Location, Logistics & Scouting

There are very few places where we haven’t been – and we pay attention! And we know that attention to detail is all about good location scouting and management. We have expert local knowledge, including insight into local infrastructure challenges, licensing requirements and cultural obstacles that could impact on your shooting budget and schedule. In other words, we don’t leave anything to chance. Following close consultation with our clients, and once locations are selected, we arrange all clearances and permissions for you to film, including privately-owned locations and facilities.

In the pre-production stage of filmmaking and commercial photography location logistics is a vital process. The search for a suitable place or “location” outside of the studio begins once scriptwriters, producers or directors have decided what general kind of scenery they require for the various parts of their work that is shot outside of the studio. Location scouts also look for generally spectacular or interesting locations beforehand, to have a database of locations in case of requests.

WHY US?

Our “mother company” The Catwalk Holidays specialises in worldwide holidays to conventional as well as unconventional locations and places. Our local teams have an extensive knowledge of the stories and backdrops that make them great places to shoot. We are proud of the knowledge that we have acquired over the last 8 years to offer – and how best logistically to shoot there and to stay in budget. You can use our expertise for both amateur and professional naturalists, and on documentaries & Fiction films shown by National Geographic, the British and Canadian Broadcasting Systems, and the Discovery Channel etc.

As your location scouts, we are able to negotiate legal access to filming locations. The suitability of a location to the task at hand takes into consideration many factors, including overall aesthetics, financial cost to production, logistics feasibility including but not limited to distance from base of operations or other locations scheduled, availability of parking and facilities to keep crew and talent, safe at all times, availability of electrical power or feasibility of bringing in generators for lights and electrical equipment, available light (indoors or outdoors) and weather conditions (outdoors) and most importantly, permission from and cooperation of location owner and neighbours, local government and law enforcement

• • If you've ever dreamed of filming the wilderness of the Amazon, walking in pristine rainforest, or experiencing the cultures of the high Andes Mountains and investigating the ruins of the Inca, then IFS is the right choice for you.
• • If you have even thought about the landscape that is relatively inaccessible by road and ruled by temperamental changes in weather, nailing down the logistics for your project is imperative. In the territory, one logistical mistake can throw a major wrench in production efforts, boasting an impressive fleet of helicopters and fixed wing support, IFS is equipped with the gear and know-how to provide logistical support to your production.
• • An Indian Film Maker or Production House looking to capture in camera for the youngest territory in the Arctic Region settled over four thousand years ago with one of the largest unspoiled natural paradises on the planet, IFS could be the first choice.
• • If you wish to have from a conventional destination to some unconventional location to fix in your celluloid, IFS will be the right search for you.
• • In India there are unlimited unconventional location’s treasure lying in North Eastern States of India (Assam / Arunachal Pradesh / Meghalaya / Manipur / Mizoram / Nagaland and Tripura), Andaman & Nicobar Island, West Bengal, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh where we are the best logistic people to take you. With us you can explore those locations spot which have never been captured in celluloid. Our team is renowned for pioneering more new terrain than anyone in India, and for staking out locations that is so remote without our knowledge many of these locations would be impossible to find. Let us help you in your discovery of India’s awe-inspiring beauty.
• With our considerable experience of the film industry, ground operations and destination management, IFS is in a unique position to assist with filming projects in our different destinations. We have a team of fixers, production managers, coordinators and location mangers as well as local crews. Whether you need a fixer at short notice for a stills shoot or months of casting a pre-production for a feature film or documentaries, we have on the ground the production and media services to make it happen. Asad Siddiqui, Sridhar Rao, Sandeep Lall and Himadri Protim spent more than a decade working in location scouting prior to setting up IFS.

WHAT WE DO:

• • Overall aesthetic.
• • Financial cost to production.
• • Logistic feasibility including but not limited to distance from base of operations or other locations scheduled.
• • Availability of parking and facilities to keep crew and talent (principal actors or models and extras) safe and dry at all times.
• • Availability of electrical power or feasibility of bringing in generators for lights and electrical equipment.
• • Available light (indoors or outdoors) and weather conditions (outdoors).
• • Permission from and cooperation of location owner and neighbours, local government and law enforcement.

WORK PROCESS:

Once we are handed over the responsibility we are on the job. Typically ideas for what a filming location should or could be are discussed between production department and locations department (it could be at this point that the locations department is actually created), then research is begun to actually find and document that location using location scout(s).

The location scouts and other Locations Department staff, working under the supervision of the Location Manager, generally strive to provide as many potentially useful/viable ideas and/or options as possible for review by production; often the Assistant Director, Production Manager and subsequently, the Director or even the Executive Producer in the case of narrative filmmaking.

Once a "short list” or consensus indicating the locations with most potential is reached, arrangements are normally made for some of the heads of the other Production Departments to tour those location(s) in person as needed to further confirm suitability of the location(s) in question. This tour is commonly referred to as a "tech scout", "recce" or "go-see".

During this time the Locations Department gives certificate of "clearing the location", i.e., investigating and confirming availability and agreed upon fees to be paid to a location property owner or agent, obtaining a certificate of insurance, obtaining any needed film permits, distributing "resident letters" or "filming notifications"- written advice to neighbours in the area, advising same of intent to film in the immediate area -in general "locking down" or making sure that all details and existing or potential issues are addressed. Our Locations Department will anticipate and minimize any potential problems associated with a location. In short our Location Department and Production Department work closely with each other to make it happen the project “success and satisfied.”

We solve location problems with a challenge through our keen communication skills, focus, ability to "think on one's feet" or "multitasking", take action(s) quickly and responsibly as well as make use of technical skills. Familiarity and ability to make use of local resources and a network of capable support are our obvious assets.

BOOKING A SITE:

Only after all the steps above, if a location is still viable and available, it is "confirmed" or "booked". Usually a legally binding location contract is drawn up and signed by all parties involved and a property release is obtained, which is written, signed permission from the property owner or agent allowing photography of and public depiction via media (i.e. broadcast, video, film, print publication). Once a location reaches the "booked" stage, the filming commence as planned.

FACTORS OF WEATHER CONDITIONS:

Local weather conditions can figure heavily into a location's viability and affect many areas of production scheduling. Our past experience has equipped us to combat with those contingencies. We always keep back up, budgetary-efficient plans well in advance of any shoot day with a possibility to be affected by weather. We aim, in addition to the obvious goal of attaining the correct aesthetic for the shot in acceptable and safe working conditions also geared toward providing greater flexibility of crew scheduling, equipment, vehicle, etc. rentals and other production aspects and minimize inconvenience to the owner and in the event of cancellation or postponement by production due to weather, eliminate or minimize cancellation fees as may be part of an agreement between production and the location.

ADDITIONAL DUTIES:

We extend our duties beyond pre-production and into actual production as well as after filming at the location has completed. We wrap up general point of internal contact for matters related ensuring smooth crew movement to and from the location, answering locations-related questions/ solving misc problems as may arise, coordinating crowd control and as an external point of contact with the property owner, neighbours, local film office/government and law enforcement. We are always the last crew to leave a location and the credo is to leave the location in the same condition th an it was found.

OUR LOGISTIC CREW TITLE:

Our Locations Department have the following titled positions staffed in regard, many of the positions always "wear several hats":

• • Team Head
• • Location Manager
• • Assistant Location Manager
• • Location Scout
• • Location Researcher/Coordinator
• • Location Assistant
• • Location Production Assistant
• • Parking Coordinator
• • Parking Staff
• • Waste Removal