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/898264
Iceland black beach. Photo by Emma Pill/LMGI with her for years, but, he says, "Unfortunately until now, she was not available. She was an integral part of the planning of this huge film. She became one of our very key figures during pre-production and shooting. I really like and admire Emma's continual enthusiasm and drive. She can be like a dog with a bone. She won't give up and will keep pushing with ideas and options until we have what the director and designer are looking to find. She adores what she does, which is very evident as soon as you meet her, and she inspires those that work for and around her. She does extensive research and doesn't leave a page unturned. At the same time, she is fun. The experience of working with her is always enjoyable. She is a real team player." McDougall made sure Pill was acknowledged in Spectre's main credits. "It was a first for me," he says. "But that just goes to prove what an integral part she played on the film. As we know, it's never one person, but she was the HOD of the locations, and that's where traditionally, we put HODs on a Bond film. Yes, we had production managers and location managers in all the various countries, but Emma was supervising and coordinating. It's very unusual for us to have one location manager who supervises all the film's global locations, and that's where the recognition came from. It was at the request of the director as well. Emma found all of the locations on the film, along with Dennis, with the exception of Mexico City. That was due to timings when Mexico became the country choice. That's also why her title is supervising location manager." Pinpointing what sets Pill apart from other location managers, McDougall says, "There is a confidence, and the ability to immediately identify what the director and designer are looking to find for the visual journey of the film. Emma just comes up with some really good options, alternatives and backups (if required)—and is very focused on the goal everyone is looking to achieve. She has a passion for the film and also loves all the logistics as well—and my God, did she have logistics to deal with for the shoot on the Thames. It was mammoth, and she relished it all! She has an amazing eye for detail. She makes good creative choices. She is extremely hard working and efficient and excellent at budgeting and cost control. Without doubt, she would be top of my list of location managers for any film. Her résumé speaks for itself, showing much repeat business from producers and production companies." McDougall notes that Pill worked closely with director Sam Mendes, designer Gassner, producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli and himself for more than 18 months. "After the initial meetings, Emma set up office at Pinewood Studios (our U.K. base) and did extensive research on locations, along with our location manager, Ali James, and it wasn't until we had a shorter list of options did she head out on the road with our associate producer, Gregg Wilson, and Gassner. Dennis and Emma both had a clear understanding of what Sam was looking for and also both came up with inspiring choices, which then lead onto further design decisions for both exterior locations and studio interiors alike. Once they had done an initial scout to the locations, they would prepare boards for Sam and the producers, and then we would do a director's first scout. "As always when you are prepping a film, ideas come and go, and Emma would have many meetings with Sam during development and pre-production. There was an unprecedented car chase through the streets of Rome (a first) and around all the Vatican buildings (which were all done for real, no CG). The big ticket was the chase down the Thames with a helicopter crashing on Westminster Bridge. On so many of the locations on this film, we were not just dealing with the multiple countries (U.K., Italy, Austria, Morocco, Mexico) but some of the most iconic buildings and areas within those cities. It was a huge ask. It was similar in Mexico City with our helicopter sequence in the most famous square in Mexico City—Zócalo." McDougall mentions an unusual challenge. "The winter locations in Austria were tricky, as we had to see them with snow," he says. "We really had to scout and choose them nine months prior to the shoot—before the snow melted so we could see visually what it would look like. Also, since they were ski resorts, we had to get an early reservation before all the rooms were taken for their normal ski business. We had two large film units shooting there at the same time. The snow, which had arrived early the previous year in abundance, was late arriving. On one location by the lake where Bond finds Mr. White, it only snowed two days prior to shoot. We shot for a couple of days, and then all the snow melted and it was lush and green again two days after we left in January! We were making snow at one of the other locations for a chase sequence. Locals were saying, 'Never been like this before!' It only happens when a film crew turns up—the world over. Of course, we had looked at data for the last 10 years, which was encouraging, but the world's weather as we know is ever-changing these days. But all the locations that Emma found in Austria worked perfectly in the end." What's on Pill's wish list? "When you work out of the U.K., you don't get to come stateside but you do a lot of Europe-side," she says. "I've done a whole raft of stuff—period, fantasy, futuristic, modern day. I'd like to shoot on a Caribbean beach and work in