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locations |
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hitting
the spot... |
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Finding
the right locations and managing them successfully
is a fine art in the Mekong region. Cambodia,
Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam were for long
periods effectively closed off to the outside
world and have only thrown open their doors
to visitors in the past decade. Many locations
remain unknown and undiscovered by international
film-makers, but are easily the equal of
their celebrated counterparts in the Philippines
and Thailand. Here at Hanuman Films, our
Locations Director Nick Ray has put more
miles in than most around the region and
has a keen eye for marrying the right locations
with the right productions. As well as a
detailed working knowledge of leading locations
such as the temples of Angkor in Cambodia
or the temples of Bagan in Myanmar, the
natural wonders of Halong Bay in Vietnam
or Vang Vieng in Laos, and great Asian cities
from Phnom Penh to Saigon, Nick has also
ventured far into the interior, delving
much deeper into a country to hit the spot. |
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He has
clocked up hundreds of days on the road
in the region, working on three editions
of Lonely Planet’s South-East Asia
on a Shoestring, two editions of Cambodia
and a first edition of Cycling Vietnam,
Laos and Cambodia. In the world of film,
he has notched up more than a dozen major
scouts for film and television and knows
the Mekong region like the back of his hand. |
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scouting |
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| A successful
scout is the key to a successful production
and finding the right locations for the
script can make or break a story. Hanuman
Films has worked on scouts for productions
large and small and is now highly experienced
in absorbing the story before seeking out
a living reality to mirror the director’s
vision. Locations Director Nick Ray has
scouted for several major international
films, including Beyond Borders, Tomb Raider,
Two Brothers and Paanch Kaurav, plus a host
of smaller documentaries and travel shows.
While the latter may have less international
impact, they are no less important when
it comes to finding the right locations,
as where the most adventurous television
productions are shooting today, movies will
follow tomorrow. |
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Armed
with a script summary, we can suggest suitable
locations for a preliminary scout. We set
out a clear schedule for the duration of
the scout, broken down into locations to
be visited and approximate journey times
and road conditions for each day. We also
advise on the most suitable vehicle for
road conditions and book accommodation as
appropriate to the budget. |
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If budget
or time are constrained, either by the size
of the production or the need to scout several
countries in a short space of time, we can
undertake a virtual scout. This involves
us working through our photographic database
with script summary in hand and advising
on a series of suggested locations. We can
take this one step further following favourable
feedback by visiting promising locations
with our digital stills and DV Cams to put
together more footage for the production. |
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After
a first scout or virtual scout, we move
on to develop locations further, building
on the feedback from the Director, AD or
Location Manager. Here we take into account
vision and logistics to source the most
workable locations for a particular production.
Once the production is committed to the
country, we can work our way through a location
with a fine toothcomb, looking to shoot
additional scenes in the vicinity in order
to keep costs within budget. Once the locations
are selected, it is time to move on to management. |
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management |
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The key
to successful location management in the
Mekong region is the establishment of trust
between the authorities responsible for
the location and the film crew borrowing
the location. Building trust is even more
important when it comes to sensitive sites
such as the temples of Angkor, the streets
of Hoi An or the wats of Luang Prabang.
The authorities need to know with confidence
that they can entrust these sacred sites
to a unit who will respect the conditions
laid down for filming. This is why it is
so important to have a location manager
who is committed to the region as well as
to the production, as building trust is
easier for those who understand the culture
and attitudes of the people in the Mekong
region. |
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Our Locations
Team, led by Locations Director Nick Ray,
enjoys an excellent reputation for extreme
sensitivity at important locations in the
region. Following a successful wrap on Tomb
Raider, Apsara Authority, the body responsible
for the management of the temples of Angkor,
held a press conference at the Sofitel Royal
Angkor in which they professed to be extremely
happy with the way the shoot had gone. This
was in large part down to the role of our
locations team, building a bridge between
the film crew and the authorities, ensuring
that each side understood one another and
worked in partnership every step of the
way. |
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Our Locations
Team can take responsibility for all the
locations needs of the unit once shooting
starts, selecting unit bases as close to
the locations as possible, preparing movement
orders and maps to make sure access to the
locations is straightforward, and controlling
crowds and traffic during the shoot. Our
language skills ensure that we can co-ordinate
across departments to facilitate a smooth
shoot and avoid any communication problems
or misunderstandings that might derail the
schedule. |
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Over the
years we have fine-tuned the system to ensure
a shoot that runs as smoothly as one in
Europe or the US. This includes large teams
of humpers for each department, every team
in colour co-ordinated t-shirts with the
name of the department emblazoned across
the chest and back and under the leadership
of an English-speaker. This ensures no department
is left short when it comes to bodies and
that there are no delays in shooting due
to confusion as to which humpers are working
with which departments. We also have a large
team of water distributors on set to keep
the unit hydrated, a critical point in countries
where the temperature regularly reaches
35 degrees. |
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Our Locations
Team is highly professional, first to arrive
at the set and last to leave every day.
Locations is one box your production can
tick as already covered. Hanuman Films has
it covered. |
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location
library |
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We
have a major locations library for
Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, and we
are constantly building upon it. Please
take your time to browse our library
before you contact us, as it will
give you some ideas of the right locations
for your production. |
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