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
Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1513609
LMGI COMPASS | Winter 2024 • 37 of people we did not know. We hired a scout on Monday whose references on paper, while not glowing, looked OK. By day two, we realised that this person had serious mental health issues. He clearly didn't understand the assignment but trying to talk to him about his scouting choices would just agitate him. He had to go. "My boss and I were seriously concerned that if we fired him outright, he would be the type of person who comes back later with a gun. We did not have 'proof' that we could take to our producer or the studio HR people about this— just a really bad feeling. The safest course was to gently ease him out. We praised his work and let him know that he would be finished by that Friday because he had done such a great job and had totally 'nailed it'! He accepted that explanation and left on Friday without incident. We felt like we had literally dodged a bullet." Doyle adds: "Although it's difficult if someone can't play nice in a team, they have to go. I need the man/woman next to me just as much as they need me, and if he or she is going to do their own thing that breaks cohesiveness or says things that step over the line, it's not going to work. "If I'm at a certain point where I've done my best, tried to mentor or readjust the team, but it's still not working, then I have to say, 'after we finish this location, you're done.'" Doyle concedes, though, that he's reluctant to fire people and has only let a couple of people go over the years after a few warnings. "On the fourth time, I get somebody to take record or at least witness me firing the person. Never do it alone and always face-to-face. "That's not even dealing with, say, Teamsters Local 399 or New York Teamsters where you really officially have to have those warnings and make sure they're on record with the unions." Doyle remembers on one project getting a call from the union challenging why he fired a guy. "I explained that I actually told him I had two other guys already on the project and he wasn't needed, but that he was paid for the full week. I offered to show them his timecards. And they were fine with it." Interestingly, on shorter indie projects, SLMs find it harder to let someone go. "If you're only doing say a six-week shoot, by the time you realise that the person is not coping or managing and you've tried to come up with ways to support them, you're already three or four weeks into filming. To lose someone at that point and bring another person in and get them up to speed, it's not worth it. So, you have to stumble on, and often take on a more active role," says Bentley. Mignano is also generally reluctant to fire people. "If I've got people as the show goes on Bensch cites an example of someone sending inappropriate pictures on WhatsApp. "We had to quickly deal with it and gave the person a strong warning. They didn't do it again." WhatsApp groups between different departments can also cause problems. "I've had team members come to me and say I've had this WhatsApp from someone in another team that's not appropriate. And because I'm quite old school, I would always say, 'Let's go and talk to them,' because the way someone typed something might not actually be what they meant," says Lawrence. And that's usually the case. SLM Klaus Darrelmann says the key is good manners and respect between different teams. "You can't just vent whatever anger or frustrations you have on text or in person and say unpleasant things. Obviously, there will be friction or difference of opinions, and we can have pretty loose speech in our offices, but never disrespectful or prejudiced." He says teams have to be particularly careful on bigger budget projects because the expectations are much higher. "There's usually no margin for error and about 300 people relying on and watching what we're doing." "The good thing is people are much more alert to any inappropriate behaviour and comments and tend to report it," says Bensch. "We have a chain of command and people report things to their direct line manager." WHEN IT'S TIME TO GO Not all disputes, inappropriate behaviour or poor work practices can be nipped in the bud though, especially if they're repeat offenders. There's little room on a film and TV set for rogue and difficult behaviour or costly poor decisions. Christensen remembers dealing with one 'angry' guy who was being mean to other people in his department. "He was saying nasty things and on the scout itself, he was pissing off the film office with his behaviour and language. Then he got angry with me. So, I took him aside and said, "First of all, I'm your boss and you don't talk to me that way, let along anyone else. And second, you're an angry guy. Have you thought about anger management?" He said, "fuck off.' I told him he was done by the end of the day." The mental health of recruits can be a serious factor, and that kind of direct approach may not always be appropriate. LM/KALM Stevie Nelson recalls: "Many years ago, I was on a fast-paced show and we needed an additional scout to look for one new location. All of our usual 'go-to' scouts were unavailable and we were forced to hire off of our union availability list, which just had a handful "I told her clearly what was needed to be done and then le her to it. But a couple of days later when I asked her if she had all the tents and porta-johns set up and if she'd spoken to the county, she said, 'not yet, but I'll do them today.' A couple of days later, I see pictures on my website that she took of a location that she knew we were looking for. "So, she'd been out scouting. I told her she was probably a really good scout, but she sucked as a coordinator. I asked again if she'd talked to county, and she said 'no.' So I went to the producer and said I'm afraid I'm going to have to let this person go. I then brought her into my office and told her 'I don't need a scout, I need a coordinator.' It was Wednesday and I told her Friday would be her last day." –Todd Christensen