LOCATION MANAGER AND SUPERVISOR
INTRODUCTION
Locations are both creative assets and real-world environments for our screen industry to work in. The primary responsibility for the location manager is to source, secure and manage workplaces, for varying types of arts and media productions such as feature films, comedy or drama series, commercials, and games. A location manager may work solo or in a team, with location supervisors on large scale projects overseeing additional managers, scouts, coordinators, on-set location managers and assistants.
Often, the location manager is one of the first heads of department (HODs) to be attached to a project alongside the producers, director, cinematographer and production designer. They may be contacted independently, or introductions could initially be made between state screen agencies and companies searching for the best regions to situate their projects. A location manager’s knowledge and initial work can lead to the commissioning of large-scale film productions, that offer hundreds of jobs and inject millions of dollars into local economies.
The Location Manager’s Role in Pre- Production
In pre-production, a location manager works creatively with the director and HODs to develop a brief. Once the ideals and parameters are clearly determined, the location manager will either engage additional scouts or scout themselves to find suitable options. Sound knowledge of the filmmaking process comes into play during the search for the perfect location, with an understanding script, character, subtext, photography and design an advantage to have in the toolkit. To successfully source feasible options, managers must consider the physicality of an entire crew working in an environment and visualise from beginning to end what the logistical management of the production will entail.
An album or file of photographs for each possible location is presented for consideration and the pros and cons are carefully discussed between the director and heads of department before a short-list is created. The location manager will then arrange and supervise the initial surveys of each location, for the best site to be chosen. Then begins a large amount of work to plan the logistics and safe access for the cast and crew to create the screen worlds, and start filming.
Key Considerations from Pre to Post-Production:
When a location is finally selected , several factors and logistics are addressed by the locations department team. Examples of these considerations often include:
Legal Contracts: This involves the careful negotiation of fees and terms of hire between the production company and the location provider. Depending on the location and complexity of access requirements, the creation and execution of a legally binding contract can be a simple process, or one that takes several weeks with both parties engaging legal assistance.
Local Laws and Government Legislation: Prior to any filming or pre-production work taking place, the compliance and exemption requirements for local laws and government legislation must be considered and all permissions obtained. For example, to simulate overseas traffic conditions, permissions must be granted from several authorities for any road closures and filming of vehicles driving on the wrong side of the road. Another example may be special exemptions for breaking curfews, to achieve late night filming in a residential area.
Documentation and Paperwork: Scheduling, planning, proposal writing, map-making and permit applications are a major part of communicating the strategic access and filming needs to location providers and authoritative bodies.
Budget and forecasting: Good managers can visualise how the production will work at each location and forecast all costs associated with the work, which may include pre-scheduled contractors for reinstatement, as well as anticipating potential damage at sensitive sites. Quite often the script and production requirements will change leading up to the Final Tech Recce. The location team should be prompt to brief the production when circumstances have changed. Depending on a project, a budget could be a few thousand to millions of dollars.
OH&S Compliance: Access to locations must be conducted in a lawful and safe manner and knowledge and understanding of risk mitigation and O.H & S compliance is a big component when arranging access to a property. Special vehicle entry points or safety inductions may be required, and any hazards must be identified and resolved prior to any cast, crew and contractors working on site. Often the location manager will liaise between the safety pfficer and the location provider in relation to any OH&S or safety documentation applicable, prior to working at a property. If a location manager feels a crew’s action is unsafe, they should make it known and consider following the situation up in writing.
Vehicle Parking: Parking normally must be arranged for the essential equipment vehicles, private crew cars and the unit base set-up. On occasion, special parking arrangements must also be made for local stakeholders and the public. Please note, that this responsibility can vary across Australian states and countries and may be managed by the unit department.
Community & Environment: The successful management and mitigation of the impact that any filming has on the community and environment is a major concern for location managers and their team. Some projects may take out large sections of street parking or have complex set-dressing requirements that could affect neighbours and local businesses. Any removal of street infrastructure may alter the traffic conditions in the area. It helps for a location manager to step back and imagine the film site from the public’s point of view.
