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FOCUS: Locate Productions

29 May 2020


As news begins to trickle in of the industry preparing to open up to a different working world, we were pleased to hear our friends at Locate Productions are busy prepping for jobs in June.  Following the post-pandemic production guidance, Locate are well positioned to provide safe production services for all your needs.   We caught up with Angus Light to find out more about their services as well as their stance on sustainability in the industry.

AngusLight

Angus Light - Producer @ Locate Producer


Can you tell us more about what services Locate Productions provides for professional photographers?

For both photographers and moving image clients, we have two ways in which we can help; location solutions and/or full production services. Often, a brief starts with the need for the location (and sometimes that’s all our clients require) but frequently develop into the wider production needs of casting, styling, transport, crew, equipment and more.

We started out in the late 90’s and are now a team of 15 location scouts and producers, based in London, Brighton & the South West. During this time we’ve worked in all corners of the UK and more than 40 countries; from global campaigns on the busy streets of London, to shooting simple backplates on frozen rivers in Scandinavia or deserted islands off the coast of Brazil. Safe and smooth production management is at the core of how we produce shoots, with no project too big or too small.

 

China DarioMitidieri

© Dario Mitidieri

 

What can you offer over other production companies?

We have an ever-growing library of over 10,000 locations both in the UK and abroad. This complements our wealth of production knowledge gained from over 20 years of ‘on-set’ experience shooting around the world, across both stills and moving image. Ultimately, our skills come from working as a team, sharing ideas and collectively finding solutions.

 

Grass NadegeMeriau

© Nadege Meriau

 

Having been a speaker at our recent sustainability event can you talk about the actions Locate Productions have taken to be more sustainable and what advice can you offer to others to make a difference? 

Sustainability as a whole can feel quite challenging and unwieldly so here at Locate we’ve broken things down into smaller, more manageable situations, which are based on three key strands within our working environment. When presented in small bite-size portions hopefully people will feel the solutions are more achievable, aligned with a general shift in the mindset on how to move forward.

On shoots & in production;

  • We use bicycle couriers & carbon negative taxi companies.
  • We recycle our waste and have our own water bottles and keep-cups and have started trialing Voltstack batteries as replacements for portable generators.
  • We promote vegetarian, seasonal & locally sourced menus to our clients.
  • We use public transport wherever possible including train travel rather than car or plane where possible (if safe, given the present situation).
  • We have a network of international production partners to service shoots locally which can reduce the need to travel. 

Behind the scenes

  • We use Good Energy as our as our office energy supplier and our website hosting company, Erjjio, runs off renewable energy.
  • Our staff and crew have completed carbon literacy training through the BAFTA/Albert initiative and we use Albert's carbon calculator to work out how much carbon we produce on our shoots and then explore ways we can reduce or offset this.
  • We add an optional '1% For the Planet' to our invoices which, at present, goes directly to a scheme in Romania called Forests Without Frontiers, reforesting the Carpathian mountains.

Wider Culture of Sustainability

  • We are members of organisations who promote a sustainable film, TV and photographic industry; Albert, AdGreen, Purpose Disruptors.
  • We support smaller organisations who need content to spread their message.
  • We attend events and contribute to the ongoing discussions on how to achieve a low-carbon economy and what that looks like for our industry.


Rooftop Trigger

© Trigger


What is the most obscure location you have shot in?

Possibly Western China where we searched for a remote mountain range, which involved the final leg of the trip on a donkey. But obscure can also be closer to home; once we needed to find a location with a very specific grass length of about 12cm for a fruit drink campaign, but also things like a cityscape helipad for a car shoot and a zumba class in Manchester for This Girl Can.

 

ZumbaClass AdamHinton

© Adam Hinton

 

What’s next for you?


In the immediate future; starting to shoot safely again. We’ve started working again on projects and are devising ways of delivering the content required by our clients, in a safe manner, following the Covid 19 industry guidelines. Longer term; to continue delivering the high quality of production on new and interesting projects, whilst working towards a zero carbon industry.

 

LOC17 logo copy

 

 

Visit Locate Productions profile here 


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