Location Gigs
Depending on who you are, location gigs can either be the greatest thing out there or the bane of your existence. For me, it’s always been a double-edged sword. I love traveling on someone else’s dime and seeing new places, but at the same time, it’s tough to be away from your family. Some thoughts on location shows.
Know What to Bring
As you do more and more location shows, you will begin to realize what you need to make yourself at home, because basically, you are moving somewhere new and setting up a home for a few months. Start to cobble together a kit or list of what you need and eventually it becomes second nature. My kit includes, among other things, black out curtains, an internet streaming device with all my log ins, a few pieces of travel workout equipment, heating pad, a popcorn maker (i’m not an animal after all) and a lot more. Also, if you are going to be somewhere for a long time, make sure the place you are in has a kitchen and laundry in the room. This will make your life so much better, I can’t even explain.
Make friends
One of the cool things about traveling for a job is that there is always an easy opener. When you meet people in the hotel, in a restaurant, wherever, you can mention you are there for a film and its easy to strike up a conversation. As a result, I have met great people on locations and often gotten to know them. On The Wedding Crashers we were in the lovely little town of Easton, MD, and on our first day, a bunch of us invaded the local small ice cream shop. The owner asked us why we were there and we got to talking. He then extended an offer to come to his house for a home cooked meal that weekend, which was an absolute blast, and on the night where our lead actress screened a new movie for the crew and townspeople at the local theater, the owner came up to me, tossed me the keys, and told me he had to head home but we should open up the shop, scoop ice cream for the entire crew and then close it and drop the keys through the mail slot. It was one of the most memorable nights I have ever had (and we ended up pooling our per diem and leaving ice cream money that he fought us over keeping anyway). In New Mexico, I met a native medicine man who invited me back to his house that was largely carved out of a large boulder and I sat while he told me stories of the vision quests (my word) he had taken and growing up as a native in New Mexico. I could go on and on, but being nice and open with people can create experiences you couldn’t imagine.
Use your job
This is going to sound cheap, and it really isn’t, but I will often name drop the job I am on, or that I am there shooting a TV show or feature if I can’t divulge much, simply because it gets people excited. You’ll find that if you are in a hotel and going to be there for a month, and you mention what you are doing and nicely (that's key) ask if they can put you in a larger room or suite, only if it’s not a problem, they will usually bend over backwards for you. I’ve gotten seat upgrades on planes this way, a better class of rental car, you name it. I know it sounds duplicitous but it really isn’t. Sharing this information often excites people and gives them a little story, and if you are nice, and not demanding, they will often reciprocate if they can. As I type this I am on a one-week location in a hotel and by mentioning to the manager that I was there for a week on the show and asking if there was any way to get a slightly larger room without production being affected, he put me in a junior suite. Every night when I come home he asks me how filming was and we talk for a few minutes. So we both win.
Try not to fall in love
I suggest this in two ways and mean both. First off, locations are always amazing and you instantly want to move there (well the interesting ones anyway). Why? Because it’s new, its exciting, everything is paid for, you don't have all your baggage there (literally and figuratively), there’s no garage to clean, and on and on. Basically, you have moved somewhere where everything is taken care of for you and all that stuff in your life that was hanging over your head is suddenly gone. It's heaven and it's completely fake. As a result, you find yourself thinking “Wouldn't this be a great place to live?” when, in fact, if you moved there, you’d bring all your stuff, including your problems, and it wouldn’t be so hot. So, be cautious about falling in love with the location where you are.
On a different level, the saying “What happens on location stays on location” has been thrown around for a long time for a reason. You are away from family, you are constantly surrounded by your co-workers as nights and weekends are often spent with them, you are sometimes staying in a hotel next to others who you sit at the bar with and then say goodnight to. Lots of location romances have occurred over the years and more will continue to sprout up. Its very easy, especially if you are having trouble at home to fall for this, but from what I have seen around me, it rarely works out. So resist, be good, and make the most of your time without making the MOST of your time.
Leave money behind
More often than not, the reason that you are filming somewhere is because there is some sort of tax incentive. Basically the local government gives an incentive for films to be made there because they know it will bring money into the area, create jobs, and boost the economy. If you show up and order everything off of Amazon or get your coffee at Starbucks, it doesn’t really help the way its intended to. Try and shop locally and support locally owned businesses as much as you can. Not only will you be helping to close the incentive loop but you’ll end up getting better service and meeting interesting people.
Enjoy it!
You have been flown somewhere, put up, you are getting per diem to cover expenses, make the most of it! Personally when I am going somewhere I research the hell out of it and find out anything and everything I want to do while I am in town. As a result, I have lists I often share of popular shooting locations for places like Chicago and Atlanta with ideas of what to do. The bottom line for me is that I have been given this gift of a paid trip somewhere, so I am going to see and do as much as I can do. It's funny, because on a Monday I’ll often come into work with stories of what I have done and most people have done nothing. By the second or third week, I often have an entourage and it's great.
