Location Managers Guild International

Spring 2018

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 COMPASS | Spring 2018 • 51 All photos courtesy of Evan Chan/LMGI PROFILE ON: Evan Chan, LMGI AGE: 32 HOME BASE: VANCOUVER, BC POSITION: LOCATION SCOUT UNION: DIRECTORS GUILD CANADA Paul Messana: Where are you from and how did you get started in locations? Evan Chan: I was born in Vancouver, BC, and I started in locations as a production assistant doing day calls. PM: What did you do in school and what did you study? EC: I studied film production. I attended film camps at the Gulf Island Film & Television School during a couple summers while I was still in high school, and went on to study film in college after I graduated. Film was something I was always interested in. I remember watching documentaries on how movies were made when I was little. PM: How long have you been working in locations and what do you primarily work on? EC: I've been working in the location department since 2005. At the time, I was still going to college for film studies, so I was only able to work during the summers. After completing my studies, I started working more as a prep production assistant, helping with logistics, readying locations for filming. Eventually, I was trained as a location scout by location manager David Fullerton, and have been working as a scout pretty much full time since 2014. I mainly work in television. My recent credits include the TV series Wayward Pines, The Whispers, Fear the Walking Dead, The Magicians and Legion. Currently, I'm working on season three of Van Helsing with the same team from season one of Fear the Walking Dead. We've developed a good shorthand that comes from working together. PM: Was there a particular scouting moment that made you think about this field as a long-term career worth pursuing? Are there particular people or productions that inspired you to take this current career path? EC: I remember when I was working as a production assistant, I wanted to be a scout. However, it can be difficult to break into, since traditionally, scouts here have been around the industry longer and have more experience. For a while, I had people telling me I was the youngest scout they had ever met. As soon as I started scouting locations, I quickly realized that you have a creative hand in the production. It was immediately clear to me that this was something I wanted to do long term. I just had to keep pursuing it to make it a full-time career. While there wasn't anyone specifically that inspired me to pursue this career field, I greatly appreciate all the location managers who have taken the time to show me the ropes. Scouting is one of those jobs where once you realize your job is to be creative while meeting new people on a daily basis, it encourages you to keep going. When I started, there was no LMGI, so location professionals were not well known outside of their immediate

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