Location manager : Job description

Location managers are responsible for making all the practical arrangements necessary when filming or photographic shoots take place outside the studio. Productions are made in a wide range of places and location managers need to research, identify and organise appropriate sites.

As well as arranging and negotiating site use, the role usually includes managing sites throughout the shooting process. This involves working to strict budgetary and time limits and maintaining a high standard of health and safety and security. The demands of organising crews and dealing with a range of people make this an intense and varied role.

Typical work activities

A location manager's role follows a sequence of activities from the pre-planning to completion stages of a production. Typical activities include:

• assessing scripts or story boards and scheduling them according to location; meet
• ing with the director and designer to discuss projects and work to their creative vision;
• collating ideas and undertaking research using resources such as the internet, specialist location libraries, local and regional film commissions and agencies;
• visiting and photographing locations appropriate to budget in order to assess suitability;
• making preliminary enquiries regarding access, parking, and location use;
• liaising with the director to discuss and show ideas and photographs;
• collating practical information on potential locations, such as hotels for accommodating the crew and cast and, in the case of photography shoots, often booking the hotel and making travel arrangements;
• liaising with key members of the production team to assess visual and technical specifications;
• researching locations thoroughly to ensure no disruptive noises or events are likely to occur during the shoot;
• negotiating access and drawing up a contract with location owners;
• organising permissions for access, for example with local authorities and the police;
• scheduling crew arrival dates and times and keeping all parties informed on site;
• ensuring the technical specifications for equipment, power sources and crew accommodation on site are met;
• ensuring compliance with health and safety and security requirements and undertaking risk assessments;
• distributing maps, directions, parking plans and all relevant support information to all services and crew;
• arranging schedules for the day with the assistant director to ensure continuity;
• managing the location on the day and resolving practical or people-related problems as they arise;
• supervising location support staff throughout the process;
• dealing with members of the public who may intrude upon a shooting location;
• ensuring the final clearing up ('the wrap') runs smoothly and thanking site owners.

There is an excellent article What Do Location Managers Do All Day?  written by a location manager that provides an overview of their typical work activities.