I work on a television show and we spend roughly 60% of our time shooting on location. Filming on location comes with its own challenges and requires a different type problem solving than what's needed when shooting on the stage. However, it also offers the opportunity to see places across the city, some which normally may be inaccessible to the public. We primarily shoot on the south and west sides, introducing me to neighborhoods I've never been in the almost six years I've lived in Chicago.
Location work is always inspiring for me. Unlike the stage, where there is a formula for shooting our usual sets, these unfamiliar spaces pose the challenge of navigating a new space and determining- from scratch- the most effective way to light and place the camera.
While I'm no director or screenwriter, working in new spaces provides the opportunity to imagine what scenes might take place in these locations, which then makes me consider how I would shoot a scene and translate this space and story through the camera.
When we're at a location all day, I can watch how the light changes as the day shifts from sunrise to high noon to sunset. Recently, we've worked at a couple locations over multiple days, which offers the chance to observe how the sun travels across the sky and how the changing angle of light alters the way in which the location looks (backlit, front lit, etc.) based on its position (north, south...).
For me, the light is one of the most inspiring elements of location work. I love witnessing naturally existing light- whether artificially or naturally sourced- to see what a place looks like in real life, before any lights are added, and how this pre-existing light could be amplified, replicated, or simply used as is in a scene.
With my work on the show, I don't have as much time to shoot my own films. However, location work provides a bit of a mental exercise in examining light and space and using these observations in developing a strategy for shooting a scene.
(Pardon the quality of all the photos- they were shot on my phone, so the quality isn't great...)
This photo doesn't do the mix of bright sunlight spilling in from the back room and fluorescent light justice. However, the color of the tile and the lines in this bathroom were quite cool
