavily revolved around television and print news. Even though I was able to land my first job outside of college with the 1996 Summer Olympics as an audio technician for the gymnastics competition, I was not convinced that news or sports media was the direction in which I wanted to move. I enrolled in graduate school and earned my master's degree in media management at the University of South Carolina in Columbia. After interning for the band Hootie & the Blowfish, I landed my first paid job with MCA Records as a southeast regional promotions assistant (while simultaneously finishing my second year of graduate school). On my graduation day, I opted to finish a regional promotional tour with an artist I loved vs. walking the stage to grab my diploma. I had the university mail it to me instead. PM: How long have you been working in locations and what do you primarily work on? JF: I have worked in locations for about eight years. During the first two years of day playing, I worked locations sporadically while I wrapped up my music and public relations career. Shortly after, I was offered my first Teamsters Local 728 union position on an NBC TV series called Constantine. Much of my career has revolved around episodic television. It reminds me so much of the rigorous hustle from my past music days which makes it somewhat easy for me to handle the constant unexpected ebbs and flows. I do, however, want to work on more feature films. I have had the pleasure PROFILE ON: JEN FARRIS AGE: 45 HOME BASE: ATLANTA, GEORGIA POSITION: KEY ASSISTANT LOCATION MANAGER They're young, smart and enthusiastic about what they do. In this occasional column, assistant location manager Paul Messana, a genXer himself, talks with the upcoming generation of location professionals on the rise. LMGI COMPASS | Summer 2019 • 57

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