Location manager
Encyclopedia
The Location Department is an often forgotten yet integral department in the creation of a motion picture. Like the Production Coordinator
Production coordinator
A Production Coordinator is a unionized position in stagecraft under the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees and is governed in Los Angeles by ....
, it is only when things go wrong that the Location Manager gets any recognition. In Hollywood
Studio zone
In the American entertainment industry, the studio zone, also known as the thirty-mile zone or the TMZ, is the area within a 30-mile radius from the intersection of West Beverly Boulevard and North La Cienega Boulevard in Los Angeles, California...
, they are represented by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters Local 399 and in New York and Chicago they are represented by the Directors Guild of America (DGA)
Directors Guild of America
Directors Guild of America is an entertainment labor union which represents the interests of film and television directors in the United States motion picture industry...
. Additionally, nationwide, they have the Location Managers Guild of America
Location Managers Guild of America
The LMGA is a professional organization of Location Managers, Location Scouts, Assistant Location Managers, and affiliated business members, such as film commissions, location services, vendors, and filming venues...
, a non-profit corporation dedicated to the promotion and interests of their members and their relations with the general public, communities and industry partners. They are commonly associated with production
Production management
Theatrical production management is a sub-division of stagecraft. The production management team is responsible for realizing the visions of the producer and the director or choreographer within constraints of technical possibility...
as being part of the management of a show and as such, are generally paid a weekly salary
Salary
A salary is a form of periodic payment from an employer to an employee, which may be specified in an employment contract. It is contrasted with piece wages, where each job, hour or other unit is paid separately, rather than on a periodic basis....
as opposed to an hourly wage
Wage
A wage is a compensation, usually financial, received by workers in exchange for their labor.Compensation in terms of wages is given to workers and compensation in terms of salary is given to employees...
.
The salary changes with how much experience a person has and can range from a couple hundred dollars a day on low budget films to almost a thousand dollars a day on commercials.
The Location Manager typically is also the primary Location Scout
Location scouting
Location scouting is a vital process in the pre-production stage of filmmaking and commercial photography. Once scriptwriters, producers or directors have decided what general kind of scenery they require for the various parts of their work that is shot outside of the studio, the search for a...
for a film. They usually oversee several other scouts and assistant managers during the course of a show. A location manager will commonly work closely with the director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
and the production designer
Production designer
In film and television, a production designer is the person responsible for the overall look of a filmed event such as films, TV programs, music videos or adverts. Production designers have one of the key creative roles in the creation of motion pictures and television. Working directly with the...
during preproduction to find and secure their expressed creative vision. The manager is also responsible for public relations at the locations used and the safety of the crew during filming.
A Location Scout is responsible for the initial scouting of all the locations
Location shooting
Location shooting is the practice of filming in an actual setting rather than on a sound stage or back lot. In filmmaking a location is any place where a film crew will be filming actors and recording their dialog. A location where dialog is not recorded may be considered as a second unit...
used in a film and translates the writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
and director’s vision for the look of the scene into a viable and appropriate location. An experienced Location Scout will take into account all the logistics necessary for the production to adequately work.
Some of the things that a Location Scout needs to be aware of before submitting a location for approval are the fees and budgetary restrictions of the production, local permitting costs and regulations, camera
Movie camera
The movie camera is a type of photographic camera which takes a rapid sequence of photographs on strips of film which was very popular for private use in the last century until its successor, the video camera, replaced it...
and lighting requirements, convenience to other locations, crew, production services, crew and unit parking, and possibly incidental issues such as direction of the sun, traffic
Traffic
Traffic on roads may consist of pedestrians, ridden or herded animals, vehicles, streetcars and other conveyances, either singly or together, while using the public way for purposes of travel...
in and around the location, airplane flight paths, weather patterns, road work, demonstrations
Demonstration (people)
A demonstration or street protest is action by a mass group or collection of groups of people in favor of a political or other cause; it normally consists of walking in a mass march formation and either beginning with or meeting at a designated endpoint, or rally, to hear speakers.Actions such as...
and even interest by local organized crime
Organized crime
Organized crime or criminal organizations are transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals for the purpose of engaging in illegal activity, most commonly for monetary profit. Some criminal organizations, such as terrorist organizations, are...
families.
A good Location Manager is well poised and able to think fast on his feet as they are constantly moving, usually preceding production to a location and overseeing final strike and wrap. They are the first and last people the public sees that represent the production and are responsible for ensuring that the location is returned to the condition in which it was received. The Location Manager is also to be aware of the possible copyright issues which may be an issue if the show is filmed in a public place where there is art work or similar and where the artist has to give his/her consent to the creation being depicted or covered or replaced by other artwork.
They need to be aware of the production's needs and know how to best accommodate them while diplomatically ensuring that the requirements of all parties, from the property owners, line producer
Line producer
A line producer is the key manager during the daily operations of a motion picture production.The line producer supports the vision given by the director but does not have direct influence on the creative expression or narrative of the film....
, director and production designer to the grip
Grip (job)
In the U.S. and Canada, grips are lighting and rigging technicians in the filmmaking and video production industries. They constitute their own department on a film set and are directed by a key grip. Grips have two main functions...
and electric lighting and rigging the set and their teamster brothers with all their trucks, trailers and vans.
Location Managers tend to easily adapt to and make good Unit Production managers.
See also
- Location Scout, the person responsible for finding locations used in film, photography & television production
- TeamstersTeamstersThe International Brotherhood of Teamsters is a labor union in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1903 by the merger of several local and regional locals of teamsters, the union now represents a diverse membership of blue-collar and professional workers in both the public and private sectors....
, the AmericanUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
union representing location managers in Hollywood. - Location Managers Guild of AmericaLocation Managers Guild of AmericaThe LMGA is a professional organization of Location Managers, Location Scouts, Assistant Location Managers, and affiliated business members, such as film commissions, location services, vendors, and filming venues...
, the guild that represents location managers nationwide - Location libraryLocation libraryA location library or location archive is a collection of visual and reference information, usually organized by a serial numbering system, descriptive keywords, geographic location of locations, or places that might be used for filming or photography.A Location Library can offer many services...
, Library of locations available for film and TV shoots.