Mary Barltrop, location manager (X-Men, Superman Returns and Alien Covenant, Hacksaw Ridge, Balibo) spoke to Michael from Film in Revolt and shares with us insights into working behind the scenes, challenges and reveals her favourite location.
How did you get into location managing?
I come from the UK originally, and actually started out working in theatre in London. At the time (early 90s) there were very few film courses that existed, so I got a work placement at the BBC, and ended up working for BBC TV Drama for about five years. I began as an unpaid runner and then worked my way up the production ladder, learning the ropes and figuring out what area of production I was best suited to…..which turned out to be Location Management.
How important is it for you to have a solid understanding of the different departments when it comes to choosing locations?
Hugely important – you can’t do the job without that understanding, you really can’t. You have to understand how everybody else works from the very top to the very bottom. In my years in the UK, I did scheduling & budgeting courses at Pinewood Studios, then when I moved to Australia I got a couple of producing & production management courses at AFTRS under my belt.
Hands-on experience of working with a number of production designers & directors gave me a full appreciation of the creative pressures of film-making, and the importance of not losing sight of what ends up on screen. Then, of course, you throw a DoP into the mix and it becomes all about the lighting!
Is lighting one of the most difficult parts of finding locations?
It really depends on who you work with, as every DoP is different. Some use minimal or no lighting, whereas others want to light everything up like a Christmas tree. However, I have a great appreciation for the artistry of ‘painting with light’ on screen.
The dynamic between the producer, the director, the DoP and the designer is critical. As an effective location manager, I have to understand their individual inputs in order to meet all their needs.
So, is that part of the struggle of the collaboration process between yourself, the director and the different heads of departments?
Very much so; it’s all about trying to get that magic balance between the creative, the budget and the schedule. I feel with locations that we have to have one foot in the creative camp and the other in the practical camp, and be mindful of both sides. Ultimately, we don’t want what happens on screen to suffer, because otherwise no one looks good.
When finding locations, what are some of the least obvious things you look out for to make sure the site is best for filming?
It sounds very dull, but parking. Parking is such a seemingly boring factor, but crew & gear & vehicles all need to access the location as easily as possible. Your crew could be anywhere from 30 people, right up to 400 or even 1000+ on big days. Technical vehicles (perhaps 15 or 50 trucks, depending on the production) need to be able to park as close to the location as possible.
That said, there are some notable examples of locations that are not accessible by wheels. Much of the climactic cliff-hanging sequence in the most recent Mission Impossible film (Mission Impossible: Fallout) was shot at an extraordinary location in Norway called Preikestolen. This location is only accessible via a 2-3 hour hike over tough mountain terrain….or by helicopter. So they choppered everything in for the shoot. That’s a helluva logistical achievement, and one that can only be done with a decent budget.
It turned out pretty great when I watched it!
It did! I think that’s down to a lot of the location work being ‘real’, rather than green screen and visual effects.
Does the VFX side of the industry impede at all on location scouting or does it work together?
VFX plays a huge role within every big budget movie we work on now. VFX can vastly enhance locations, meaning I can offer up a greater range of locations for filming, knowing that VFX can work their magic in post-production.
Equally there is a lot of work I have to do for visual effects to allow them to get the shots they need, so it’s another collaboration that has become a major part of our work.
You have worked on so many films such as X-Men, Superman Returns and Alien Covenant. Do you have a favourite location that you have used?
There are quite a few, but I would have to say Cockatoo Island in Sydney is a great location. It offers a huge amount of textural and industrial heritage which is quite unique, and is enormously photogenic. It can also be adapted visually for all sorts of cinematic requirements. The boat access adds a level of logistical complexity but it’s very do-able.
For some reason, I am always drawn to gritty, derelict old industrial sites, and there are precious few around because they get redeveloped so quickly.
That’s happening in Sydney a lot at the moment, most of the urbex photography sites are being redeveloped
Exactly – it’s really hard to get into one of those disused locations for filming before the developers get there. I adore old rail-yards, old factories, derelict buildings: you can almost feel the ghosts there.
Does collaboration with other location managers help you find some of these hidden areas?
For sure. I’m a great believer in working together with other location managers. On bigger projects there might be five or six of us working together so we know each other well. We get together regularly for a few beers and a gossip.
I’m also a member of the Location Managers Guild International, which underlines my ethos that it’s all about collaboration in this industry. ‘Alien: Covenant’ was a good example of interstate and international collaboration. Having scouted and researched every extraordinary, other-worldly location across Australia, we came to the conclusion that the ultimate ideal location for the film was across the Tasman, at Milford Sound in New Zealand. So I worked closely with the Kiwis to hand over the reins and ensure a seamless transition. I’m a great champion for filming in Australia, but equally open to scouting locations and filming overseas…..as per my most recent project, a new Netflix film called ‘Dhaka’, which we shot in India and Thailand.
What is the most challenging part of your job?
The most challenging part of my job is managing people’s expectations, and I mean that on all levels. On the production side, managing the producer’s expectations on what locations you can get for a particular budget. On the creative side, managing the director’s and designer’s expectations about what they are able to do creatively within certain locations. (A lot of the time when we get a location they come with a whole raft of restrictions over what we can and cannot do.)
Then there’s managing the expectations of the public: for instance if we’re filming on a major road or a bridge or residential area, it’s all about managing the expectations of the public with regards to what we are doing, and making sure they’re looked after. Often you have to tread carefully in certain locations because they may have been burnt by a film crew before and you need to regain their trust.
Do you have a favourite film you’ve worked on?
Yes! It’s a tiny film called Balibo, directed by the wonderful Australian director Robert Connolly. He’s a lovely man, and a very creative collaborator; the film was made on a shoestring budget, so we had to be very clever about how and where it was shot.
Balibo tells the true story of several Australian journalists who get caught up in the troubles in East Timor. Some of the film was shot in the real location in East Timor, but – for various reasons – the crew were very restricted in what they could shoot there. That meant we shot the majority of the film in & around Darwin, to match Timor during the mid-seventies. I had to find lots of cheap locations in Darwin, which was challenging but fantastic. It was a short-term project but it had a lot of heart, and punched well above its weight.
A close runner-up for ‘my favourite film’ would be Dhaka – a new Netflix film starring Chris Hemsworth that is yet to be released. We scouted the length & breadth of India and Thailand, and had to shut down a bridge in Thailand for four weeks. Shooting an action film in India is not easy, as you can imagine. In terms of the operation and practicalities of the shoot it was extremely challenging. Most of the crew fell sick at one point or another, and we had five cases of dengue fever. I broke my ankle during the shoot, and there were a couple of other broken limbs amongst the crew. However, despite all that, there was a fabulous company spirit amongst the crew, and we faced all those challenges as a very united team.
What film made an impact on you in your youth?
It was actually three Australian films, even though I had never been to Australia at that point. Gallipoli, Picnic at Hanging Rock and Walkabout. I absolutely love those films. That was a particular era when Australia was really breaking the boundaries of filmmaking, and I still think it does.
Lastly, what advice would you give to someone just entering into the industry
Get as much hands-on experience as you can and be nice to people on your way up….then they will be nice to you on the way down! Work hard and be nice, because people will invite you back.