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/1528194
LMGI COMPASS | Fall 2024 • 31 Juggling Roles BILL DOYLE "I've been a location manager and production supervisor, but then in 2015, I got the opportunity to also be a co- producer on David Fincher projects. I'm now dealing with just about everything, including supervising and planning locations, negotiating stages, handling administration and schedules, dealing with art department, construction and budgets. It's given me a rounded understanding of all the production elements." DOUG DRESSER "Being a location manager sets you up for being a production manager/supervisor because you have knowledge of every department. Plus, you know most of the equipment that is coming onto set and how long it takes to set up, do the cables or pre-lighting, etc. "Although it is different in Los Angeles than say New York, or in other parts of the world because we're in the Teamsters union and we're not in the Directors Guild of America, which is where the production managers usually come from. So, it is sometimes different because of the union restrictions. "I am definitely more of the boots-on-the-ground type of production supervisor. For example, on After Earth, starring Will Smith in Costa Rica, I supervised the construction of roads that went into the jungle and created and worked with the team on pulley systems to get camera gear down to the bottom of a gorge and underneath a cave and a waterfall." BILL DOYLE/LMGI JONAS SPOKAS "When I do production managing, I use my location experience to prevent some production problems and save the budget. Equally, understanding what the producer and production manager are thinking helps me to location supervise better." MARKUS BENSCH/LMGI worth on big movies like The Bourne Supremacy, and knew what was possible to shoot in Germany, and so pitched the new role. I have the freedom to tell international producers what's possible here." MIKE FANTASIA "I've production supervised a couple of jobs, but I want to deal with people, not their kit rental or hotel rates." Leading location managers give their insights on the challenges and benefits of juggling their roles with production managing and supervising… DOUG DRESSER/LMGI SLM MIKE FANTASIA/LMGI ILT JONES/LMGI ILT JONES "I got talked into production supervising and managing years ago, but I didn't enjoy being office bound and bickering with crew about meal penalties and things like that. I prefer scouting and prepping the logistics, and the fact no two days are the same in location management." MARKUS BENSCH "I was unit production manager on a couple of films, but there was too much on the financial side. You have to enjoy saving money for a company more than the creative visual side. "However, I took the decision about 20 years ago to work permanently at Studio Babelsberg as a production executive because as a freelance location manager, I was away a lot and not seeing my kids. I had proved my