Location Manager, ALM, and Scout
(Teamsters Local 728)
“I love a challenging adventure. I love being the LM that takes a company into new areas, and the more foreign or off the grid the better.”
I spent my childhood between the beaches of Florida and the city of Washington, DC before serving in the US Army out of high school. It was during my time at Ft. Stewart, GA that I started writing stories and falling in love with Savannah. After the military I attended SCAD, started a family, hustled small commercial video productions, and helped produce local creative projects until the recession hit in 2007. I’ve lived in six states and relocated more than eight times to work, learn, and grow in this business.
Life keeps bringing me back to Savannah and I’ve spent, all together, around a decade here now. I’m very fortunate to be able to make a living here as a location manager for feature films and television shows, introducing producers and directors to our beautiful city, and continuing to learn from some of the top location managers when they come through. Also, enough can’t be said about the wonderful community of crew and officials. I never said this before returning to Savannah, but I really am blessed.
I spend the time in-between projects building my equipment and services company, The Savannah Location Company, developing content as a writer/producer, and working with students in our local schools as a certified special educator.
I’ve received some local recognition as a location manager and various awards for my writing/producing, but I’m most proud of the great relationships I’ve developed over the years, the incredible teams I’ve worked with, and the fact that I can say I’ve been welcomed back to every location I’ve managed.
The most challenging leap so far was taking a full company and a second unit 30 miles up into the mountains of northern Georgia, for a week, in the middle of January, while it’s snowing, to ask the Tennessee Valley Authority [which operates two hydroelectric dams] to release a couple million gallons, so second unit can shoot stunts on some white water rapids. With one weekend of prep. I repeat, nobody signs up for this job thinking it’s convenient.
I look forward to scouting and managing internationally one day.
One of my dirty little secrets is that I’m a bit of an absent-minded professor when it comes to location management.
What that means is:
a) you will find me in my office, walls covered in white boards, with my eyes closed, talking out loud through the pre-visualization going through my head, while drawing what looks like hieroglyphics (coordinators are accustomed to it now!).
b) I can talk fast and will cover every possibility when discussing options. To me, it’s due diligence, but feel free to ask me to put it all in an email.
c) I leave my small items behind constantly. If you invite me into your office/home, I will more than likely leave an item and be back to retrieve it shortly, but feel free to give me a call! I’m always available 24/7.
Also I don’t like photos and candids are the worst. If caught, I will most likely either refuse, or appear in your photo snarling, as if I’m fighting to hold onto my soul. There is a reason I work behind the scenes, way behind the camera.
SELECTED CREDITS