E-News Article - Rex Baldwin

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    Locations Management is more than Director of Janitorial Services.

    By Rex Baldwin, Locations Manager, 'American Sunset'

    The #1 goal of Locations Management is to leave a location in a better state than you find it, so that another film crew will easily be able to film there in the future. The priority is Crew, Location, Truck, Set and Shot safety. With all of the crew, equipment, logistics and chaos associated with on-location filming this is a huge challenge. Combine this with under staffing, lack of resources and inexperienced PA's this becomes an extremely stressful role but it does come with its rewards.

    Before getting into a more detailed discussion on Locations Management in general, I just want to say that it was a real honour working with the crew on 'American Sunset'. While it took a whole crew to make this feature film work I want to make a special mention of the exceptional team work of Sean Patterson (1st AD), Nicky Despres (Production Manager), Terry Daily (Transport Coordinator), Roddie (Transport Captain) and especially Andre Leger (Key PA) who saved our bacon and allowed me to do many things to make this show a success. It would have otherwise been impossible and would have compromised the production.

    Many people see locations management as the people who deal with the trash, but Locations Management is far more than that.

    Location Managers are always first in and last out, often together with Transport. They negotiate and prepare a location before anyone from the crew ever shows up on the day; they attempt to make sure everything goes well logistically on the day. They are around afterwards to wrap everything and ensure the locations owners are happy with the state of the location once everything is finished.

    The success of a given location starts with good planning. It is important to be involved as early as possible with the Director, Producer, Production Manager and Transport Coordinator when deciding locations as the logistics involved can be formidable.

    It is important to understand what the shots are going to be, what equipment and trucks are going to be used and where all of this equipment and trucks can be parked before you ever get to the location. The last thing you need to hear is "turning around", when you have a 10 ton truck and a couple of box vans in an intended shot. It is a waste of time and money to have to reposition equipment to accommodate the shot, when planning ahead can easily avoid such issues. Obviously things happen on the fly and sometimes it is impossible to plan, but understanding what is involved when that decision is made, is fundamental to maximizing the 12 hour shooting day.

    Once a location has been decided upon, there are several logistical issues that need to be addressed; approval of the owners, surrounding neighbourhood, necessary parking permits if shooting in an urban area.

    On the day, the Locations Manager or an experienced PA must be present to ensure that all the secured spaces are prepared prior to the arrival of trucks and equipment. It is then their responsibility to ensure that all trucks and equipment are effectively positioned to the right places.

    People skills are essential. We have to liaise with the public throughout the day or night. It is paramount to have a good rapport, not only the locations owners, but everyone around the film. The bigger picture is that every crew member is representing the filming industry, but the locations department is the interface and leaving everyone with a good impression is the ultimate goal.

    Crew call can be 2pm, which means trucks will be arriving at 1pm or before, and the locations department may have to secure the road as early as 6am, sometimes even the prior evening, although security watches the trucks during the night if no shooting occurs.

    Costs can be significantly reduced with sufficient planning. Good PA's are hard to find as the pay is low and work is sporadic. Often PA's are cut out of a budget because it is easy to do, but it then puts a tremendous stress on the whole crew.

    Consider a good locations department like building a house. It is sensible to use the strongest materials as your foundation. If you use cheap concrete in the foundation then you're building an unstable house. On some productions it's actually like building a house on quick sand. When things don't go as planned, stress levels increase exponentially and that is when mistakes can happen and accidents occur. The Locations Manager is one of the people who can call a halt to any production if safety is a concern. Traffic and set lock-ups are also controlled by the locations department, so it is essential to have PA's with the necessary experience and skills to accomplish that as safely and smoothly as possible.

    Often there are multiple locations in one day and each move has to be managed as seamlessly as possible to maximize the 12 hour shooting day. It is common to have one location being prepped, one being shot and another being wrapped, all simultaneously. Planning is the key to reducing stress in an already highly stressful environment. It is important to have all the necessary maps prepared in advance and ensuring that all appropriate signs are up, en route to the location. A lost key crew member costs the production and adds to stress.

    A perfect plan never survives contact with the enemy. The enemy, in this case, is unforeseen events; dates, weather and even health can change. Adapting to those changes is vital to the success of the production. That adaptation involves ensuring that all involved are contacted, informed and agree to the changes to the plan, to minimize the impact and costs to the location and the production units. When booking a location, it is important to include contingencies, just in case there are unforeseen changes. It is also important to know what is happening in the surrounding area. There are always unforeseen events which make life challenging, but one must try to minimize the associated stress as much as possible.

    Once the call of "wrap" is made, the locations department needs to make sure that everything gets cleaned up and put away as safely and quickly as possible. Everyone wants to leave immediately, and if permitted, the location will look like rats fleeing a sinking ship; total chaos. This must be avoided at all costs. End of day wrap is one of the most dangerous times as everyone just wants to get out of there. Everyone wants their vehicle closest, so that it can be packed sooner, and people tend not to think about the space around them. As a result, that is when damage and injury can occur.

    Having all of your wits about you after a 15 hour day is tough. The crew shoot for 12 hours, but the location department needs to be there before and after. So, a 15 hour day is pretty much the minimum. On 'American Sunset', we were understaffed in the PA department, so I had one 22.5 hour day with no days off. I averaged well over 15 hours a day, and I definitely do not recommend this.

    Once the crew has left and clean up has been finished, time is needed to ensure that everyone you have dealt with is happy with the experience and would allow another film crew in the future.

    In conclusion, I have tried to cover all of the relevant points about Locations Management, which often gets missed and never gets a mention in the Awards Ceremonies. It is the foundation of a successful film making experience for everyone involved. Ultimately, we do empty the trash and unplug toilets, but that is a very minor part in the roles of the location department.