Struggling with a tight budget unable to afford a location scout, but in desperate need of a good exterior location? A great resource to do some desktop scouting is FilmLA’s LocoScout.
Loco Scout website
LocoScout is a great resource for finding public buildings and landmarks that can be used in film production. The best part about the website is that you can narrow your search by specifying certain attributes, such as Office space, elevator, auditorium, pool, parking lot. This customizes search can expedite the time it takes to peruse pictures that might be applicable to your project. Another use for this site is to assist you in the bidding process as you can use photos from the site to help communicate your vision and setting of the scene. I will give you an example.
Let’s say we are looking for an office space with an exterior stairway and a parking lot. And I want to see only locations that have all three of these attributes. I check the boxes, I click the search and… I get a 30 results of municipal buildings and public schools, such as Dorris Place Elementary school.
Dorris Place Elementary School
Not only does the site provide me with a Google map to show me the exact location of the school, but it provides me with several pictures to look at as well. This can be a tremendous time and money saver as you don’t necessarily have to visit the location prior to its consideration.
ProHD Rentals knows that filmmakers have to be resourceful, but that doesn’t mean you can’t use solid resources to ease the administrative/management burden in order to focus more time and energy on the creative responsibility you owe yourself and your audience.
