What is 'location scouting'?

What is 'location scouting'?

Ben Lyons (Producer) gives expert video advice on: What should I look for when location scouting? and more...

Location scouting takes place during the pre-production phase of a film and it's when you go out there and try to find the places where you're going to go out and shoot the movie. Location scouting is really about approaching businesses in the city where you're shooting the film, or wherever that scene is taking place. Who's responsible for that space? Is it someone's house? Is it someone's restaurant? Is it an office building? Is it a public place? A great location scout is able to go out there and find things that the movie needs creatively, that work with what's on the page. They can actually go out there and make it happen. Anybody can write a scene on top of the Empire State Building, but unless you speak to the city of New York and the people who own the Empire State Building, you're not going to be shooting there and that scene's not going to take place there. Does the scene have to take place at the Empire State Building, or can it take place at another tall building in New York City? That opens you up to millions more possibilities than that specific location. A great location scout is able to do what's best for the movie and what's actually possible in terms of it being made. They're able to have a little bit of flexibility in choosing the locations where the film is shot.