Talking Locations

Lately I’ve been busy with commercial work, but also have had some interesting opportunities to talk about the craft of location scouting.   I recently was contacted by the Seattle Architecture Foundation, which is hosting a series of panels about the cultural influences of architecture here in the Northwest.  They were interested in discussing various locations that have been used in recent movies and commercials,  and how architecture plays a part in how we portray the region.  I’ll be speaking as part of their panel series next Spring.

I also was invited to speak at the Emerald City Rotary‘s regular meeting, held downtown at the swanky Washington Athletic Club.  I felt a little out of place wearing a coat and tie, but had a great time meeting with them.   They were very interested in what sort of work goes into location scouting, as well as the current status of our state’s film incentives.  They also embarrassed me a bit by singing the old Buck Owens song “Act Naturally” before I spoke, perhaps hoping I’d be able to put them in the movies.

Most recently I attended the Seattle premiere of Lynn Shelton’s “Laggies.”  During the Q&A session after the film, there were several questions from the audience about where we filmed in and around Seattle.  Both Lynn and I talked about the process that went into scouting for the film, with the goal of making it as authentic as possible.   It was also very gratifying to see several location owners and representatives there, excited to see their homes or businesses up on screen.