Sorry for the lack of posts, the schedule here is nothing short of ridiculous. Yesterday, at 8:30 PM, while scrambling with a friend to make it to a sporting goods store to buy more supplies for my ditty bag, a thought occured to me. “I’m so happy I have tomorrow (Sunday) off so I can do my homework.”
Oh well. One of the first things I said here was that you can tell how genuinely happy everyone is to be here. This does not offer the financial security of law school or med school, but everyone here is doing exactly what they love, and they went through a lot to do it.
Our wonderful cinematography professor, William McDonald, gave us some very helpful information on looking for a location yesterday. I thought I would share.
Tools for Location Scouting
- a circuit tester, so you can make sure that the outlets in your location work. No electricity = big problem.
- A light meter. Measure the light in the different rooms so you have an idea of what you’re working with.
- A compass. Chart out north south east west, it will help you with sunlight among other things.
- Pencil and Paper.
- A tape measure. Measure everything, especially doorways that you need to get equipment through.
- A digital camera.
Looking At Locations
- Be sure to define what you are looking for aesthetically. Do this before you ever look at a location. Vagueness is the curse of all artists. Have some specific ideas of what you’re looking for.
- Examine the light sources in your location:
- -which direction are the windows facing?
-will you have direct sunlight? Check with your compass and put the layout of the house on your floor plan.
-the sun moves from the east through the southern sky to the west, so north-facing windows will receive no direct sunlightFigure out how many outlets there are. - Understand how many circuits there are. A good rule of thumb is that 10 amps will support 1000 watts.
- Find out which outlets are connected to which circuits. 18 outlets on 10 amps will not get you as far as 4 outlets on 40 amps.
- Find out where the circuit box is.
- Check the movement of the sun.
- VISIT WHEN YOU PLAN ON SHOOTING
- Buildings and tree-lines. Will they block your precious sun? If so, when?
- Vehicle access. What is the road and parking situation? Are there gates you need keys for?
- Doors and locks. Which doors lock? Do you have keys for them? Don’t assume an unlocked door will be the same when it comes time to shoot.
- Stairways and elevators. Do they lock?
- Can you get things through doors? Measure the narrowest doorway, and don’t lie to yourself about things fitting. Reality won’t lie to you.
- Staging spaces. Where will you put the equipment you’re not using? The copious belongings of your cast and crew?
- Security issues: Do you need security guards? A PA guarding the equipment? Can the equipment be left in the location?
- Permits. Always get the owner’s signature, not just the landlord’s.
Location scouting has quite a few components to it and definitely takes time. Give yourself time to save yourself some nightmares on the set.
