Supervising Location Manager - Adam Richards

Stepping Off Set With Supervising Location Manager, Adam Richards

🎬 How did you break into the film industry?

I first trained to be an actor and went to drama school in London at the age of 17. It soon became apparent that acting wasn’t my true calling but from the contacts made there I landed a job on a film called “The Young Sherlock Holmes” this was in 1985, I was 19. I was basically hired along with a handful of others as a continuity extra meaning that I travelled with the film around the country to the various locations and our small group were placed in the front of shots amongst bigger crowds to make it appear that all the scenes were filmed in the same location. Whilst on the film I started to notice more what was going on behind the camera and this was the start of my career in this industry. Although I had no idea at this point which avenue I wanted to pursue.

🎬 Did you always know you wanted to be a Supervising Location Manager, or was there another department that interested you initially?

The Location department wasn’t even on my radar at the beginning. I’m not sure I knew that that role existed. After finishing on “The Young Sherlock Holmes” film, I went back to my day job, working front of house at the Lyric Theatre in Hammersmith, and shortly after my return, I had a call from a family friend who was a Location Manager at the BBC. He knew I had just been working on “The Young Sherlock Holmes” and knew I was interested now in pursuing a career behind the cameras. He asked if I wanted to come and help out on a film for the Drama Plays Department, as it was then called. I jumped at the chance of course. My Role was as an AFM (Assistant Floor Manager) the equivalent of a 2nd AD. It was a job I loved, looking after the actors and making sure they were in the right place at the right time. That was in 1986 and the Film was “The Happy Valley”. It was purely going to be a four week contract and then I assumed I would just return to the day job. I ended up having my contract renewed and extended and I stayed at the BBC for the next nine years until 1995. During that time I worked my way up from AFM, to Assistant Location Manager and then left in 1995 as a Location Manager. This is the Role that I thought best fitted my creative and organisational skills. I enjoyed finding the locations and being part of the creative process but also working out the logistics and being the intermediary, liaising between the Location Owners and the Production.

🎬 What advice would you give to Location Marshals and New Crew Members who want to move up in the Location department?

Be willing to help out, pre-empt a situation. If you see something that needs doing or needs attention, do it! Be inquisitive and hungry to learn. Be personable and polite and interested in the job in hand – even if it’s mundane!

🎬 What's a common misconception about the Location Department on a Film?

That it’s the worst job on the unit 😂😂

🎬 What's the most rewarding part of being a Supervising Location Manager?

Being able to work with a core team that I have had the privilege of working with over the years on multiple productions. Discovering New Talent and being able to guide and nurture their career. Having the creative freedom to interpret a brief and to be appreciated for the job that you do – which doesn’t always happen!

🎬 How do you navigate balancing the needs of a shoot with the terms and requirements of location owners?

That’s easy. If there is a mutual respect between the Production and the Location it’s an easy path to tread. But if one or the other then starts to take advantage of a situation then I always err on the side of the underdog. I like to see fair play. In this job you need a degree of diplomacy and tact and to know how to manipulate a situation to obtain the required result. Hopefully, if you’re good at what you do, neither party realises! 😁

🎬 What's the most challenging aspect of being a Supervising Location Manager(SLM)?

The role of an SLM is quite removed from that of an LM. The job becomes more about sitting behind a desk crunching numbers and less about the creative aspect of the job. Both aspects I actually enjoy but it’s hard sometimes to get the balance right.

🎬 What's one piece of advice you wish you had when you started?

Have courage in your convictions.

🎬 If you could work in any Location around the World to film what would it be and why?

Increasingly, it’s not about the Film you are working on or the Location you are working in, it’s about the people you are working with. It’s so important to be surrounded by friends and by nice people you respect and admire.

🎬 Can you share a memorable experience or "pinch me" moment from a past project?

I’ve been around a while so it’s hard to choose just one!!! Almost every day I stop what I’m doing and look around me and think how lucky I am to do the job I do. From filming on Mount Etna for Cyrano to filming the front of the actual No10 Downing Street for Darkest Hour, from standing in the Emerald City on Wicked, to walking on glaciers in Iceland on the latest film I’m working on – which I can’t say too much about for now!

To see more of Adam's career journey whose credits include Wicked, Wonka, The Bureau, Operation Mincemeat, Beauty and the Beast, The Favourite and The Gentleman click here: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0723933/?ref_=fn_all_nme_3

*CallTime Company have made a donation to the UK Film and TV Charity on behalf of Adam Richards to thank Adam for his time, knowledge and insight https://filmtvcharity.org.uk/