Your guide to filming on location - page 12-13

Pringle, who worked on the production as a
unit manager, explains: “Location manager
Eugene Strange (Cuban Fury, Harry Brown)
and David Taylor (World War Z), who was
the assistant location manager, did most
of the scouting and together they covered
quite some ground to find the locations that
were eventually used in the film. Particularly
looking for the forest location - the final
scene in the film and pivotal to what
happens - was quite difficult to get right.
Working as a unit manager was a bit of an
exception to the rule for Pringle, a location
manager by trade, but when she got the call
from Strange while she was on World War
Z in Glasgow, she didn’t hesitate. “The role
was going to be so specifically challenging
- to say the least - that I thought ‘I’ll have to
do it’. It was going to be a little bit different
from everything that was done before –
especially with the hidden camera work.”
But despite a stint as unit manager on a
successful film which was hailed by the
critics, Pringle stays with the locations-
side of her job. “That’s the thing about
being a location manager – you are the one
person on the crew who works with every
department and every service provider, so
you know what is happening on everyone’s
schedule.
“You don’t just know what’s happening with
the shooting crew but location managers
also work closely with the VFX department
for example, who, in the case of World War
Z, had to scan every building on George
Square. As location managers we needed
to make sure that these guys could do their
work without being in shot and the same
goes for the external service providers.”
As Pringle explains, pretty much everything
needed on a big production can be found
in Scotland which will save shipping things
over or paying for other transport costs, but
she doesn’t deny that on some shoots the
Scottish landscape can be a challenge.
“I have shot in fairly remote locations in
Scotland. If you look at Under the Skin – it
didn’t have a huge budget and we were
really off the beaten track during some
shooting days, so a lot depends on the
attitude of the crew.
“You need to make sure the prep has all
been done, that everyone is safe and knows
what they can expect. We are very lucky in
Scotland that we have a lot of experience
with low budget indie productions and
Scottish crew have a real attitude where
they work hard in tough conditions and work
as a team.”
What helps as well is that locations
equipment is becoming very accessible due
to technological advances, or as Pringle
says: “locations equipment has come on
in leaps and bounds. People are actually
developing equipment to accommodate
filming. When we were shooting in the
forest for Under the Skin we couldn’t run
cables into a snow bound forest as people
would fall over them, which is dangerous.
So we had these amazing battery-powered
LED lights which work for 12 hours. These
you can re-use after charging and carry
singlehandedly into the forest at 5am in the
morning before everyone arrives.”
It’s the small but important changes like this
where the industry itself is developing in a
way that makes Scotland’s remote locations
more accessible. “Gone are the days that
you have to run a very noisy generator in the
middle of nowhere to light a forest.”
“Scottish crew have a real attitude where they
work hard in tough conditions and work well
as a team”
Remote locations in Scotland
bring both opportunities as well
as challenges to the crew. Modern
technology does make working
in these locations a lot more
accessible. Photo: Under the Skin
production team, courtesy of
Eugene Strange
Recent
Productions in
Scotland
Television
• Outlander
• Waterloo Road
• Shetland
Film
• Starred Up
• Sunshine on Leith
• Filth
• Under the Skin
• World War Z
The Knowledge
e-guide
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