Location Scouting

[Vincent T Sharma]

Location scouting

 

 

 

I only did location scouting twice and took with me a checklist I got from a book and it helped me okay.

 

My checklist

 

Space Adequate for shooting

Space to move the Camera and space for laying tracks

Window Views

Crowd control

Natural Light and places to hide the lights

Electric Power

Quiet enough for shooting or not

Basic facilities like parking,bathrooms etc.

 

I heard that Spielberg shot Munich only in three locations and he used a single location for different locations in the movie just by changing the colors......true????

 

Please post your tips as to how we can make more creative decisions and what to look for in locations with respect to blocking. As most of you have worked in feature films, you should be having a lot of ideas you got from professional experience.

 

Thank You

[David Mullen ASC]

How about: Would it look any good on camera? Will it serve the script needs? Will you be allowed to modify it? (Painting walls in particular but even things like trim trees, move heavy furniture, etc.)

 

The key with locations is to get the director to think what it will look like through a lens on a typical set-up. Often a director falls in love with a place with an interesting floor and ceiling, but those might only be seen in a few shots compared to the walls and windows.

 

Also, you have to weigh the difficulty of the location, how far it is to drive to or haul equipment to, with what you're getting out of it. There may be something similar that is closer and easier to shoot.

 

There is also a "gut feeling" issue -- sometimes a director and DP look at a location and it's "well, it's OK but it doesn't excite me". That may be fine for a throwaway scene, but otherwise, you may want to insist that the location scout keep looking. When I see a location, I hope that some element will excite me visually about it, some detail that I can use that makes it worth coming to this location.

[dudeguy37]

Though I don't really scout locations the "real way" since I'm not at all a professional, one thing that is incredibly helpful when locations have it is a dedicated staging space. If we have room to set up all the gear in a completely separate space that will be out of all the shots yet close by, in increases the efficiency of the shoot many times over. Obviously you could stage in the shooting space if you had to, but you'd be moving stuff around constantly, or the other option is to send someone back and forth to the truck/car, even slower. While a staging area shouldn't make or break a deal if the location itself is perfect, it certainly is a nice luxury.

Peace,

 

-Harry

[David Mullen ASC]

You're right, a staging area for equipment is very important. Often you find some room or garage in a house and ask the owner if it can be emptied to use as a staging area, video village area, etc.

 

On the other hand... you don't want the primary reason for picking a location to be convenience over the visual qualities it gives you. Sometimes they give you a location that is "perfect" -- i.e. perfect for every department but sucks visually and doesn't really tell the story. At that point, I'd rather settle for being a little inconvenienced if what goes on film (or tape, whatever) is more exciting, within reason (you don't want a location that will make it impossible to make your day.)

 

You also have to consider the sound problems, especially if the sound recordist isn't there on the scout and the scenes are dialogue intensive.