24th November 2021
Story of a Location Manager
I began by taking photographs at sports events. At the end of each day I’d go to Fleet Street where, after processing the film in the newspaper’s darkroom, I’d present the contact strips to the picture editor. Finally, one day The Times called and asked if I’d cover the athletics at Crystal Palace. I photographed Alan Wells on the finish line of the 100 meters, Steve Ovett in the 1500 meters and Steve Cram looking rather dejected following a disappointing finish. It’s the early 1980’s and my career is up and running.
Sports events were irregular and mainly took place at weekends, so I found freelance work as a location assistant at Eureka, a small film location company based on the first floor of a building in the heart of Soho, at the junction of Berwick Street and Broadwick Street. Below us was a corner shop and on the floor above was an exotic Soho lady who specialized in entertaining the fantasies of City Gentlemen. Soho has changed dramatically since those days!
I worked as a location scout on George Orwell’s 1984 and then as assistant location manager on the film Shadey, about a character, played by Anthony Sheer, who wanted to make money for a sex change operation. It’s not a film that’s made it onto the list of 1000 films to see before you die.
Then came Commercials and this is where I found my niche as a location manager. I worked with amazing production companies, who in addition to fantastic work, provided a wonderful social life and a stream of invitations to awards ceremonies and industry parties.
At this point in my career, I was young, energetic and never at home. We’d be lighting beacons across the country for British Gas commercials, or chasing hundreds of dogs across the Yorkshire countryside for dog food commercials. For car commercials, we’d be snatching cars from car transporters as they travelled down dual carriageways in Devon or through tunnels in North Wales. We’d be blowing up quarries in Betws Y Coed or be returning to port in fishing boats having been beaten back by the Scottish weather. We’d build giant sandcastles on the beach at Studland Bay and take giant hedgehogs out onto the roads of Oxfordshire. We’d be filming trains at Kyle of Lochalsh, farmhouses in Dentdale and helicopters over Beachy Head. On reflection it sounds like a grand adventure, but at the time it was hard work.
A classic 80’s Commercial –
The privatisation of British Gas https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBs8j3Qbo2o
When my own family were young, I worked on fewer commercials and started producing and location managing for landscape and car photographers. It was a wonderful time. Whether we were shooting cars or clothes, we always seemed to find an excuse to return to the Dolomites. It’s a stunning landscape in both Summer and Winter. Scotland also seemed to draw us back time and again, whether it was the country roads, the fishing ports or the bridges, the landscapes of Scotland are some of the most beautiful in the world. On trips to South Africa, we swam from dams that held back the waters of mountain reservoirs, we went fly fishing in copper coloured lakes and basked in the spectacular coastal landscapes of the Garden Route. We chased light and shade in California, we were shadowed by government minders in Egypt and enjoyed the sunshine and showers of Vietnam and Paraguay. We filmed in Turkish Police Stations and on Icelandic ice flows. I have much to be grateful for, although, of course, at the time it just seemed like work.
Evening skies and straight roads in California
Times change and with the arrival of the internet and google maps, the location manger’s life has changed dramatically. I can no longer call myself a location manager, but my wonderful experiences on the sets of hundreds of film and photography shoots have helped me to understand the requirements of most shoots and with this knowledge we have built up the Amazing Space and Location Partnership location libraries which we hope will provide the perfect locations for your next shoot.
Rough seas near Cape Town Time off at The Pyramids
Phil Haselden