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LMGI COMPASS
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Winter 2021
his iPad taking notes. We'd look at the scope, and Justin would
ask, 'How much can you do here?' I would say, 'I can remove those
meters, mailboxes, light poles, signage, etc.'
"Or I would say, 'If you can do this, I can do that.' If there are
high-rises in the background, we'll need VFX. We'd come up with a
checklist. If we were unable to get something physically removed,
I'd send Justin a note saying, 'Keep an eye out for this, you'll have
to remove it in post.'"
Although Jansen and his crew searched throughout the
southern half of California for specific locations, they spent
considerable time in DTLA. "Most of Downtown L.A. is still intact,"
he says. "But everything depended on the shot and the frame. We
had a shot set at 4th and Main involving the preacher and Perry
walking up the street. Most of that was practical. It exists today,
and we didn't need VFX to do the whole thing."
Then there was a whole city block the film crew took
over. "Spring Street and beyond had to be repainted," Jansen
says. "They put oil derricks and painted in backgrounds and
occasionally in foregrounds too. If we didn't remove something
modern, they'd paint it out in post."
Adds Moreno about the life of a location scout: "I enjoy meeting
people and finding new locations. People tell their stories. I
might get a call from Jonathan at 4 p.m., wanting to know what I
was doing. I'd say, 'I've got seven places.' He'd say, 'There is still
light. Keep going.'"
HOW WE BECAME LOCATION SCOUTS AND MANAGERS
"I fell into location work," Jansen, a Los Angeles native, says. "I
took an unusual route. Stacey Brashear/LMGI, a friend I grew
up with, worked in locations. She'd call me up and tell me she
was scouting up in the mountains, down at the beach or maybe
Beverly Hills. Everything she did sounded so interesting and
fantastic. She started telling me, 'You should do this.' Finally, I
decided to take the jump.
