Location scouting is the process of finding the perfect places to film your movie. It’s looking for the right setting, researching it, and then getting permission to use it.

If a location scout has done his or her job well, he or she will be able to show the director what a location looks like and how it would look on camera.

A successful location scout is an important part of any production team because, without this person on board, the director can’t make an informed decision about whether or not a certain location is right for his or her film.

Location scouting is one of the most important jobs on a film set because it sets the visual tone of the movie. Location scouts find everything from mansions for wealthy families to grungy city streets for low-budget films.

Scouting is an essential part of pre-production when filmmakers are planning out every shot in their films.  It’s also an art form in itself.

In this segment we invite you to listen to Sameer AlJaberi, Head of Locations and Government Resources, at the Abu Dhabi Film Commission, talk about location and location scouting, and what the location scout does in order to find the best locations for the film director.  In Sameer’s words, “a location can either make or break your project.”

(This segment was filmed by Zayed University’s College of Communication and Media Sciences student Asma Hazem Mohammed Ahmed Alkhalifa, Abu Dhabi)