the kid in me loved being part of the pageantry of it all. I would
walk to work in the morning and see spectators heading out
to events dressed in their respective country's colors, waving
fl ags and singing national anthems. When their country won
a medal, they would buy food and drinks for anyone who was
around. It was incredible to be part of a global event like that!
PM: How did the skills you learned on Survivor & The Amazing
Race translate to your career in locations?
MH: There are so many skills that I learned while working
internationally in those early years. I learned how to work
through diffi cult situations and be resourceful. When you are
shooting overseas, you might not have access to all of the
resources you would fi nd in Canada or America. You quickly
learn to plan ahead and ensure you have everything you need
before you leave for a location, which has been helpful since
most of the shoots I do in BC are in remote areas.
PM: So what's next for you in the locations world?
MH: Most recently, I have been working with plate units in
some of British Columbia's most dramatic locations. I am
seeing more productions choosing to shoot on a stage with
a green screen rather than travelling cast and a large crew to
location. Some of the plate units have two or three crew on
set, while others might have upward of 40. I enjoy working on
these types of shoots as you can access locations that might
not be feasible for larger crews. My most recent work was for
the Netfl ix production Slumberland. We spent two weeks fi lming
everywhere from snowy mountaintops to ocean inlets.
PM: What have you found to be the most enjoyable part of your
job?
MH: Scouting! I love fi nding the perfect location for a project.
It almost feels like I'm a detective solving a mystery. I also,
strangely, like budgeting and reconciling the accounts at the
end of a shoot. Crazy, I know!
