ProVideo Coalition.com: FRESHDV by Matthew Jeppsen & Kendal Miller

You have heard that they key to success in retail, and real estate is your location. Well a lot of the same can be said for filmmaking. There is no substitute for a great location. Unfortunately many great locations never live up to their full potential on screen due to a poor location scout. In fact, it is amazing to me how many people don’t scout locations at all.

I feel pretty strongly that in order to execute a script, design camera blocking, execute lighting, and spec gear packages, you must have at least a basic understanding of where you will be shooting. Now obviously some shoots require much less scouting than others, and it is up to you to decide how much time investment is warranted. However, as a general rule of thumb most people fall to the side of being under prepared in location scouting. Investing just a little bit of time and energy on the front end will pay off dividends on the shoot day. So grab your backpack with the items below and lets hit the road!

* Flashlight

* Notebook and Pencil

* Graph Paper (For room layouts)

* Compass (For plotting sun paths)

* Digital Camera

* Tape Measure (Laser tapes are great options)

* Directors Viewfinder (To experiment with lens choice)

In reality different departments would be responsible for different areas of scouting depending on the size of the production. For example your gaffer or electrician would be more likely check electrical and circuits, as well as load in and out points. Your Assistant Director or Unit Production Manager would perhaps want to find out about bathroom locations and staging areas to use for green rooms etc. In this article I’ll treat the scout as a smaller production where the Director and DP will be handling most of the work themselves. So you have arrived at your first location, where do you start? For the sake of simplicity we will refer to locations as independent geographic locations. (Example: Warehouse, Restaurant) We will refer to smaller areas within the same location as spaces. (Office, Loading Dock, etc…)

The Politics

First and foremost remember that you are on any location by the good graces of the owner, it is their home, or business, and you are the guest. Keep that in the forefront of your mind while you work. Treating their property and the people around you politely and with respect will help ensure a welcome return for your next project. Now that doesn’t mean you can’t ask to inconvenience them, and certainly don’t be afraid to do what you need to make the shoot successful just do it respectfully.

One of the first things after arriving on location I like to do is introduce myself to the manager or owner of the facility. Get all of their contact information, as well as alternate contact information. At this point I also like to check and see if there is a building engineer, or head of maintenance in charge of the facility. Get direct phone numbers, names, and a cell number if possible. This person can be an invaluable asset helping answer questions regarding electrical circuits, or maybe killing HVAC for sound. Having their direct contact information will make everything more efficient on the day of the shoot. I have a location scouting report that I keep for each location that has a few photos and all the contact information for both the owner, and building engineer. I also keep all the notes I make throughout the rest of the scout on this form.

When talking to the owner make sure and fully disclose your plan for shooting. Make sure and include anything you feel may be an inconvenience to them, or their customers if you are working at a business location. While it may be tempting to just show up and shoot, fully disclosing what your plans are isn’t just common courtesy. Full disclosure will help you and your production in the long run. If the owner has any problems with your strategy then it is best to discover that now. At this point there is still time to devise a new plan of attack or line up a new location. If you just show up and start doing something that the owner was unprepared for they may well shut you down. Not only is this costly with everyone already standing around waiting, its just plain unprofessional. Fully disclosing your plans ensures everyone is on board with your plan from the beginning.

The Location

Generally I prefer to start with the spaces I think I want to shoot in and begin working outward from there. So once you locate the room or space you want to work, start wide and move in. Start wide by taking photos 360 degrees, and don’t forget to shoot back behind you. You never know when you’ll need to shoot that way, or know what is back there. Several times in the past it is the one angle I need to shoot that I don’t have a photo of. Don’t forget to shoot the ceiling as well. It will help planning so you know what color it is. How it will reflect or absorb light? Are there any rigging points you can use? Are there any overhead light sources that may work as practicals? Make additional notes on all of these details on your scouting report.

At this time take rough measurements of the room. A laser tape works great for this, allowing you to quickly and easily rough in an entire room from one spot. Don’t forget to measure ceiling height and any potential bottlenecks for gear or rigging. Make notes of everything. As you measure make a quick overhead sketch of the space on your scouting report. Look out for any potential problem spots. Use your ears, listen carefully to your surroundings. Are there any noise issues for sound? How about high foot traffic areas that should to be controlled? Can they be controlled? Now is the time to ask and find out, not after your crew is standing around waiting only to be told, “I’m sorry but there is no way we can shut down this hallway, its simply to critical to our operation here.”

Once you have the big picture done, move into locating the general angles you would like to shoot. Take a few photos to get some ideas. If you will be shooting with a camera that uses prime lenses or removable lenses, you will want to get an idea of what glass you’ll need. Take your directors finder and rough out the range of angles and shots you think you might like. If you are a DP consult with your Director at this point about what he is looking for. Make good notes on what focal lengths will be needed or what restrictions the space may have.

Electrical

Now is the time to make use of that contact information you received earlier from the building engineer. Ask him where the circuit breaker box for the space you are working in is located. He may even be able to help you trace circuits. Locate the breaker box and make notes of the breaker sizes, and circuit numbers for the space you will be working in. Optionally you can use a circuit tracer make a quick diagram of the wall outlets associated with the circuits in the box. This will help you know what your power draw can be and help keep your power evenly distributed. For smaller shoots with not much electrical requirements you can just overlook this step. I would still get an idea of the breaker layout for the room so you know what you have to work with. Always know where the breaker box is, tripping a breaker can be a real pain if you have to hunt down the box and flip the circuit. Taking a quick photo of the box will let you know which breakers they keep off and which ones you may have tripped. Accidentally resetting the power to an important piece of medical equipment is a mistake to be avoided. Additionally its a good idea to just quickly test outlets using an outlet tester just to ensure they are working properly. This is especially important when working in older buildings where power is somewhat unstable. A good rule of thumb is, “Never assume anything”, when it come to electrical this is especially true.