Tag Archives: producers

Occasionally, I get emails asking how to get started in location scouting / location management. I am often suspicious that people that write these letters are looking for a way – ANY way – out of whatever it is they are currently doing (and potentially dislike) rather than actually being genuinely interested in the location services field – It’s a “real” job with lots of responsibility and very well not nearly as glamorous as you might have imagined.

Didja know the Location Department is the department in charge of making sure the trash gets carried away at the end of a shoot?

Also, let’s face it, I am a pretty easy target – a quick email requesting a free look into the crystal ball is a pretty cheap investment in a career and I am pretty easy to find.

… so how might anyone really know they want to be a location scout?

It’s almost like, if they did know, they wouldn’t be asking.

…but that’s just me, and as remote as it might be there is a distinct possibility that my thinking on this could be flawed.

That said, this is how things happenned for me:

I attended the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale (AIFL) in Fort Lauderdale, FL and earned an Associate of Science Degree (AA) in Photography.

Also at the time, I, of course, had aspirations to become a world-famous, world-travelled, filthy-rich, rockstar commercial photographer. When the major ad agencies of the world and top-shelf design firms of the world didn’t beat a path to my door upon graduation, I set about trying to learn more about my craft in the “real” world, seeking work as a photo assistant in the Fort Lauderdale and Miami media markets. At the time I entered the workforce and with considerations toward the size of the market I was in, I found staff positions in short supply, however, there was a blooming market for freelance photo assistants, helped by a blossoming South Beach “media scene” (and of course the generally balmy year-round weather in the region, which includes incredible stretches of pleasant, dry weather in the winter…) being fueled strongly by the fashion industry (as well as interest by advertising and media of many other types…), renovations and rehabilitation of the Art Deco buildings in the South Beach area of Miami Beach and a general boomtown economic environment of South Florida at the time. Miami Vice was in production then. In addition to working with local photographers I had a great opportunity to work with a number of photographers and production companies from all over the world, including a number of European-based teams and teams from New York, southern California and Chicago, to name a few.

One of the photographers I worked with as a photo assistant in south Florida was a fashion advertising photographer from the New York City area, Tom Contrino. I worked as a local second assistant with Tom for two seasons and when his first assistant moved up the ladder to a photographer position in the still life area of the business back in New York City, I was offered an opportunity to move north to the New York City area and become Tom’s full-time, staff first assistant, which I accepted.

In addition to freelance location scouting and production coordination for photography (both of which I discovered very early on that I found very gratifying and enjoyable) once I went to work to work for Tom I had an opportunity to expand my experience in these areas and learn an enormous amount about what it takes to operate a successful commercial photography business from the inside out and on a day – to – day basis – in addition to jobs we produced for clients, which often at times included location scouting and production coordination, in addition to my regular duties on shoots as a camera assistant and lighting tech, I was soon handling many back end chores such as hiring extra assistants, invoicing, equipment rental / purchasing, insurance inventorying, promotion – it all rolls together in a busy photography business.

My tenure with Contrino Photography also offered me an excellent opportunity to travel and even tho I settled in New Jersey, in the New York City metro area, I travelled quite a bit with Tom for work back to south Florida, to California, New Mexico, Nevada, Colorado, Chicago, and other destinations around the U.S.

Eventually, after six years with Tom, it was, of course, time to move on and I became, once again, temporarily, a freelance photo assistant / production assistant, with aspirations AND experience needed to develop my own freelance location scouting / production business, working with photographer / director / producer clientele; subsequently, providing location services / locations for film / television / photo / events and production services for photography is what my current occupation consists of. Thru networking and marketing / promotion I have extended my location services beyond still photography to include video, motion picture and event clients.

The “new frontier” for me (when I started out there was no email / we photographed locations using print film and made manila paper location folders filled with panoramic photos made by taping together 4×6 color prints…) is HDRi and image-based lighting for digital imaging (still and motion) and I have an association with Q-spheres to this end.

I keep a running blog and online resume of sorts of jobs as I complete them which can be found at rrhobbs.com

My website and home page, nyc.locationscout.us is both a blog and resource for location services and production. Please spend some time on the FAQS page! Use the search page and web and dig around for results for relevant location scouting search terms.

Look on the sidebar, I can be found on most of the popular social networks (i.e. Twitter, Facebook, etc.)

Anyway, that’s how it’s happenned for me – there is no magic formula for entering and developing a successful location scouting career – everybody is different and in the beginning it is often difficult to tell what you are truly interested in personally and / or how / if you might be of problem-solving service to enough people to make a career for yourself. SO much is tied up in personalities, personal priorities and changing needs, business relationships, aptitude and developed skills. – You really may only THINK you want to become a location scout / location manager… The only sure way to find out is to get out there and start DOING.

I always tell aspiring newbie location scouts to look for film school student film projects and productions to work on – attending film school is an excellent background for a location scout, some grounding in filmmaking is a very neccesary prerequisite. Look for start up and no / low budget short films and movies to volunteer for – you get out what you put in – hell, even if you are “just” sweeping the floors, you still get to watch – and learn – you have to expect you are initially likely letting yourself in for a period of going hungry and still, somehow, making ends meet – you have to be generally resourceful, develop keen communication / negotiating and research skills and you have be willing to toot your own horn (without being annoying) – but as you learn and start becoming a problem solver – if you love your work and are good at it, it will show! – making someone’s life easier, they will tell their friends and associates – The rest is yours to discover and grow by.