What is a Assistant Locations?

The Assistant Locations role has three phases: prep, shoot day, and wrap. Duties shift significantly between these phases, but the common thread is logistics support for the locations department and the production as a whole.

Pre-Production and Advance Work

In the days before a shoot at a new location, the Assistant Locations supports the Location Coordinator in advance preparation. This includes posting permit copies on the call sheet, confirming base camp logistics (where trucks park, where the generator goes, where catering sets up), and identifying potential conflict points such as neighboring businesses, school zones, or areas with heavy foot traffic. They may also conduct advance scouting runs, driving the location route to note anything the department needs to flag for the first AD before the shoot day.

Signage and Directional Management

One of the most visible on-set duties of an Assistant Locations is signage. The locations department is responsible for placing directional signs throughout the surrounding blocks so that drivers, background talent, and arriving crew can find the set. The Assistant Locations places and retrieves these signs, which must go up before call time and come down at wrap. Getting signage wrong — missing a turn, unclear arrow direction, wrong holding area listed — creates compounding problems throughout the day as lost crew members call the production office for directions.

Parking Management and Crew Guidance

The Assistant Locations manages where the crew parks on location. On permitted street shoots, they enforce the parking plan, keeping spots reserved for production vehicles, turning away civilian drivers, and managing any conflicts with businesses or residents who need access. On larger productions, they distribute parking passes to department heads and make sure department trucks are in their correct positions before the shooting day begins.

Extras and Background Holding Areas

Background talent (extras) requires a dedicated holding area — typically a tent, a ballroom, or an accessible indoor space — away from principal crew. The Assistant Locations sets up, monitors, and manages this holding area throughout the shoot day. They coordinate with the background AD to ensure extras have water, shade or heat depending on conditions, and that the holding area does not spill into areas the production has not permitted for use.

Neighbor and Community Relations

Film productions that work in residential neighborhoods must manage the relationship between the production and the people who live and work nearby. The Assistant Locations is often the crew member who fields neighbor complaints, answers questions from curious residents, and escalates genuine concerns to the Location Coordinator. Maintaining goodwill with a neighborhood is important not just for the current shoot but for the production company's ability to return to the same area on future projects.

Permit Posting and Compliance

Filming permits must be posted at visible locations throughout the shoot area. The Assistant Locations ensures permits are posted and accessible if a police officer or city inspector arrives. They also verify that the production is operating within the boundaries specified on the permit — not filming on streets or in areas not covered — and flag any compliance issues to the Location Coordinator immediately.

Base Camp Monitoring

Base camp is the staging area where production trucks, talent trailers, and catering are parked. The Assistant Locations monitors base camp throughout the day, managing access, dealing with any noise or idling complaints from nearby residents, and ensuring the space remains organized as departments come and go to retrieve equipment or send crew to holding.

Runner Duties and General Support

On smaller productions, the Assistant Locations also functions as a runner — transporting equipment, documents, or catering between the base camp and the set. They may be asked to pick up location supplies (tape, cones, caution flags), collect permit signatures from property owners, or shuttle cast between locations.

Wrap and Cleanup

When the shooting day ends, the Assistant Locations ensures the location is returned to its original condition. This means removing all signage, breaking down the holding area, removing caution tape and traffic cones, and confirming that the property owner is satisfied with how the space was left. On productions with a continuity requirement, they document the original state of the location with photographs so any damage claims can be addressed accurately.

The Assistant Locations role is technically straightforward but operationally demanding. The following skills separate candidates who advance quickly from those who struggle in the role.

Local Geography and Navigation

An Assistant Locations must know their market's streets, neighborhoods, traffic patterns, and parking regulations. Productions don't have time to wait for a Locations PA to look up directions or figure out which side of a street is sweep day. Deep local knowledge — the kind that comes from years of driving a city — is a genuine competitive advantage. Knowing that a certain block near a studio always has a parking dispute with a nearby restaurant, or that a particular permit zone requires 72-hour advance posting, is the type of institutional knowledge that Location Managers and Coordinators value in their assistants.

Driving and Vehicle Operation

A valid driver's license is a non-negotiable requirement. The Assistant Locations spends a significant portion of their day behind the wheel — placing signage, running advance routes, picking up supplies, and shuttling crew or equipment. Some productions require an assistant to drive large passenger vans or box trucks. Knowing how to drive a 15-passenger van in a tight urban alley without damaging it is a practical skill that comes up more than most expect.

Permit and Documentation Management

Filming permits are legal documents, and the production's right to occupy a location depends on them. An Assistant Locations needs to understand what a permit covers, where it must be posted, and what falls outside its boundaries. They also manage sign-off paperwork with property owners, distribute location releases, and ensure that every party who has agreed to allow filming has signed the appropriate documents before cameras roll.

Communication and People Skills

An Assistant Locations represents the production to the public. Neighbors, business owners, police officers, and curious bystanders all encounter the locations department before they encounter any other crew member. The ability to have a calm, professional conversation with an angry neighbor, redirect a police officer to the correct contact on the production, or explain to a business owner why a film truck needs to block their loading dock for four hours is a skill that directly affects the production's ability to complete its day.

Logistics and Problem-Solving

On a busy shoot day, the Assistant Locations is managing multiple simultaneous tasks: parking plan, signage, holding area, neighbor relations, permit compliance. When something goes wrong — and it always does — they need to triage quickly and communicate clearly. Can they solve the problem themselves, or does it need to go to the Location Coordinator? Making the wrong call in either direction wastes time and creates bigger problems.

