How to be a location scout

By Nick Ray

Find out how to get a gig travelling the world looking for filming spots

What could be more exotic and more glamorous than scouting far-flung locations, trying to find the best places for Brad and Angelina to play out their latest blockbuster? There’s travel, five-star luxury, a healthy pay check and lots of beautiful people!

But with a job description like that, you know it’s going to be a hard industry to crack. You need to prove your expertise in a destination, and master the knack of finding inspirational realities that mirror the director’s vision. You need to be prepared for hard work and odd requests. And you need to be able to beat off the millions of other location-scout hopefuls.

What does it involve?

The job does exactly what it says on the tin. You have to get out there and find locations for filming. Absorb the script, understand the image and find the reality. Often locations sell themselves, but sometimes you’ll sell the spot to the director with a dash of creative optimism. Logistics play their part: you don’t want locations that are too difficult to access or hours away from a comfortable base.

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