Location Scouting: San Francisco

Luma Creative provides location scouting in the San Francisco Bay area. Our team of creatives and producers knows how to select the best locations to make your video shine! What is a location scout you might ask? Good question. A location scout could be a range of things but most likely it is one of two. A. Visiting a host of locations with the director and a DP to try and select the best ones. or B. Where a larger portion of our crew(typically the director, DP, producer, gaffer, and art director) visit the final chosen locations to discuss the schedule, lighting, props, blocking as well as camera angles and any other final details. Doing this ahead of time significantly saves time on the shoot day and allows for a smoothly orchestrated video production shoot.

We’ve got a few tips for successful video production location scouts.

1. Know your script. Even if it isn’t knowing the full thing word for word, at least having a concrete understanding of the scenes can help you know how much time each scene will take.
2. Look at the light. Your DP and gaffer will help you determine which shots should be shot when to maximize the sun’s quality.
3. Look at power availability. Will you be shooting with any big lighting units? Be sure your location has enough power or discuss what it would take to bring in an additional generator truck!
4. Listen. Will you be shooting any dialogue scenes. Being sure your location will work to capture audio is often paramount to the location itself.
5. Decide where to set up. Ensuring your crew and cast have adequate room to set up will make your day run smoothly!
6. Take Notes & Photos. Being able to look back on your notes and photos will help you make any last-minute tweaks and help let team members where to set up and what will be in the shooting area.

Luma Creative always ensures that our locations are scouted before any video production. The last thing we want for our film and video productions is to have something we could have avoided, get in the way of a successful shoot! Our team of professionals has a creative vision that allows us to select the best locations before even setting up the first shot! Looking for more info? Check out our blog article on how to pick a location for video production!