Page 132 - Grasp English B2 (Student Book)

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Art Location Scouting

A. Discuss with a partner.

1. What can you see in the pictures?
2. Where in the world do you think they are?
3. What films do you think they’ve been used in?

Location scouts are hired by producers and directors to
find the perfect locations to make their film. There are
a number of factors that a scout has to consider when
sourcing locations, such as the cost of renting the site,
as well as how much it will cost to transport the cast and
crew to the location. Furthermore, they are responsible
for sorting out any legal paperwork which is required,
particularly if the site is very old or in a protected area,
such as a national park.
Another aspect to consider is the available space,
as film crews often require a significant area for the
cameras to move around, plus additional background
space for lights. To add to all this, there is also the issue
of weather conditions if the site is being used as an
outdoor location – the costs of not being able to film
due to bad weather can be extortionate.
Locations scouts for sci-fi and fantasy films also have
to find locations which represent other planets or time
periods, which adds an extra challenge to their job.
Although an advantage of this type of work is that you
get to travel the world and visit beautiful and exciting
places.
When sourcing locations, scouts will take a series of
photographs from different angles and at different
times of the day, and may also include hand-drawn
sketches to show the dimensions of locations.

factor - something to think about

source - find, organise
crew - the people involved in making a film
extortionate - incredibly expensive
angle - direction a photo is taken from

sketch - picture
dimension - size, such as width, height and length

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