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
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32 • LMGI COMPASS | Winter 2018 own, as is frequently the case, it is vital for them to understand each scene, be- ing able to visualize camera placement/ space, as well as actor placement/space as she does. Wasco places such a premium on the im- portance of early scouting to a project that if early scouting is not in the budget for him, he will go at his own expense in exchange for transportation to be in- cluded as early on in the process as pos- sible. He goes on to say that "Location scouting is a wonderful first experience exploring where the movie will be shot" and has "fond memories of early experi- ences where the movie takes shape!" LMGI's Eva Monley Award winner and Academy favorite Alexander Payne has remarked that his two favorite stages of production are location scouting and editing. "During location scouting, the triumvirate of the production designer, location manager or perhaps a trusted scout, and I spend countless hours in the car. Scouting, yes, but more impor- tantly, discussing how the characters in the story can best be expressed through locations: their class, their tempera- ment, their tastes. This is the period in which the film will never be more perfect. It exists in a sort of platonic perfection in only our three brains. The film is as yet unmarred by unpre- pared actors, uncooperative weather, lack of sufficient coverage, stinginess of production or by anything outside our perfect conception of the film. The loca- tion manager is by no means a logistical position. He or she is a key creative member of my team." Myhre also finds scouting inspiring. He works closely with the location scout early on imagining how nascent location selections will develop to help the direc- tor tell their story. After reviewing loca- tion photos and selecting possible site options, Myhre emphasizes "the impor- tance of viewing actual locations versus pictures: seeing locations and how they are going to work, interacting with the characters; smelling the smells of the site/space is where visual creativity and excitement of planning really begins. Lo- cations are key to the design." Ampah remarks that "creativity is in the finding, especially when you find some- thing unique." He concludes, "Scouting locations includes consideration of lo- gistics—it's always a puzzle." Ampah produced a video on the subject called Making It Happen, a guide for what he calls "practical locations." "A location manager is an unusual ani- mal as both left and right sides of the brain need to fire simultaneously," says Balton. "I think I am better at location scouting because I worked for years as a location manager before my daughter was born. It's important to think out- side the box and find a unique location, but if the logistics are stacked against you and you can't convince the owner to allow filming for a specific price, fig- ure out how to efficiently get the crew safely in and out, etc., or that great location will never get shot. So logistics, negotiations, thinking on your feet and people skills on the part of the location manager are also critical to fulfilling the director's vision. These practical con- siderations run through our head while we sell the look of a place." Ampah feels locations is a "hybrid group that starts in the art department, then must work closely with produc- tion, eventually interacting with every department along the way." You must deal with the personalities behind you (production) and in front of you (public). Location professionals are "am- bassadors, accommodations people, party host people and peacemakers; it is a well-choreographed dance." Thomas states, "At the beginning of a movie, the location department is a part of the art department. I never think of them as being a department by themselves; they are a vital part of the art department. In the beginning, it's all about art, logistics are secondary to the vision that I/we are trying to create." Myhre adds, "The location department is as integral to the art department as any other." He likes to have the location team next to the art department during production. Wasco also equates loca- tions with art. Keeping them physically close, he likes to collaborate, brain- storming with the location team. Oppewall says, "It has always seemed to me that the location department sits right between production and the art department; that is not a comfortable place to be. Designers think that loca- tion folk work for them. But production thinks they work for them. So in actu- ality, the location department has to satisfy both departments and the best location people are able to do that. Lo- cations has a lot of responsibility finding compromises to making everyone hap- py, as well as a complicated job figuring out how to please everyone within the scope of their budget. Generally, the de- signers are responsible for figuring out what needs to be done at each location and the location folks are responsible for making sure those things can happen in a timely manner, all, of course, under the budget-grinding operations of the production department." Wasco also spoke of the difficult, stress- ful job of location management: "They must be able to roll with changes and problems as they come up, coupled with serious budget concerns." Pro- tecting the location and set decorating budgets are a priority for him, Wasco says he "would rather utilize and dress practical locations versus building sets. Actors perform better in practical loca- tions." He approaches practical loca- tions first, building in if necessary to make the location work. Then he deter- mines what may need to be built if the location is too limiting for page count, weather, actor comfort, etc. He also considers how and when the scenes are to be shot, as discussion with the direc- tor and producer develops.