Film Locations Glossary
Location scouting
What is location scouting?
Also called scouting, or location search.
Location scouting is the search for places that satisfy the script, the schedule, the budget, and the practical needs of a unit.
It runs from broad recces through photographic packages to the technical scout that commits the department heads. Scouting is judged on what it rejects as much as what it finds, because the cost of a location that cannot take the trucks surfaces later and larger.
Example
Twelve candidates for one scene get walked; four are photographed properly and two go into a package. The eight rejections are the value: one had no turning space, one had a flight path overhead, and one had a hostile neighbor.
Figures are illustrative, chosen to show the mechanics rather than to quote market rates.
Where you'll see it
Runs from broad recces through photographic packages to the technical scout that commits departments.
Common mistake
Judging scouting by what it finds. The rejections are the value: the site with no turning space and the one under a flight path cost nothing to walk away from at scout stage.
Related questions
- What does location scouting involve?
- Searching against the script, schedule, and budget, then documenting candidates in packages, and finally committing the departments at a technical scout.
- What makes a location unworkable?
- No access for the largest vehicle, no parking, no base camp within reach, hostile neighbors, aircraft or traffic noise, or a permit that cannot be obtained in time.