Assistant Location Manager

Assistant Location Managers have an especially important role to play in the production of movies. It’s your job to work with Location Managers —who are in charge of finding the places that on-location films are shot—in order to manage film sets that exist outside the confines of a traditional Hollywood studio. This job can take you to remote tropical island, a busy city block, a small town street corner, or a suburban strip mall.

For example, “The Dark Knight” (2008) was filmed in Chicago, “The Hangover” (2009) was filmed in Las Vegas, and “Sex and the City 2” (2010) was filmed in Morocco. As Assistant Location Manager on these films, you would have helped the Location Manager scout sites for scenes, and assisted them with the logistical work of turning spaces into film sets.

Common duties of Assistant Location Managers include distributing detailed directions—called “movement orders”—to cast and crew so they can easily find and access the location, researching potential locations, and vetting them through photos and visits. You also communicate with location owners, determine locations’ traffic control and parking requirements, and protecting locations from damage during filming.

In real estate and in business, they like to repeat the mantra, “Location, location, location.” What’s true for average-Joe homebuyers and Mom-and-Pop retailers, however, is also true for Hollywood Filmmakers: The right location can easily make or break you.