IN MY CITY: NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
producer and AD closely to make efficient schedules
is both a challenge and something I really enjoy.
Stevie: WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CHALLENGES TO FILMING
SPECIFICALLY IN SONOMA, MENDOCINO OR MARIN COUNTY
OR IN YOUR GENERAL NORTHERN CALIFORNIA TERRITORY?
JH: Northern California doesn't suffer from the
same level of "filming fatigue" that LA and parts of
NYC (and even London or Barcelona) suffer from.
In general, property owners and the public still like
seeing a film crew at work and get a kick out of
seeing "Hollywood" in action. One thing that this
region lacks are proper large-scale soundstag-
es. There are a number of giant warehouses that
we use, and a handful of great still photo stages
that are big enough to accommodate even size-
able commercial productions, but we lack the giant
soundstages that some other regions have.
Stevie: WHAT ARE A LOCATION MANAGER'S FAVORITE "LOOKS"
OR LOCATIONS IN & AROUND NORTHERN CALIFORNIA? WHAT
ARE YOUR PERSONAL FAVORITES & WHY?
JH: The Sonoma Coast is a personal favorite. It
offers rugged and pristine beaches, cliffside roads
with sweeping ocean panoramas and amazing
sunsets. I've shot countless spots in this area—
from Audi, Porsche and Tesla, to Google, AT&T and
Apple. There are also a number of private ranches
that I have cultivated relationships with over the
years that offer a film crew the ease of working on
private land with redwood groves, rivers, rolling
hills and extensive road networks. Some of these
ranch properties are thousands of acres in size
and offer more flexibility versus working on public
lands where access can be much more restricted
and limited.
Stevie: WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITES OR MOST MEMORABLE
FILMING EXPERIENCES?
JH: Just last week, we were filming for Subaru on a
street in a small residential neighborhood. We had a
100-person crew, a huge BB light, police closures—
general filming mayhem. And the neighbors loved
it! It became a block party with everyone out
taking photos and chatting. Seeing a neighborhood
embrace a film project like that and have fun with
it is just the best. There was one particular home
which was featured and I had gone to speak to the
homeowner who had his two granddaughters over
to watch the filming—they were about 3 and 5 years
old. While we were speaking and I was saying thank
you for having us out, one of the little girls came and
gave me a hug and said thank you. So sweet. It was
just a small moment but one that really struck me.
