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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38 • LMGI COMPASS | Winter 2018 Complicating matters further was the pres- ence of several of the film's stars, including Thor himself, Aus- sie Chris Hemsworth. Every day, onlookers packed the streets to catch a glimpse of what was happening in the Marvel Com- ics world. Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston, who plays Loki, got into the right spirit. Instead of retreat- ing to their trailers when filming stopped, they interacted with the crowd. "Hem- sworth and the other cast were really accommodat- ing to onlookers," Jones says. "It turned into more of an event. You can see it on a YouTube clip (https://www .youtube.com/watch?v=GMAzGeL4TW8). Hemsworth was going out and greeting the crowds and handing out pizza from one of the local restaurants. We don't normally get celebrities coming into the city and doing that kind of activity. Most filming we try to do on the quiet." Jones just went with the flow. He had learned to do the impos- sible a decade earlier on Fool's Gold, starring Matthew McCo- naughey and Kate Hudson. One of his responsibilities then was to find beach locations along the entire coast of Queensland, which were then edited into one big, beautiful island. "Thor: Ragnarok became another level of location management that I was not used to dealing with," he admits. "We had large groups of the general public in confined street spaces and traffic, with our trucks and equipment while crew were trying to shoot. We thought we'd get a couple thousand people a day coming out, but by the second day, approximately 10,000 turned up. We had to very quickly learn and adapt and create systems to move people through the city while trying to film." During their week in Brisbane, Jones and his 18-member crew were heavily involved with crowd control. "We basically ended up working up and down the streets, explaining what the next sequence involved," he says. "We constantly moved people from one side of the street to the other so they wouldn't be in the background. We'd tell them when shooting was about to start and not to shout. The city would go dead quiet for the take, but when they heard 'Cut!' everyone would cheer." Jones also found himself dealing with the police. "Seventy-five of- ficers assisted us, plus we had 120 security guards and 35 traffic controllers," he says. "This went on for four full days, and it was quite a spectacle." He loved it. "It was a great experience to be part of," he says. "From talking to the Marvel team, I understand that for those few days, it was the biggest social media following in the world. Everyone was watching what happened in Brisbane." To make those chaotic days run as smoothly as possible, Jones hired a team of locals as PAs. Explaining his thinking, he says, "I call them 'Locations Public Relations.' They're primarily friendly people who the public first meet and interact with when they're walking down the street and stumble across a closed location. The PR team explained why it's closed, how they can get around and how exciting it is for the local community. Because they're locals, they're interested in putting a good face forward. They embrace the event. Then they tell their friends and family. They own it." UPM Cornwell speaks highly of Jones. "Duncan and I have a good, honest working relationship, which is important. We first worked together on Peter Pan over 10 years ago. What sets him apart from other location managers I have worked with is his honesty. Also, he is organized and keeps on top of all aspects of location management." Director Taika Waititi also worked closely with Jones on every location. "Taika was always particularly interested in the indig- enous culture of each location," Jones says. "He would ask me to find more details about each site's significance. I personally, and I know the Australian crew, really appreciated that extra layer of interest and respect." One memorable Thor location was Bullrin Quarry. The property became the Sakaar Wastelands, where Thor falls from the sky and lands in a rubbish heap. "That was all filmed on an opera- tional mine site," Jones says. "We told the owner, 'We want to dump all this rubbish here to turn it into a wasteland, but we'll take it away when we're done.'" The scenes set in the tropical environment of Asgard were shot at Cedar Creek Falls. "We were up in the mountains behind the studio," Jones says. "The people from Asgard are fleeing because Ragnarok is coming and the world is ending. It's basically three waterfalls on a tier that goes into a narrow gorge. We had 300-400 extras climbing up this gorge, along with 250 filmmakers." Re- calls Cornwell, "The accessibility and safety for a large crew was difficult. We were working in a gorge which had a lot of rain in the days prior to filming, and that made the task even more difficult. We also had over 300 extras at this location, with only stairs for access and it was a long way down!! "The location team worked hard with Queensland National Parks on installing temporary, environmentally friendly paths and zip lines that ran 2,600 feet to bring the gear in safely. "We had to minimize environmental impact," Jones says. "We hand-carried about 1,200 sandbags down into the gorge to create safe walking areas. This is a rocky and quite dangerous ravine. We used clean, washed river sand in the bags so there would be no contamination if they broke." Figuring out these details is one aspect of the job that Jones likes. Another is interacting with the public. "I really enjoy work- ing with people," he says. "There are so many layers to locations. One moment you have to be the leader, the next you're engaging with the busker on the corner. Then you're talking to a multi- Photos courtesy of Duncan Jones/LMGI