Winter 2018
Join us in venturing into 2018, building on our accomplishments and learning from disappointments. It is gratifying to see the LMGI provide an international forum for our shared experiences.
In our cover story “Fair Dinkum” on Aussie location manager Duncan Jones (Thor: Ragnarok and Aquaman), Nancy Mills looks at the burgeoning career of one of our newest members. Jones’ background in training dolphins exemplifies location professionals around the world who come from a wide variety of backgrounds. It is the aggregate of a million different life experiences; a combination of grace under pressure, logistics and people skills that yields a seasoned location pro.
As the mighty Aretha Franklin says, it’s all about R.E.S.P.E.C.T. Few things illustrate industry-wide respect, like membership in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). Our personal achievements benefit our craft as a whole, as illustrated in Judy Schultz’s piece “And the Award Goes To…” on joining AMPAS. While it may feel uncomfortable to call attention to your achievements, you are actually doing a great service by raising the level of industry respect for our profession. Consider your own application as a way of “paying it forward” … three members have joined the Academy in four short years … let’s keep the momentum going!
The upcoming 5th Annual LMGI Awards provide the opportunity to put your locations on the red carpet—in doing so, we celebrate the work of location scouts and managers around the world. Your good work reflects positively on all of us, bringing our craft prominently into the Hollywood spotlight. Nomination forms are available at our website: locationmanagers.org. So don’t be shy, and pass the word that anyone can make a submission for an LMGI Award—outstanding locations in features, television and commercials, as well as outstanding film commission.
And speaking of outstanding location managers … In “Climbing Everest,” Jill Naumann raises a glass with our favorite location Sherpa, location manager Michael J. Burmeister, whose knack for telling a story is matched only by the longevity of his amazing career. Business member and Board member Mario Ramirez of Reel
Security is rolling out new software tech solutions for location professionals, which he and D.R. Randall introduce us to in our “Tech Talk” column.
“Career Focus” shines a light on transplanted Brit Jonathan Slator, who has made a home in Taos, New Mexico. From his beginnings in the bucolic Yorkshire countryside on the popular BBC series All Creatures Great and Small, to the New Mexico high desert, Slator brings his unique perspective to such films as Hell or High Water, Lone Survivor, A Million Ways to Die in the West, Transformers and Appaloosa.
In our featured column “In My City,” the Golden State is profiled when commercial scout Jof Hanwright gives us a tour of the northern counties of Sonoma, Mendocino and Marin that he calls his “hometown.”
In addition to AMPAS memberships and the LMGI Awards garnering attention, we also have a member
featured in an international ad campaign, another in a CNN travel story about unusual locations and another invited to be on the jury of an international film festival all featured “In the News.” Clearly, awareness of what we do is on the rise … let’s continue to get our stories out there … please get your news and ideas to us at compass
@locationmanagers.org.
Consider getting more involved. Consider paying it forward. Consider a new year of things that have never been, and enjoy.
Always a pleasure, never too busy,
Ken Haber, Lori Balton and Stevie Nelson