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LMGI COMPASS
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Fall 2026
Do viewers fully appreciate just how deliberate everything they see on the big or small screen
really is? Can they imagine the absurdly detailed conversations that take place around a
conference table as talented storytellers, artists and craftspeople seriously dissect every
element of a scene?
The script reads, "Sally is holding a coffee cup." Fine. But what size, color and style? A vintage
jadeite mug or a dainty porcelain heirloom? That same level of scrutiny applies to every
descriptive detail on the page: what car a character drives, what they wear, how they style their
hair, the shrubbery lining the path to their front door, and as pertains to us, the places where
they might work, play or dine.
Every choice is considered. Each element becomes a building block, deliberately assembled to
create a world shaped by who the characters are and what drives them.
In this issue, we celebrate our role in building those worlds, bringing stories to life through real
places chosen with intent and purpose.
In our cover story, Shaun O'Banion explores the oil fields and boardrooms of Landman and the
Montana countryside of The Madison, through the eyes of location managers Dustin Daniels/
LMGI and Paul Knaus/LMGI and their teams working in the Taylor "Sheridan-Verse."
"Where Worlds Collide," by Compass editor and TV Awards Subcommittee Co-Chair Diane
Friedman, captures the lively, star-studded atmosphere of the 13th Annual LMGI Awards gala,
where location professionals, film commissioners, industry partners, sponsors and honorees
gathered on a warm Santa Monica evening in August to celebrate our craft. Rachel Llewellyn
profiles the honorees, whose work has shaped lasting legacies in our industry.
"In the News" visits the LMGI panel at San Diego's Comic-Con 2026, where fans were eager
to learn how we help bring fantastical sci-fi worlds to life. Sasha Alvarez Denisoff/LMGI takes
us behind the scenes of "Meet the Finalists" 2026, while award nominees, local members, film
commissioners and sponsors gathered poolside for the "Prelude to the Awards" happy hour the
night before the event.
And in "Martini Shot," Graeme Blatherwick/LMGI offers a beautifully lit portrait of a flower
against a green fence—a gentle reminder that even in our frenetic business of building worlds,
it's worth pausing every now and then to stop and smell the flowers!
Until next time,
Stevie Nelson, Diane Friedman, Paul Messana, Edward Mazurek, Dodd Vickers and JJ Levine
FROM THE
EDITORS' DESK
"Usually when I'm
making a movie,
what I have in mind
first, for the visuals,
is how we can stage
the scenes to bring
them more to life in
the most interesting
way, and then how
we can make a world
for the story that the
audience hasn't quite
been in before."
–WES ANDERSON/FILMMAKER
