People think the hardest part of being a location scout is finding the perfect location, but the tricky thing is actually understanding what “perfect” is. I learned this the hard way on one of my earliest scouting assignments…
The movie is the Taking of Pelham 1-2-3. Tony Scott. Tony wants a rooftop with a view of the elevated trains heading into Manhattan from Queens. I do a ton of research. Figure out that Sunnyside is the place to be along the 7 line.
I stake out apartment buildings, duck through open doors, scour rooftops. Finally find one that is FUCKING. PERFECT. Not only does it give a clear view of the train to the north, it also offers a GORGEOUS panoramic view of the tracks converging as they go west into Manhattan.
The cherry on top? Tony is huge on shooting everything telephotoed to the extreme (i.e. super zoomed in). When you do this on the train lines, it condenses them so they no longer look like rumbling like trains, but rather, snake along like slithering worms. It is insane.
I’m so proud. Sure I’ll be the hero of the hour. My location manager takes Tony and the gang on a director scout of the rooftop. We huff up the five flights of strairs. Sure enough, he loves it. It’s going in the movie. I’m on top of the world.
Then my boss motions for me to step to the side with him…and for the first time, I realize he doesn’t look too happy. “So Nick,” he says, “where’s the elevator?”
Oh. Shit.
Five flights up. There’s no universe where you can make a 150-person crew truck equipment up five flights of stairs. I had assumed the building had an elevator I hadn’t seen, but nope – one of those older buildings that never bothered. It’s a non-starter.
I’ve now committed the cardinal sin of scouting: shown the director a location he can’t have. And worse – he’s fallen in love with it.
“So what do we do?” I ask. “Simple,” my boss says. “You just have to find a location that Tony loves more.”
It’s a near impossible task, but ultimately, I manage to find just such a rooftop and keep my job.
But lesson learned. The perfect location is about a lot more than just the visuals.
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