From: hmc6442@ultb.isc.rit.edu (H.M. Chau)
Newsgroups: alt.tv.northern-exp
Subject: News from Roslyn: On location (long)
Date: 8 Nov 92 18:45:22 GMT
Followup-To: AAron@sun.soe.clarkson.edu
Organization: Rochester Institute of Technology
Originator: hmc6442@ultb

This is an article from a small newspaper near Roslyn.
Thought that people might find it interesting, as I did.
This is a long posting...
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N.K.C. (Northern Kittitas County) Tribune
Thurs., October 1, 1991
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        On location with 'Northern Exposure'
            Keeping the site in sight is
             task of location managers

            By M.J. "Squeak" Giaudrone

	If you want a job that keeps you hopping from left to
right--the left side and the right side of Washington state,
that is--you want to be a location manager for Pipeline
Productions and working on the television show _Northern
Exposure_.  If you already have that job, then you are Dan Dusek
and Vicky Berglund-Davenport.

	Their faces are becoming so well-known in the Upper County, it
gets more difficult with each episode to tell them from the
natives.

	Most of the natives, however don't have that easy Texas drawl
that Dan has, nor do they have three telephone numbers on their
business cards as does Vicky.  But most of the natives find them
as easy to talk to as, well, their own next door neighbors.

	Dan, whose parents still live in Denison, Texas, is in his
second season as co-location manager.  When he started with the
show, however, he began in the art department.  A photographer,
and an experienced location manager, he was there when it became
necessary to have two location managers for _Northern
Exposure_--one to be in Roslyn to work on the current episode
being filmed and one to be in Redmond preparing for the next.

	When former location manager, Sean Grayson, left the show last
spring, Vicky interviewed for the position while working around
Mt. Saint Helens on the feature film called _The Vanishing_. 
Her work on that show ended June 25 and she began work on
_Northern Exposure_ the next day.

        Just What Do They Do?

	So, just exactly what is it that Dan and Vicky do?

	According to Dan, scripts are received by a manager about two
days before the director for a particular show arrives.  It is
read, broken down into scenes, and determinations are made as to
whether the scenes will be shot on the sound stage in Redmond or
on location in Roslyn or at some other site.

	Dan or Vicky, depending on who is doing which show, heads out
with a camera and starts photographing possible location sites. 
After years of doing this, they have both developed a knack for
knowing what the scene is going to need or what the writer saw
in his head when he wrote in a scenic background.

	In an episode last season, when series character Dr. Joel
Fleishman was to attend a medical convention in Juneau, Alaska,
Dan photographed the Edgewater Inn in Seattle as a possible site.

	"When I walked in, I could feel it," Dan states.  "I just knew
this was going to be Juneau."

	But, Dan still visited other sites and took other photos.  In
the end, the Edgewater Inn was the selection made by the powers
that be to become the lodge-like hotel used for the convention.

	The same was true for the home of a character new to the show
this season, who lives in a dome because of being allergic to
nearly everything in the environment.  While driving around the
Upper County, Dan saw a dirt road that seemed to beckon him.  He
found a family enjoying the sunshine nearby and questioned them
about what he would find if he drove down that road.  He ended
up getting a guided tour.  His photos of the location (mixed in
with those of other sites) beckoned to everyone else, too, and
the site was written into the show.

	Next comes the "tone" meeting during which Rob Thompson and
creators Joshua Brand and John Falsey meet with Dan or Vicky and
the director, production designer, production manager, first
assistant director, producers, wardrobe and transportation heads
to go over every scene in the script.  A feel for the story, or
"tone" is acknowledged as each participant listens, takes notes
and begins figuring out how each one's individual expertise will
be used with the episode.

        Head 'Em Out on The First Scout

	The "First Scout", as it is called, requires that the producer
takes a physical look at the filming sites in order to begin
working out how a scene will be filmed, depending on the needs
of the script.  If the script calls for a non-regular location
site, i.e. the Edgewater instead of Roslyn, that site is
visited, and a decision [is] made by the end of the day how and
where every scene will be filmed.

	By Day 3, casting of the show is underway, studio shots are
planned, and location managers are taking care of the logistics:

	--If they are shooting on Forest Service land or working with
other government agencies, official okays or permit must be
obtained, fees paid if necessary, permission from property
owners must be obtained, locations set, etc.

	Vicky is currently working with the prison warden at Monroe,
who will be calling shots for footage which will be filmed there
for a new-season show.

	Next comes the "tech scout."  The same people who were involved
with the first scout meet now with the chief electrician and a
"grip."  The grip is the one who is responsible for laying out
all of the track on which camera dollies travel during shooting,
and positioning cranes and other equipment for filming.  The
results of this scout show how much needs to be done: is a road
good enough to get trucks full of equipment and supplies in
without major obstacles, for instance.  In the case of an
episode being filmed at the old county gravel pit near Ronald,
it was necessary for Pipeline to have the road graded and
graveled to keep their trucks from bottoming out and getting
stuck.

	"At the end of that show," Dan remembers, "we actually left an
improved road where nearly none had been."

