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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6 • LMGI COMPASS | Fall 2020 L E T T E R FROM THE PRESIDENT Dear Members, It's been seven months since most of us fi rst heard of COVID-19. In the intervening time, our world has been upended in unimaginable ways. In the intervening months, much of the world has acclimated to the terrible pandemic. Many countries have returned to relative normalcy while others are struggling. Many people have found innovative ways to keep once-thriving businesses open while others have closed their doors, many for good. Safety protocols have been implemented by most studios. Each new production builds upon the successes of others. Crews have generally accepted safety precautions as the new normal. International production is ramping up in varying degrees with great success while a few productions have hit roadblocks. New York, Los Angeles and Atlanta are seeing more productions come online but the overall number of projects in prepping or fi lming, while increasing, is still small in comparison to European production. While many of us are virtually soft-prepping— working with studio safety and COVID-19 compliance offi cers, researching locations, calling fi lm commissions and property owners—we have had time to refl ect on what is important in our lives. For the last week, I've been watching four brothers tear the roof off my house, replacing considerable more plywood and fascia board than anticipated. I tried to help them by painting all the replacement wood. I fi nished each day, exhausted and covered with as much paint as I spread on the wood. I complained about how hot it was and they laughed—two weeks ago, they were roofi ng a huge house where it was 112 degrees in the shade. The ocean breezes and 85 degrees on the west side of Los Angeles were a joy for them to work in! That put things into perspective for me. As they were leaving last night, armed with ice water and fruit pops for their long drive home, I thought about what they do and what I do. At the end of the day, we're both exhausted from the rigors of work. But our days couldn't be more different. Even their "easy" job requires much more physical effort in a day than mine does in a month. Working with them for a few days and thinking about all this made me realize how very lucky we are to work as location professionals. While our work is sometimes diffi cult, it's NEVER as hard as the work these four men have done every day for more than 30 years, the same number of years I've been a location professional. Our jobs often take us to incredible far-fl ung places that most people never have a chance to see. We work with incredibly talented people and together, we create the magic that is cinema. Between the uncertainty of seven months of COVID-19 and a new roof, these seven months have helped place work, friends, family and strangers into their proper place in my life. Hopefully, we all emerge from this pandemic with our priorities aligned to support what truly matters to us. Stay safe, wash your hands and wear a mask! Mike Fantasia President Editors LORI BALTON STEVIE NELSON KEN HABER PAUL MESSANA LMGI Officers MIKE FANTASIA, President JJ LEVINE, 1st Vice President JOHN RAKICH, 2nd Vice President KEN HABER, Treasurer GEORGETTE TURNER, Secretary LMGI Board of Directors JIMMY AYOUB LORI BALTON DAN CONNOLLY JEN FARRIS MAC GORDON WES HAGAN ERIC KLEIN EDWARD MAZUREK RYAN SCHAETZLE ALISON A. TAYLOR LMGI Chairman Emeritus ORIN KENNEDY Administrative Manager ERIKA HOWARD The LMGI Compass is published quarterly by the Location Managers Guild International. LocationManagers.org Comments, editorial and photo submissions can be sent to: Compass@LocationManagers.org Publisher INGLEDODD MEDIA Advertising INGLEDODD MEDIA 310.207.4410 LMGI@IngleDodd.com www.IngleDoddMedia.com Official Magazine of Location Professionals Promoting Excellence on Location Worldwide C MPA SS