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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jogging along the taffy-pull arc of the Lynn Canyon suspension bridge, a romantic moment between Brie and Brady in front of a restored art deco theater, Preacher and Paige's intimate walk in the Capilano River Regional Park, Mel's pregnancy revelation atop the breathtaking Cypress Mountain, the soaring granite apron of the Stawamus Chief Mountain, and establishing shots of sweeping water features like the 230-foot Brandywine Falls near Whistler. Virgin River's writing and production is geared toward widening the genre's traditional fanbase. "It's timeless, ageless," says Dayal. "Even though it's contemporary, it's its own state." There's a strong community ethic, too: Instead of earbuds and iPads, there's coffee klatches, craft circles, town-wide picnics and festivals, and impromptu gatherings at Jack's Bar. "There's none of that toxic animosity that seems to be prevalent out there in the media sphere now," observes Millar. "Virgin River provides a chance at hope that we could get a real world like that someday." Even the darker themes of loss, trauma and danger seem bounded within an emotionally open framework of recovery and redemption. And love, while often fraught or frustrated, is always hopeful and unspoiled by cynicism. "Mel has a lot of tragedy in her life but she's not a tragic character," says Tenney. "Jack has issues in his background, but they don't define who he is. We love good drama.There's all sorts of stuff that we love to put our characters through but at the end of the day they rise above it." THE COVID CHALLENGE Season 3 began filming in August 2020 as soon as lockdowns were lifted in the thick of the COVID pandemic. "I think we were the first English-speaking Netflix show to go to camera once the restrictions were released, so we were kind of developing the protocols as we went along," says Millar. "Netflix actually has their own COVID-testing lab down the street from our studio. They knew all the private companies were going to get overwhelmed, so they went into conjunction with a local doctor and built the Netflix lab knowing that testing was going to be de rigeur in the film industry." The pandemic also gave Millar opportunities to encounter new tools that expanded the show's technical vistas. "We tested these cameras from Insta360 because the LMGI had Coffee Tuesdays during COVID on Zoom, where you'd sign up and learn new things. One week was about technology, and I just fell in love with these cameras and what they can do." He and lead scout Sarah Whitlam took an Insta360 camera each, made full- circle images of select locations, then shared them on a digital library. They could also be used to produce remote, real-time 360-degree images for video conferences, effectively taking 40 people on a live tour of Lilly's farmhouse during a production meeting. And the camera's utility is evergreen beyond remote work, adds Millar. "Coming back for Season 4, we were a little more relaxed with COVID and we had new protocols, but we still use the camera to build our photo library, so it's great technology." Riverway Golf Facility, Burnaby