The Art of the Hunt

Location scouting is perhaps one of the most important yet underestimated components of making epic filmmaking and commercial photography. Searching for those locations that hit the spot always precedes a meeting of the minds between producers, directors and scriptwriters about the general kind of scenery that will enhance the creative vision and require to be shot outside the studio.

When we come across an awesome film, youtube video, editorial, or photograph, we instinctively put all the credit on the cinematographer, the photographer, the technical mastery applied, or the subjects being framed. But I wonder, how many of us forget to notice the one element that composes about 50% of the shot’s awesomeness  — that is, the location?

I find locations to be more than a geographical point on a map — they are spaces that can be transformed to birth the creative possibilities of an idea. Having the vision to see that transformation is where the art of location hunting comes in. For us, it is less about finding a unique place that is beautiful, and more about how the nature of that location has the ability to move the people that encounter it in a beautiful way. Whether that encounter happens directly by being on the location, or indirectly by seeing it through a screen or an image – a location has the power to move you.

 “our thoughts shape the spaces we inhabit, and our spaces return the favor.” – Stephen Johnson

Think about this for a moment… locations transcend their physical nature – they are spaces designed by human minds to provoke a certain kind of interaction between the space and the person. The interaction renders an experience where the designer also becomes the designed.

It’s fascinating to see how humans around the world design these beautiful places and then other humans transform that space into a movie or photography set in order to recreate another kind of visceral place in another humans mind… a physical space suddenly has the power to create a mental space by immersing the viewer in that location.

Now that we’ve defined our perception of spaces  as living environments that provoke an interaction with the people in them, we can say our passion is to hunt for that next location that will transport the viewers to another place within themselves when they encounter it through an image.

Hunting locations designed for big imaginations.

Featured Location: “Towering Palms”

Featured location: “Chevron Point”