Donald Cameron
04 November 2020
By Karina Caulfield
Donald Cameron IMDb
Donald Cameron is a freelance location manager based in Scotland and is currently working on the TV show, Outlander.
Although he has found locations around various parts of Scotland, Donald also worked in London for 25 years.
There are many stages to a location manager’s role during pre-production, production, and postproduction. Donald reveals it first involves reading a script and working alongside the director, producer, and designer to decide, “what elements of the film with be done on location and what elements would be created in the studio.”
Once this decision has been made Donald is required to go out and look for suitable film locations, a part of the job he is really fond of: “Some ways it's just driving around looking for them in a particular area. Other times it might be doing some research online or speaking to other contacts in the industry that might have looked for similar things in the past.”
Photo by Donald Cameron
After taking pictures of the location, Donald contacts the location owner, discussing the possibility of filming and negotiating a fee. He also shows the images to his production team who decide which locations they would like to visit and use. Together they work on the logistics of how the film would work in terms of shots.
Donald then organises where the ‘base’ will be, for facility vehicles to park such as make up, wardrobe, costume, catering, and tech. When it comes close to the shoot day, Donald goes on what is called a, ‘technical reccie’ with all the other head of departments. This is where they discuss where to run cables and how the crew will get there.
The day of filming also serves to be a busy day. Donald must provide stewards to ensure the crew are following any particular rules or guidelines that the location requires.
Photo by Donald Cameron
When filming is in action, everything must run smoothly, avoiding any interruption or noise pollution: “So as the location manager, I have to organise and make sure that that's all in place, making sure all the roads are being closed down, we have the traffic control if we need to...And then clearing up afterwards, when the film is finished.”
“So, it starts off in a relaxed way, you know doodling about the countryside looking at nice locations and then it gets more and more kind of stressful as the deadline approaches”
Donald revealed he stumbled into the film industry rather by accident but remained in this field because he liked "the creative process of working together as a team to achieve an artistic kind of vision.” He continues highlighting, “also I can’t imagine what else I would do… A lot of people who work in film, they wouldn't really fit anywhere else.”
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Photo by Donald Cameron
Donald first began in London 25 years ago, working in the main production bases such as London, Bristol, Manchester, Newcastle, Leeds and Glasgow. However, after moving back to Scotland in 2008, Donald tends to be based along the Central Belt.
His previous works include Foils War, Waking the Dead, EastEnders, The Bill, The 39 Steps (2008) as well as various BFI (British Film Institute) cinema films. Currently Donald is working on Outlander, a Scottish historical drama which first came to screens in 2014. The programme has a 30-mile filming radius ranging from Cumbernauld to Callander. The production company have also filmed in South Africa, filming scenes in the Caribbean.
“Everything now is based in North Carolina which we have been looking to find things near Cumbernauld. So, we look at all the kind of period locations in the area.”
"A lot of people who work in film, they wouldn't really fit anywhere else”
These have included Hopetoun House, a grand country house on the outskirts of Edinburgh which first opened in 1750. Recently, they have also been filming in an estate in Callander: “We end up filming estates quite a lot because it's where it's an unspoilt countryside and have a bit of privacy”
However, due to the spread of COVID-19, the whole production of Outlander shut down: “…in fact the whole industry shut down globally; all productions across the world just stopped.” As a result, filming will resume in January 2021 yet luckily, Donald was able to begin work again this autumn.
When asked how the pandemic has affected his job, Donald notes specific changes which has greatly altered the creation of Outlander. Now, locations that require overnight travel is going to be strictly avoided.
Outlander Season 1 Trailer: Sony Pictures at Home UK
Production normally retained a base for hair, make up and catering as well as a marquee for extras, "...so it can be quite a big operation. Usually we would have a lot of vehicles that we would ferry the artists and extras to the set from the base.”
However, now crew cannot be exposed to travelling in an enclosed vehicle for more than 15 minutes: “So that means...we have to be able to create the infrastructure for filming at the location. So if you can imagine trying to do that on the Royal Mile… you are just not going to be able to do that…So a lot of the locations have been cut and the script has been rewritten so the show is going to be a lot less ambitious and less visually interesting.”
The affect of this means shooting in less areas. Instead, Outlander will be mainly filmed in 4 chosen locations which can facilitate a base to travel to and from set. These include a street set in an old quarry, an estate featuring a grand house beside a river; a cabin surrounded by woods; a settlement with a church and houses and, an Indian reservation.
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"..the whole industry shut down globally; all productions across the world just stopped"”
Other changes include temperature checks and downloading a check in app: “We have to say if we are working at any of those sets…We've got to check in and check out and basically it's all very kind of controlled what we do.” Regular COVID-19 tests are also given out to the crew once a week.
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Outlander is not the only project which has been pushed aside from this pandemic. Donald has been part of the upcoming film, My Son, a remake of the 2017 French thriller starring award winning Scottish actor, James McAvoy. My Son was scheduled to start filming in the Highlands (Lochaber) this October.
"So a lot of the locations have been cut and the script has been rewritten so the show is going to be a lot less ambitious and visually interesting”
Unfortunately, this has been drawn to halt after a crew member contracted COVID-19: “So that's a bit of a disaster…not a big budget production but the government has offered insurance.” Nevertheless, Donald remains unsure if My Son will ever “pick up again” since the director spent time in close proximity with the crew member who tested positive.
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The Press and Journal: Alistair Munro
Donald moves onto to speak of Scotland’s film industry and whether he feels it has been hit badly by this pandemic: “There is certain parts…such as the cinemas... because obviously people cannot go. But because people have been stuck in doors there is an unmet demand for content.”
Due to this demand, Donald feels online streaming is really “driving”: “Before the pandemic hit, the film industry was kind of in a golden era of making film and television because there is a bit of a content war going on between the subscribers, there's a battle to dominate the market.
“So…because the UK has crews and studios and it has a good legal framework, the UK film industry was absolutely booming. So yes it was kind of interrupted from January until now but it is difficult to say what the long term effects of that will be...we, in production, we generally feel quite lucky, particularly in the arts to be working and getting paid.”
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"...we generally feel quite lucky, particularly in the arts to be working and getting paid"
Donald jokingly ends with what exactly he has been up to this last month, showing the refreshing and fun side of his job:
“Generally, I’m doing mainly the location scouting which is quite good because I can go out with my packed lunch on my own…and the only people I talk to are the sheep…it's what people imagine the job to be.”