”LOCATION MANAGER - A JOB FILM CREW SAY THEY WOULD NEVER DO”
To explain let me tell you how my work can look like.
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Right now I have a sketch on my computer so you can understand what it is like to be a location manager. The sketch is actually more of a scribble. An arrow points south above it, pointing at what appears to be a misshapen caterpillar. It looks like a bristly line above a wonky caterpillar.
I am summarizing my instructions for an upcoming project. Neither words nor directions were given. I must translate that squiggle into a real location. The location I need to find must fulfill a movie director's creative vision, however vague. Then I have to pull all the logistical strings to successfully execute the shoot. That sounds difficult, doesn't it?
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“ Being a location manager is the one job that people in film crews say they would never do. The crew generally deal with other members of the crew. But the location manager deals with the outside world. ”
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So who am I? I live with my girlfriend and my three kids 30 minutes north of Stockholm, but my job takes me all over Scandinavia, and one day can be dramatically different from the next. I started within the events industry over 20 years ago and has for the last 10 years been working with a bunch of big film productions, as well as many smaller, independent films and commercials.
Sure the work I do can be done anywhere. Building relationships and doing detective work are all part of what I do. But you’ve always got to be on point. I recently got off a plane from Norway, got straight into a car, and spent two days showing a German group around Stockholm in an almost tour guide role.
I find the instinctive element of meeting people to be the most interesting part of my job. You just know what they want, often before they even realize it themselves. Regardless of whether you've met them before or not, you have to be able to tap into their aesthetic.
Sometimes the production designer spends a lot of time with you, driving around, listening to music, and looking for locations that fit the concept. It is critical to have a robust reference base. Color palettes used by certain artists are necessary to understand or, if the designer refers to Escher or Le Corbusier, you need to know what they mean.
This is the fun part. Then it is time for logistics. Aside from being able to discuss Beckett and Bauhaus, I must also understand what it means to park 40 trucks in the middle of a crowded city and remove them again, or how to position a crane in the middle of a forest.
When you are the location manager, you are the first one there in the morning and the last person to leave at night. Leaving the site in the same condition as we found it is both contractually and legally required. For filming in remote locations, our facilities have to be close by. At times, we might need to lay a surface that can withstand trucks that weigh up to 20 tonnes in order to make that space.
Buses and other traffic aren't the only thing that needs to be redirected. It is also important to engage with the road service and find out when the water mains are going to be repaired, all that kind of things.
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“Patience” is an important key word in my role.
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In one production we had to cover every single PVC window, remove all satellite dishes and every modern car on the street Then the director arrived and said he was planning to film in the opposite direction. . . We are employees; the person who is paying me is the one who makes the decision. I can only advise, but HELLO?
Any production must have the support of the community. If local support did not exist, our industry could not exist. These are the people who allow us to use their toilets or who move their cars so we can park. . . I truly believe we wouldn't exist without these people. Whatever the film is, whether it's a Hollywood production or a tiny independent with no funding, it requires the support of the community. The importance of that for us can't be overstated.
