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Watch: Locations

8 items
See all: Watch: Locations

Career ladder

From first job to head of department

Unit managers and assistant location managers work side by side: one runs the day, the other finds and secures the places.

Locations

  1. Entry grade Location marshal Parking, cones, security, guiding crew in.
  2. Step 2 Locations assistantAlso: unit assistant Unit base set-up, signage, facilities, the public, the clean-up.Watch and read
  3. Step 3 Assistant location manager Finding and managing locations for the location manager.
  4. Step 4 Location manager Finds, secures and runs every location.Watch and read
  5. Top of the ladder Supervising location manager The department head on large productions.

Specialists branch off the ladder at the grade shown; they aren't steps on it

  • Location coordinatorbeside Assistant location managerContracts, permits and letters to residents.
  • Location scoutbeside Assistant location managerFinds options in prep; often freelance.

Unit base

Parallel ladder
  1. Entry grade Assistant unit manager Unit base on the day: vehicles, power, facilities, marshals.
  2. Top of the ladder Unit manager Runs unit base and the location on the shoot day for the location manager.
Grade by grade: what you need before moving up
Locations
GradeWhat you doBefore moving up
Location marshalParking, cones, security, guiding crew in.Reliability, safety awareness, a driving licence.
Locations assistantAlso: unit assistantUnit base set-up, signage, facilities, the public, the clean-up.Several credits and running a location day without help.
Assistant location managerFinding and managing locations for the location manager.Recce leadership and negotiating fees.
Location managerFinds, secures and runs every location.Credits as assistant location manager.
Supervising location managerThe department head on large productions.Several shows as location manager.
Unit base
GradeWhat you do
Assistant unit managerUnit base on the day: vehicles, power, facilities, marshals.
Unit managerRuns unit base and the location on the shoot day for the location manager.

Bectu Locations card, 2026 (rate cards index) · Every department's ladder: Careers A–Z · Getting work · Working freelance

Learn it, step by step

4 paths
See all: Learn it, step by step

Safety first

The public, permissions, weather and working alone

Locations brings the unit into the real world: roads, homes, farms, beaches and derelict buildings. The department's safety job is to find the hazards first, get the permissions, and keep the public and the crew apart.

Start the safety module Take the safety check

Watch first

Module 1 of Locations. Mark them done there to track your progress.

The hazards

6

What hurts people in this department on UK sets, and what keeps them safe.

  1. Recces and lone workingScouts and location managers often go alone to empty or remote places. Tell someone where you're going and when you'll be back, keep your phone charged, and don't enter a building that looks unsafe. HSE treats this as lone working.
  2. Old and derelict buildingsRotten floors, open shafts, pigeon waste, sharps and asbestos. A building is surveyed before the unit arrives, and nobody drills, scrapes or rigs into old fabric until it's cleared.
  3. The public and the roadPavements stay passable, cables are covered or flown, and vehicles move under a marshal. Stopping or controlling traffic is done only with the council and the police, by licensed traffic management. Tell the police in advance about anything that could alarm the public.
  4. PermissionsWritten agreement from the owner, the council's film office for public land, and parking and unit base agreed in advance. Letter drops tell neighbours what's happening and who to call.
  5. Weather, water and tidesCheck Met Office warnings before every exterior day and recce. Coasts, rivers and cliffs need a specialist plan: tides turn fast.
  6. Unit baseGenerators sit away from doors, windows and vents (exhaust fumes), with fuel stored safely. Toilets, water, shelter and a clear emergency route. A&E and the location address go on the call sheet.

Who is responsible

  • The location manager finds the hazards, gets the permissions and writes the location's part of the risk assessment.
  • The unit manager runs the unit base and facilities on the day.
  • Location assistants and marshals keep the public safe and the routes clear.
  • The producer signs off the risk assessment and the insurance.

As a trainee, never

  • Never recce alone without telling someone where you are.
  • Never enter a building that hasn't been checked, or go past a 'do not enter' sign.
  • Never stop traffic yourself.

Anyone can say stop. If something feels wrong, say so to your head of department or the 1st AD.

Where this comes from

  • HSE: lone workingKeeping people safe when they work alone, including on recces and late calls.
  • HSE: asbestosWhy old buildings are surveyed before anyone drills, scrapes or rigs.
  • HSE: managing risks and risk assessmentWhat a risk assessment is, and the employer's duty under the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999.
  • Met Office: UK weather warningsCheck before every exterior day and recce.
  • Your council's film officeMost UK councils have a film office or filming officer for permits on public land. Your regional screen agency can point you to them.
  • HSE: theatre, film and TVThe Health and Safety Executive's guidance for the screen and stage industries.

Checked 13 November 2026. This is awareness, not a safety qualification: follow your production's risk assessment and your head of department.

Check yourself

4 situations. Get them all right.

Pass the safety check before the rest of the path. One wrong safety answer means try again. It's practice, and your answers stay on this device.

Question 1: You're recceing an empty mill on your own. The ground-floor door is open but there's a 'danger: unsafe floor' sign. What do you do?

Question 2: The director wants a shot of an actor running into a busy high street. What does locations arrange?

Question 3: The unit generator is being set up beside the open kitchen window of the house you're filming in. What do you do?

Question 4: A Met Office amber wind warning is issued for tomorrow's clifftop exterior. What happens?

AI in film and TV

How AI fits this department

Scouting with 3D capture and generated set extensions can reduce travel. Real places still carry the authenticity audiences notice.

Learning path: AI for producers The AI channel Consent and credit

Locations, in detail

What locations does

Locations finds, secures and runs every place the production shoots outside a studio.

  • Prep: scout and photograph options, lead recces, negotiate fees and contracts, get filming and parking permission from the council, write to residents.
  • Shoot: unit base, parking, signs, toilets, waste, and the neighbours.
  • After: make good any damage and get the owner's sign-off.

Who locations works with

The production designer and director on what each location must look like. The 1st AD on access, timings and safety. The production manager on fees and budget. Transport on the unit's vehicles. Health and safety advisers on the risk assessment.

Kit and vocabulary

  • Recce: a visit to a location to plan the shoot. A tech recce brings the heads of department.
  • Unit base: the vehicles, trailers, catering and parking that support the set.
  • Location agreement: the contract with the owner.
  • Film office: the local authority team that grants filming permission.
  • Letter drop: the notice that goes to residents before a shoot.
  • Reinstatement: putting the location back as you found it.
  • Movement order: the map and directions to each location and unit base.

How to get in

Most people start as location marshals or location assistants. A clean driving licence is usually essential. Security, events and site-management experience helps. ScreenSkills publishes a locations trainee profile and skills checklists.

Pay: Bectu Locations Branch film and scripted TV rates, 2026.

Where Futures in Film helps

Locations work starts with knowing how a unit moves. Day One (free, online) covers etiquette, radios and safety; the practical is on our unit. Our production office course (dates soon: register interest) includes the movement order.

Who to know: Locations

A crew member carries kit across a car park in front of the Pinewood Studios building.Kit to own · RunnerWhat to bring on day one, and what not to buy.The everyone list, done properly: good waterproofs and shoes you can stand in for 12 hours. Don't buy: a car just for the job. ask whether driving is part of it before you take the booking.See the kit list

Other departments

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Where we come in

Know the unit before you join it.

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Last reviewed 9 November 2026