What To Expect When Hiring Location Production Servicing

You’re planning a film in a regional location, you’ve a script, you’ve got the funding – you’ve got the vision. 

But you’re struggling to find local camera crews, locations, lighting rigs… and you haven’t even thought as far as local editing suites or studios. 

Enter the hero: your location-based production servicing team. 

What can local production servicing help with?

Professional production servicing can cover every element of creating your film or TV show, providing end-to-end support. 

Pre-production

The process of creating film and video has many moving parts. A full-service agency can be the antidote to any potential chaos.

This is where a service production manager can organise every detail of logistics, locations, casting, hiring talent, health & safety, permits and insurance. They are the problem-solver you need on your team.

Pre-production can also include developing content and scripts from an initial concept. 

Production

The shooting of raw footage that will be moulded into something visually stunning. Full-service production can provide the equipment, the staff and the back-up. 

A producer will be on-site throughout and keep everything running on time and to brief. 

Post-production

The edit, where the images, graphics, sound and colour all come together seamlessly. For longer productions, having a local post team means they can be on hand for quick edits.

If there are issues or it needs a re-shoot for a few scenes, you’re already in the right location. 

Why does local knowledge matter in production servicing?

Using a local full-production service has many advantages; here are three core reasons.

Finding local talent

Whether it is acting talent with proper regional accents or a local camera crew who know the area, local knowledge helps. Ready-made contact lists and knowledge of who’s who can speed up the hiring process. 

Location scouting

Simply knowing where you’re going helps with location scouting. Deep, lived knowledge of great filming locations and their availability makes it easier to get the perfect shots. 

A local team will know the unusual spots as well as the iconic location shots. 

Filming permits

Knowing who to talk to for filming permits and having a relationship already established with local authorities or the film office, for example, Screen Manchester, can help smooth the process and cut through tape. 

Another advantage is having the team close at hand while filming and editing. They can be 20 minutes away instead of a three-hour train ride, making it easier to collaborate and communicate changes. 

Communication, as we all know, is key to any successful project, and the first thing any local production company will do is have a chat with you. 

Why is communication key for working with a production servicing team? 

Expect a lot of questions when you first hire a production service team. Finding out the needs for your particular project is essential to be able to provide a quality service and a final cut that you love. 

Before production starts, the team needs a clear brief and a thorough understanding of your goals. At this stage, you’ll also find out whether the company is the right fit for your brand or project, after all, it is a collaborative relationship.

Communication goes beyond first contact. Expect to be kept in the loop throughout the process with constant updates. 

It is your vision, so there will be plenty of opportunities for feedback before the final editing stage. A regular review process allows you to share ideas, and any potential niggles and queries can be ironed out before it costs you extra time and budget. 

Why should you choose a full-production service?

A full production service is there by your side from that initial chat through to final sign off and every step between. 

Production management is an art form, and a full-production service can take the worry off your hands and smooth each stage of the process. 

Full production means that each stage of the process – pre-production, shooting and post-production – is staffed. You don’t need to hire any external freelancers or other agencies for your production. 

You have one point of contact instead of several doing different jobs, which can make self-managed productions more fraught and stressful.

Using the in-house staff means you have a well-oiled machine of a team that knows how to work together to produce slick, professional results. 

Having everything wrapped up in one package can also help manage your budget. Using a single organisation means one brief and one quote to negotiate. 

By letting the professionals lead on production, it makes your life easier. There are fewer delays, everything runs on schedule, you hit deadlines and no detail is forgotten. 

If you are looking for production servicing for the Manchester area, come talk to us at CHIEF. We’ll put the kettle on!