The Harder You Work, The Luckier You Get

David Manzanares is a doer. Raised on a ranch in Abiquiu, New Mexico, he learned early on that life is a practical matter. There are two kinds of people: workers and shirkers. And it’s the workers who make the world go ‘round. They’re also the ones who continually get the opportunity to do more – to move up – to branch out.

Location Scout, Location Manager, Production Manager, Production Coordinator, AD, Production Supervisor – Manzanares has branched out all over the place since he got his unlikely start in film-making, some eighteen years ago. As often happens, his initial opportunity came disguised as a crisis of sorts. A UK catalog crew trespassed onto his family’s land, and Manzanares went out “to say hello”. He was carrying a gun, in case they turned out not to be good listeners.
“They were out there with our horses,” he explains. “Posing with them, holding their heads. It’s a good thing the horses were geldings. Anyway, I explained to them that fences are for a purpose, that they were trespassing, and that you’re not supposed to take anything without permission, even photos.”
The conversation was friendly enough, partly because Manzanares himself is a good listener. The people told him what they were doing and what they were looking for.
“I got into the film business THAT DAY,” he says. “I put the gun away, and they put the cameras down, and we just talked. They needed to know where they could find cliffs and rivers. So the next week, I took them out, and showed them the locations – and they wrote me a pretty healthy check. ”That check served as an awakening for Manzanares. In spite of a BBA degree from NMSU, with a double major in Marketing/Management and Sales and Promotion, he had never realized that the most saleable product he would ever come across would be his own home state. “Now,” he says, “I’m selling New Mexico.

”The transition to movie-making was not instantaneous. He did a lot of other things along the way. Stills. Videos. Commercials. “Production stuff”. But his path had taken a turn, and he would never retrace that path. (Understandable, considering that he’s made a name for himself as a major go-to guy for location scouting and management, in New Mexico.) Because he is called upon to work with the best, his resume reads like a Who’s Who of producers, directors, and stars, and you only have to look him up on IMDB to figure out that this man is busy. (In 2007 and 2008 alone, he has worked on Brothers, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Comanche Moon, The Flock, 3:10 to Yuma, Transformers, and Wild Hogs.).

For those who have a hankering to get into his field, Manzanares has some advice worth listening to.

“Bring gumption,” he says. “Be prepared not to get much sleep. Develop a thick skin.

”While noting that locations work is not the easiest way to break into the film business, Manzanares believes that certain individuals are more likely to make it.

“People who come out of disciplined background do well,” he says. “It could be the military – it could even be ballet. Anything regimented.

”He warns, though, that the job looks more glamorous than it actually is. It’s not all about riding around with the director, pointing out the dandy locations you’ve found.

“Glamour is not the reality of this job. You start a project, and you don’t see a camera for the first 2 months. You might be sewing seams for wardrobe, for 100 cavalry men. You have six hours of work, then lunch, then another six hours of work. When you’re finally filming, you’re going to have long hours, with a lot on your plate. Here’s an example of a period western project with 300 background players: say the crew call is 6 a.m. As location manager, you and/or your crew come in 3 hours before crew call in total darkness. Work lights have to be turned on for the caterers. The caterers need to begin preparing to serve breakfast to the 300 background and the 120 crew members 1 hr. Before crew call. Heaters and lights get turned on in the tents. The assistant directors and the makeup/hair departments arrive shortly thereafter. You have to insure that hair and makeup stations are set up along with spraying tents as the mu dept will be spraying body make-up on the 300 extras. The hair dept. Is busy fitting wigs. The wardrobe dept gets there and starts to make sure that everyone has the proper wardrobe. Craft service arrives and insures that everyone has all the water and snacks o tide everyone over in-between meals. The medics are on hand at all times. You will be helping/support the casting department with holding/warming areas for all of the background players. Background casting is also on location hours before crew call in order to (along with the ad’s) check in all of the talent. An hour before crew call is when the rest of the crew; grips, electric, art dept, camera, props, script, set dec, sound, special effects, stunts, production and video, start arriving… unless any of the departments have had a pre-call. Construction and the pre-riggers are more than likely getting your next location ready hours away in a different city. The cast and executives arrive as required by the demands of the particular shooting day. It’s your job to supply and service all the departments, and, if some department is not being serviced, you’ll hear about it. But, by the time you’ve done several shows, you learn the needs of all the departments. It’s a wonderful training ground.”Success in film-making, he points out, is just like success in any other business: It’s largely a matter of applying yourself.“If you learn one thing – for example make-up — and do it well, and you dedicate yourself, you will eventually be the head of the department. That’s in every department EXCEPT locations. This one isn’t a narrow road. With other departments., you show up when your boss tells you. In locations, you have to take initiative, but it offers the most mobility to move up within the industry.”But the best part, Manzanares says, is the satisfaction of working with a group of people who are experts in their fields, to bring to life a shared vision.“All of you have been moved by a script that made you say, ‘Wow this is a story that should be told’ — and now you’re all locked in together. Whatever it becomes, you’re a part of it.”by Jenny Wingfield