36
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LMGI COMPASS
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Spring 2020
"Huge tandem trucks use that
highway to take gravel to a lot of
different places," Smither says,
"so I was skeptical. We slid open
the van doors and stepped out
into a cold and snowy village.
Eugene, Dan, Colin, production
designer Brendan Smith, first
assistant director David Manion
and I took our first common
look at what was to be most of
Schitt's Creek.
"The historic main intersec-
tion (two stop signs for north
and south local traffic) had
an old industrial shop that
was once a gas station on one
corner. Another corner had a
false-front building across the
highway that turned out to be
a residence. It played our café
exterior. On the third corner
was a store attached to a house
(the general store in the early
seasons which eventually be-
came the Rose Apothecary).
The fourth corner is occupied
by Annina's, a busy bake shop
and restaurant with, for us, an
"My mother was a dance teacher and choreographer, and she
worked at the CBC in the mid-'50s, in the early years of televi-
sion. I danced as a kid and guested on TV shows and Christmas
specials and acted in commercials (including the voice of Tony
the Tiger Junior in three Frosted Flakes commercials). I went
through high school and university with an eye toward drama.
In the middle of my university studies, I switched to fine arts.
Photography was my focus.
"When I finished university, I immediately started soldering
electronics because I needed a job. While I was doing that, a
university friend asked me to do some work on a show he was
working on. I started in front of the camera and then migrated behind it. When that small company laid off
most of its employees, I landed a job in a production office as PA for four or five shows.
"Someone asked if I could take some photos of a location that the location manager wanted. I went out
with my camera and tripod and I made very careful panorama photographs. This was in the days of film and
prints and physical file folders. The location manager said, 'These are really good. You could make money
doing this.' For a while, I worked as both an assistant director and assistant location manager and found
I was getting more work in the locations end, so I just slid into locations. The first feature I managed was
Canadian Bacon (1995) with John Candy, Rhea Perlman and Alan Alda."
Geoff Smither's other projects include The Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio; The Handmaid's Tale; Impulse;
Becoming Erica; Little Mosque on the Prairie and The Whistleblower. He is currently scouting on the up-
coming Y: The Last Man.
HOW SMITHER BECAME A
LOCATION MANAGER
Photo
courtesy
of
Geoff
Smither/LMGI
