Where do we plug the lights in?
The director and producer recced a converted mill for a brand film three weeks ago. The producer took sixty photos on her phone, including the fuse board and the loading door. The building manager's number is in her call log. The permission email, which says filming can happen between 8am and 6pm and that the fire exit on the east side must stay clear, is in her inbox under a subject line about something else.
On the shoot day the producer is on another job. The gaffer arrives and asks where the three-phase power is. The first assistant director asks about the fire exit. The runner asks where to park the van. Everyone rings the producer, who is in a meeting. A year later, a different client wants to shoot at the same mill, and the company starts the recce again from nothing.
Why location knowledge evaporates
- Recce photos stay on the phone of whoever took them.
- Permissions, filming hours and conditions arrive by email, attached to whatever thread was open.
- Practical details like power, parking, loading and toilets are remembered, not written.
- Contacts change and are not updated.
- Nothing links a location to the shoots done there before.
Council filming permissions, private landlord agreements and any conditions they carry are between your company and the location, and your producers decide what is needed. The build only keeps what was agreed with the location, for everyone who needs it.
What that costs on the day
The first hours of a shoot day go on questions that were answered at the recce. Heads of department plan on guesswork: the gaffer brings the wrong distro because nobody wrote down the power supply, the sound recordist is surprised by the air conditioning noise that the producer noticed and forgot to mention. Conditions in the permission, such as keeping a fire exit clear or finishing by a set time, are missed because the crew never saw them. And repeat locations are recced twice.
How we build the location record
- Each location gets one record with address, map pin and what3words if you use it, and a list of named spaces within it, such as the main floor, green room and loading bay.
- Recce photos and videos are uploaded from a phone straight into the record, tagged by space and topic: power, access, light, noise, parking, toilets.
- A short recce form captures what heads of department always ask: power available, ceiling height, natural light direction, noise sources, loading access, parking, catering space, nearest hospital.
- Permissions and agreements are attached as documents with dates and key conditions written out in plain text, such as filming hours or areas out of bounds.
- Contacts are listed with roles: building manager, security, out-of-hours number.
- When a shoot is booked at the location, its details flow into the call sheet, and the permission's conditions are shown to the producer as a checklist.
- Every shoot at the location is listed on the record, with notes added afterwards about what went well or what to watch next time.
| Recce topic | Who needs it | Where it ends up |
|---|---|---|
| Power and distro | Gaffer | Location record and tech notes |
| Noise sources | Sound recordist | Location record |
| Parking and loading | Everyone, especially drivers | Call sheet |
| Permission conditions | Producer and first AD | Checklist on the shoot |
| Contacts on site | Producer and first AD | Call sheet |
The shoot day, with answers in hand
The call sheet already says where to park and which door to load through. The gaffer opened the location record the day before and saw the fuse board photo and a note about three-phase power in the basement. The first AD has the permission conditions on her checklist, including the east fire exit and the 6pm finish. Nobody rings the producer.
A year later, the new client wants the same mill. The producer opens the location record, sees the previous shoot's notes, including one saying the upper floor gets hot by midday in summer, and books a shorter recce just to check what has changed.
Is this what happens to your locations?
- Recce photos live on one person's phone.
- Permission conditions are in an email thread.
- Crew ring the producer on shoot days for basic location details.
- Repeat locations are recced from scratch.
- Location contacts are out of date when you next need them.