Hi, and welcome back to Sophie’s Choice, where I give you my personal input on everything film!
Today, I’ll walk you through working in a studio versus working on location. Working in a studio means that you have a set prepared and built from scratch, everything is fake and you’re between two different worlds at all times. You can walk through the doors and be transported back to reality and vice versa. Working on location is different. Sets are usually a part of where you are and there’s no threshold that you can cross. Reality is also your stage.
In Studio
Working in a studio is often much easier because you have all the sets around you and it’s usually way less confusing. The whole set is in one place and you have everything you need right there when you need it.
Green rooms are nice and comfortable and everything has its own room.
The production department is in full swing because everyone is in their office and rooms exactly where they need to be. No confusion and oftentimes scheduling of the day is easier to manage because you don’t need to go from one set to another every couple of hours.
On Location
Working on location, on the other hand, is way more exciting than being in a studio for long periods of time. It also depends on the type of location and if you’re shooting an interior or an exterior. In the studio, exteriors are filmed inside as well but on location shooting can be affected by weather conditions and it makes everything a lot harder.
You have the whole location split into two sections - base camp and the set.
Base camp is where all the trailers are with production, make-up, costume and usually even the main catering area. Set is where all the filming equipment is and where you shoot. You have another smaller catering there called craft, which doesn’t have the same range of foods that the main catering has and you have green rooms for actors usually made in tents. The biggest issue with locations is that no food and drinks are allowed on set, especially when you’re shooting in a historical building. That makes it harder for everyone to keep up morale.
To find these beautiful locations you must also do a lot of scouting and research which takes a lot of time during preparations and the hours tend to be longer because of the expenses. The worst thing about locations is the travel time and sleeping in hotels if the location is far from the main studios. It feels like a vacation but if you’re not far enough away, an hour ride in a car and early pick up times make it very hard to stay 100% on it at all times. You come to set exhausted and come home even more exhausted.
Sophie’s Choice
In all fairness, both have a lot of pros and cons and every production is different. It really depends on the type of show, film or commercial you are shooting at the time that affects where and how you are shooting but if you’re anything like me, exploring new places and being up and about in a foreign place is always refreshing and very fun, especially when you have a good cast and crew that help you enjoy your days on set.
And that’s that on that!
Sophie out!