	A new mural on the back of the theater building in Roslyn,
depicting a Marlon Brando-like caricature on a motorcycle that
would be visible in many location shots and a lighted plastic
awning on a new restaurant were two hurdles which Dan had to
jump [on] before filming could resume after a two-week vacation.

	"I left Cicely, Alaska and came back to New York City," he had
said upon his return.  Everything looked different.

	Part of his job entailed working out compromises with the
owners of both buildings.  A new but rustic looking awning
replaced the plastic one, and the art department came up with a
tarp to cover the mural that, when hung in place, looks like the
wood on the theater building.

	These kinds of things, of course, Dan and Vicky like to work
out in advance whenever possible.  The longer a show is being
filmed the better chance there is of that, too.

	Vicky received a call from the owner of the new "Fitness
Factory" in Roslyn, which is located above the post office. 
They want to install a sign and are concerned about how it
should be done in order to meet city codes, such as size and
style, and they thought Pipeline might be concerned about what
to do about it being in a shot: would it need to be covered,
camouflaged or temporarily removed each time the crew came to
town?

	Vicky also notes that the Roslyn Museum is another spot for
which external changes are being planned.  Thanks to
more-than-expected tourist dollars this year, the facelift is
coming sooner, too.  It will probably be a wood siding, and
depending on what is selected, Vicky says the show's scenic
painters can work with Mary Andler to help keep the building
"looking like Cicely."

	Also during the tech scout, the location of base camp and
parking of mobile dressing rooms, bathrooms and other production
vehicles is determined.  Location managers sketch the locations
and the camera angles to be used.  A production meeting follows
back in Redmond with  the scout teams and department heads who
re-review each scene and discuss when and how everything will be
accomplished.

	"By now, everyone should know what is required and, hopefully,
in what order," Dan says.

        Special Needs for Special Use Permits Explained

	Working in Roslyn has had its ups and downs, but things
continue to get easier all the time.  On of the reasons for the
improvement, Dan assures, is a better understanding of the
filming industry by city officials and residents.

	Roslyn requires a special-use permit--something which was
initiated after the first eight episode were shot--from anyone
wishing to film in the city.  It is negotiable in some areas,
but it primarily lets the production company know what they may
and may not do and when they may or may not do it.  Dan and
Vicky each pack a copy of it with them at all times, although
they both probably know it by heart.

	Either Dan or Vicky must sit down with Mayor Jack Denning and
Police Chief Mike Mullin and/or Dave Dixon and Lori Brune,
police officers, and sketch out what is going to be required for
each filming.  If a street needs to be closed temporarily, they
try to determine the best time to do it.  A home game at the
middle school could mean an increased traffic load on State
Route 903 which goes through part of the location site.  The
sound of school buses which might interfere with a microphone
needs to be considered.  A funeral procession may need to be
re-routed, or a shot rescheduled if that isn't possible.  The
installation of a new water line means working out compatible
schedules with the contractors.

	"They always know in advance what we are going to do," Dan
emphasizes.

	But sometimes, things change.  An actor becomes ill (delay or
cancel the shot).  Equipment fails (delay or cancel the shot). 
Or, sometimes, Dan's nightmare--bad weather occurs.

	"We were shooting the scene where Maggie's boyfriend, Rick, was
about to be struck by a satellite," Dan remembers.  The set was
situated North of Roslyn, but when we arrived for filming, the
snow was coming down so thick one could barely make out the
campfire.  In downtown Roslyn, it snowed, but just barely.  An
emergency meeting with the police chief netted the permission
for the shot to be done inside town, on a vacant lot which,
within two hours, had been designed to look like a remote
camping spot in the midst of a forest--fake trees and all--and
everyone involved had been re-notified.

	"Now that they all have become more 'movie conscious', it helps
us immensely in getting our work done and us out of town as fast
as possible... which reduces our impact on the town," Dan states.

	After the meeting with city officials, the location managers
continue their in-town obligations.  They notify all of the
business owners on Pennsylvania Avenue or other affected streets
of their plans, as well as the residents in neighborhoods where
they might have to film.

	Although Dan and Vicky are incredible good at what they do,
it's been some time since Vicky has done "episodal"
television--a continuing series.  She has been busier with films
such as _Singles_, _Say Anything_, _War of the Roses_, _Past
Midnight_, and _My Own Private Idaho_.

	For Dan, "This is the first time I've done episodal TV where I
keep coming back to the same location."  When he worked on the
television show _Real People_, he was never in the same place
twice.

	A bonus for everyone in the show--and Roslyn residents, too--is
that the work gets done much more quickly now.  An average
filming day is about 12-13 hours, compared to the 14-16- hour
days it took when _Northern Exposure_ began.

	It should be obvious by now that public relations is an
important part of both Dan's and Vicky's jobs.  Their individual
show responsibilities are not ended until they stay the one
extra day after each episode.  That's when they make sure all
the cleanup has been done, and make courtesy calls to ensure no
problems exist as a result of the latest filming.

	Then it's back home for a well-deserved rest and re-focus.

	And then they get a new script...
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AAron@sun.soe.clarkson.edu
Newsgroups: alt.tv.northern-exp