Location Scout Stockholm
What does a locationscout do? A location scouts job is to find the locations which can convey the director, the photographer and the set designer's vision. Once the location is determined, it can also include tasks such as negotiating prices, applying for permits and preparing agreements.
The swedish term for location scout is platsletare.
Here is a detailed rundown of what a typical location scout commission could look like.
After the initial contact from a production company I will usually be provided with a location brief, a script, a storyboard, a mood board or all of the above.
At that point my work begins with breaking down the information into exact number of locations, requirements of each location, looks and style, budget, maximum distance allowed, shooting dates and working hours, recce dates, budgets, etc.
When this process is going on, or as early as possible I will provide the production manager or similar with my live work sheet, so that they have full transparency of what I’m doing and so that they can monitor my progress.
When I have all of those things (and many more) sorted out, the actual scouting begins.
At this point I would start looking through my archives, perhaps begin to google, going through maps and satellite images, start sending out email and to make phone calls.
After I have decided on a few alternative possibilities I will either present them to the client directly, or I will need to do further investigation. At this point I may decide to walk up and down specific residential area asking to come in to peoples homes and take photos of perhaps their kitchens, or I could be hiking through a trail in the forest looking for a specific type of lake, or I could be out on a boat looking for a secluded beach front property. That is what most people associate with locationscouting.
Hopefully I have gotten a hunch of what and where I can find that specific place I need to find.
When I find a location that can work, I will document the location thoroughly. With a full framed DSLR and great prime lenses, I will shoot general images to present the opportunities that the place has to offer and I will shoot details so that the different departments have an idea what it is that they are looking at.
Later, when these photos are delivered, they will have superimposed exif information, such as focal length, aperture and shutter speed, sometimes also coordinates if that is necessary. This type of information will help the photographer know what existing light is available and how it looks at those particular settings.
If the scouting at hand is for a moving shoot, perhaps a car that is traveling through the city or through a landscape I will also provide a map, with both GPX track and an overlay with each specific landmark image that we will see in the shoot.
After my first batch of suggestions have been discussed, hopefully the team has been able to settle on a specific location. At this point the duties of the scout will be turned over to the location manager or the location coordinator.
I have successfully done work for many major Swedish production companies like FLX, B-Reel, Chimney, Always Frank, Newland, Naive, Heyfilm as well as world-renowned film studios like Universal Studios, Warner Brothers and Sony Pictures.
Read more about my previous works here: cases
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