LOCATION SCOUTING
A Conversation with Michael Woodruff, Atlanta Location Manager for Eye Productions, Inc. By Tr ac ey M. Hawk i ns
WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE PROJECT/CLIENT SO FAR, AND WHY? I have really enjoyed being the location manager for two seasons of the Netflix show Insatiable . The actors and crew are a big family and get along really well. As a location manager, I deal with every department and get to know all of the department heads. My office is always open, and I have many “pop ins” throughout the day. It makes my job fun dealing with a wide variety of people from very diverse backgrounds. You have to learn to get along with everyone, be patient, and really hear them. The location department is a support department. We are here to help everyone. DO YOU HAVE ANY FUNNY STORIES OR ANECDOTES FROM YOUR LOCATION SCOUTING EXPERIENCES? Many times, we spend days and weeks finding a location only to have script changes that remove the location we have spent many man-hours finding. You have to learn to let it go. Changes are made for diverse reasons and we are hired to find those options. I don’t get frustrated when a “gem” of a location has been removed from the script. I usually find it humorous that we have spent money and man-power for it just to get written out. I warn the homeowners and business owners that it could all change last minute. It can be a major shock to the property owner if they are not warned properly about our footprint. Our department is responsible for protecting the location. We want to be able to return to the location again and keep everyone happy. We want it to be a positive experience. Location Scouting is a very solitary job. It’s part private investigator, part translator, and part sales. We have to find the sites, communicate what filming entails, and sell the owners on why they should allow us to film. Confidence and clear communication are key to getting access to properties. Productions pay to use properties because it is an inconvenience, but it can also be fun, exciting, and financially rewarding.
TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOUR BACKGROUND AND HISTORY. After graduating from UGA, I moved to NYC to work in the music industry; two of my friends from college were also there and actively worked in film production. Although film production interested me, music was my focus. I helped “produce” a few, low- budget, short films, and music videos. I left NYC in late 2002 and opened up a recording studio in Marietta. After a year, I had reliable staff running the studio, so I decided to get into commercial real estate. Commercial real estate had me driving all over Georgia, learning about every town. I stuck with that for about 5-6 years but was never really happy. To dip my toes into film, I signed up with the 48 Hour Film Festival, not knowing anyone. It was crazy—everything happening so quickly—truly an exhilarating and exhausting experience. My college friend, Tony Holley (Location Manager for Stranger Things ), had been working in location for a few years. Realizing I needed to change careers, I asked Tony to “show me what you do when you are location scouting”. He was kind enough to take me around for a day. I realized that what I had been doing in the real estate industry was very similar; I had just been scouting for sites for tenants. Tony gave me a list of Location Managers to call. I placed some calls, got two callbacks, and landed my first job as a location scout due to my background in real estate. The first production that I scouted for was the Coma miniseries (2021)”, and I found one of their key locations. HOW DOES THE PROCESS OF LOCATION SCOUTING WORK? Typically, a location scout is given a script, outline, or location list, and sometimes reference photos. We are tasked with finding options for the production designer and director to sort through. Specific architectural styles and requirements of the location might be requested. It really depends on the script and feedback from the production designer and director. The location manager or line producer hires the location scouts; the information flow for the scout process is usually given from the location manager to the scouts. If you are hired before the location manager, the production designer and director usually take the lead on the needed locations. The script will change as pre-production moves forward. New locations can be added, and locations you’ve been searching for may disappear.
Michael Woodruff
Location Scouting is a very solitary job. It’s part private investigator, part translator, and part sales.
Photography by Aiva Genys AGpicture
For further information, and to contact Michael: www.linkedin.com/in/ mmwoodruff.
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