Short Film: "Cautionary Tales" Dir. US - Academy Films

find started work on this project about 3-4 weeks prior to the shoot.  A clear vision from US, and a number of director's recces finally proved fruitful as the locations started to come together. And wow! We found some great locations that hopefully added to the charm of this delightful script. We filmed over two long days at 6 different locations along with a crew of approx 30 people in NW & SW London.

Short films always have their challenges. But I've always felt that the success or failure of a short largely depends on the production team, and how they pull together the right crew. Not to mention a little flexibility when it's required by all those involved. It's projects like this that make what we do worthwhile. Bringing together a selection of professionals who enjoy their passion. Medb (producer), as always, bought her own charm and energy to the project.

So where to begin? As a location management company, we can't just start calling up various location libraries and choosing what we like. A short film budget rarely goes far enough to pay the library fees they require, let alone the location fees they would charge. No! We have to start within our own database and knowledge and then reach out to scouts and location managers we know who might be able to help. Meanwhile, all the time we thinking about the bigger picture..... what additional costs might there be? Can we find somewhere with free parking? Will we need to clear cars with our security team.... can we even afford a security team? How does the director plan to shoot the scene......... does this effect the location fee and is there a more cost effective alternative? It's essentially a careful balance between getting what the directors want, and what production can afford.

As a London location manger, I was able to draw on my past experience to offer various locations to directors Chris and Luke. Although that wasn't without it's problems. Needless to day, without the customary time required to research and check locations, we initially stumbled across a number of locations who were in the middle of renovating kitchens or changing wooden floors! Arrrgh!

Ok..... so this may not be the case for every project? But getting the high production value required with very little in your back pocket is a skill in itself. For every department. So, when there is literally no flexibility, and whilst you're searching for what you want, we're always asking: Can we make it work?

Cautionary Tales is sure to be a huge success. It was one of those projects that you can see the magic unfold as you're there on set. At We Are Find we're delighted to have worked on this project, and cannot wait to see the film when it's released in a few weeks time.