Consultation with Stakeholders: Canvassing local stakeholders and sending notifications with appropriate lead-time is vital and concerns should be addressed with priority. This consultation may extend to authorities, emergency services, government departments, transport and utilities companies.
Pedestrian and Traffic Management: TMPS & PMPs are a common safety component for filming on roads or working in any public environment. It is often a permit condition of local councils and government agencies.
Permits & Responsibilities: A permit is much like a legally binding contract, with schedules and conditions for site access agreed upon between the production company, council or governing body. A location manager must know when to deviate slightly from a permit and when to hold firm. Crossing the road or moving to another street for a better shot may appear straightforward to the crew, but it is the location manager who has the relationship with the authorities and knowledge about the stakeholders and surrounding environment to determine whether the repercussions warrant any changes. When making these decisions, safety is paramount and all legal implications must be considered. The police have been known to alter original signed off plans to make filming on roads safer, and slight adjustments are occasionally made to traffic management plans for the same reason. The location management team, safety officer, first assistant director and producers will usually deliberate very carefully prior to making these changes.
Art Department and the Pre-Production Process: A thorough understanding of art department requirements and how their team (set-dressers, riggers, construction, greens and action vehicles), may operate at a site is very important. On large-scale productions, the art department could be as many as 30 to 100+ people and a location bump-in day could have as much impact on an environment as the actual filming day itself. Supervision of the art department and liaising with the community is essential for good management of locations. Special assistance may be required, such as hiring a deep clean prior to entering a factory, or traffic control for things like boom knuckle or scissor lift deliveries.
Security: Guards and park-holders are often booked across multiple locations throughout the day, so careful planning is required to ensure that all vehicle park-holds, location security, special access requirements and the whereabouts of the unit base are considered.
Health Disruptions such as the Covid Pandemic and Other Contagious Outbreaks: Major societal and health disruptions such as the recent COVID 19 variations, may require careful consideration and planning by location managers, health officers and the production. Some examples of increased responsibilities in the past, have included providing additional paperwork to property owners and authoritative bodies, vacating houses and finding accommodation for homeowners and their families, being aware of density limit calculations and making advisory maps, as well as additional bookings such as cleaning, security, traffic and pedestrian management. Requirements may change depending on the state health order or the way the individual production has chosen to run their project.
Resources and Crew: The location manager is responsible for the provision of all resources for the supervision of the location during the actual filming period. They must ensure that their team can adequately service a location and safely meet all their obligations to the production and surrounding stakeholders.
The Reinstatement Process: Once filming is complete at the site, the location manager must ensure that the location is handed back to its owners in a pleasing condition. This may involve the arrangement of any cleaning and restitution of a property, occasional dispute resolutions between a production company and a location provider and any outstanding council matters. Due diligence ensures that the site remains viable for future productions.
KEY SKILLS:
A role as a location manager could be seen to share similarities with a project manager on a construction site or large-scale event. While no formal training is required the following is recommended:
Production experience and a sound knowledge of the film industry and all department requirements.
A strong sense of initiative, planning skills, a practical mind, local awareness, tolerance and a strong imagination is needed to successfully source and coordinate film locations well.
Effective communication, administrative skills and a strong ability to negotiate is essential.
Legal knowledge & awareness of the Occupational Health & Safety Act is recommended to confidently negotiate and draft contracts & location agreements.
To successfully run multiple locations as at once, a location manager must be resourceful, have an ability to multi-task and both delegate and micro-manage.
Troubleshooting and mediation skills are valuable as a manager may need to expediently resolve sudden problems that occur during filming. The ability to remain calm when dealing with issues is vital.
A location manager needs to be insistent at times, as push backs from agencies and authorities are common for even the most basic filming applications.
They must also be extremely reliable and flexible. A location manager is usually the first to arrive on location, & sometimes the last to leave. Work tasks are often performed on weekends, and well after hours on any given workday.
Importantly, a location manager needs a thick skin, for they are a necessarily evil rendering the crew to work within the parameters of common decency and the law.
A sense of humour helps – ha-ha.
But above all, location managers should genuinely care about preservation of locations for the future and on-going use by others in the industry.
