"We were trekking through snow up to our
waists and the wind was so intense that
we could barely stand up. But none of us
said we're not filming here. The production
wanted extreme winter conditions, so that's
what we delivered."
These are the words of LM Matt Palmer/LMGI, talking about shooting an episode
of HBO's post-apocalyptic series The Last of Us in Waterton Park, Alberta.
Demand for shooting in extreme conditions is getting bigger insist many
location managers. This despite the rise of new technology, like virtual
production, proving successful in simulating environments.
If anything, productions are looking to go further and pushing the extremes,
partly thanks to the new technology, which has improved comms, navigation,
heating and with drones getting to far-flung places.
But that doesn't mean it's gotten easier. Location managers still need to
give serious thought to locations, factoring in things like costs, production
expectations, logistics and, increasingly, dramatic changes in weather
conditions.
Slower process
But their first task is often explaining to producers and directors that everything
takes more time. "They tend to underestimate and we have to explain that we
are walking in at least a foot of snow, so everything is about 30% slower. It's not
appealing to them, but we say your five-day shoot is more like eight days," says
Elli Cassata/LMGI, owner and SLM at Pegasus Pictures in Iceland (who also
covers Norway, Sweden and Greenland).
LM Ken Brooker/LMGI agrees. "If you're used to shooting six to eight pages a
day, you might be lucky to get four on the mountains if you're smart and well
prepared."
It's the same with prep. If it's normally a week, stretch it to 10 days. And
anticipate potential delays to shooting days due to the weather. "Snowstorms
can suddenly come and you can't see or move," warns Cassata.
Vatnajökull, Iceland. Photo by Elli Cassata/LMGI