Physical Stamina

Locations PAs are typically the first crew members on set and the last to leave. Call times before sunrise are standard. The physical demands include walking the location perimeter repeatedly, carrying signs and equipment, standing outdoors in variable weather, and maintaining focus and good judgment at the end of a 14-hour day. Physical conditioning and tolerance for outdoor work in heat, cold, and rain are practical requirements, not preferences.

Neighbor and Community Management

Productions that damage their relationship with a neighborhood find future permits harder to secure. The Assistant Locations manages the day-to-day relationship between the production and the surrounding community. This includes responding to complaints quickly, ensuring the crew respects agreed-upon noise limits, and keeping the production footprint within the boundaries the location agreement specifies. Handling these interactions well — with patience and genuine respect — has a tangible effect on the production's long-term reputation in a market.

Attention to Detail

Missing a sign costs the production time when crew members get lost. Forgetting to retrieve a cone cone creates a liability. Failing to document original location condition before setup creates disputes at wrap. The consequences of inattention in the locations department are immediate and visible. Strong Locations PAs develop a checklist mindset — running through every detail before moving on to the next task.

Assistant Locations compensation depends on market, production budget, union status, and whether the role is hired daily or on a weekly deal. The position is entry-level, and rates reflect that, but there is meaningful upside on higher-budget union productions.

Day Rate Overview

On non-union independent productions and lower-budget projects, Locations PAs typically earn between $175 and $350 per day. This rate is usually a flat daily fee without overtime protections. On mid-budget productions and in more competitive markets, the rate can reach $300 to $400 per day before overtime. The actual take-home on any given production depends on hours worked — on locations-heavy shoots, a 14-hour day is standard, and non-union productions do not always compensate overtime.

Weekly Rates

Productions that book Locations PAs on weekly deals typically pay $1,000 to $1,800 per week, depending on market and production scale. Weekly deals are common on long-form projects where the locations department needs consistent staffing across a multi-week shoot. A weekly deal offers stability for the crew member but may or may not include overtime compensation depending on the production's deal structure.

Union vs. Non-Union

On union productions covered by the IATSE Basic Agreement, minimum rates for entry-level crew positions are set by the applicable union agreement. Locations department work on major studio productions in Los Angeles may be covered under IATSE agreements, with rates and conditions governed by the applicable Basic Agreement. Union productions offer overtime pay (typically time-and-a-half after 8 hours, double time after 12 hours), as well as contributions to health and pension funds that materially increase total compensation beyond the listed base rate.

Non-union productions are significantly more common at the entry level. Most Locations PAs begin their careers on non-union projects and build the experience and credits needed to qualify for union work over time.

By Market

Los Angeles and New York offer the highest day rates for Locations PAs because productions in those markets are competing for a limited pool of experienced local crew. In Atlanta — which has become a major production hub due to Georgia's film tax incentive program — rates for Locations PAs have risen as demand has outpaced supply. Secondary markets including Albuquerque, Chicago, Nashville, and Austin also have active production communities, though day rates in these markets typically run 15 to 25 percent below Los Angeles equivalents for comparable production types.

Annual Earnings Context

The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not separately track Location PA earnings, but the broader category of "Film and Video Editors and Camera Operators" reported a median annual wage of $68,810 as of May 2024. Entry-level crew positions like Locations PA fall well below this median. A Locations PA who works consistently — 40 or more weeks per year — in a major market at a $250 to $300 daily rate would earn approximately $40,000 to $55,000 annually before taxes, assuming 10-hour average days. This estimate does not account for periods of unemployment between productions, which is the normal reality of freelance crew work.

Advancement and Rate Growth

The path from Locations PA to Location Coordinator represents the most significant rate jump in the department. Location Coordinators on mid-budget productions typically earn $1,500 to $2,500 per week. Location Managers on features earn substantially more, often negotiating individual deals based on project complexity. The fastest way to advance through the locations department hierarchy is consistent work on progressively larger productions, combined with a reputation for reliability and composure under pressure.

IATSE Local 480 and Local 600

Depending on the production and market, locations department crew on union productions may be covered under IATSE Local 480 (New Mexico) or other regionally applicable IATSE locals. In New York, IATSE Local 161 covers script supervisors and production office staff, with location department coverage varying by production structure. Understanding which local covers your market — and what their minimum rate schedules look like — is useful preparation for transitioning from non-union to union work.

What does an Assistant Locations do on a film set?

An Assistant Locations manages the ground-level logistics of a filming location on shoot day. Their responsibilities include placing and retrieving directional signage, managing crew and talent parking, running the extras holding area, handling neighbor relations, posting and monitoring filming permits, and overseeing base camp throughout the day. They are typically the first crew member on site and the last to leave, and they are responsible for ensuring the location is returned to its original state at wrap.

What is the difference between a Location Assistant and a Location Coordinator?

The Location Coordinator operates above the Location Assistant in the department hierarchy. The Coordinator manages the administrative side of the locations department: negotiating location agreements, tracking permit applications, coordinating with vendors and property owners, and managing the department's logistics calendar across multiple shoot days. The Location Assistant executes the plan on the day — putting out signs, managing parking, handling neighbor complaints — under the Coordinator's direction. On smaller productions, these responsibilities may overlap, but on larger projects the two roles are clearly separated.

How much does an Assistant Locations make?

On non-union independent productions, Locations PAs typically earn $175 to $350 per day depending on market and production budget. On weekly deals, rates range from $1,000 to $1,800 per week. In major markets like Los Angeles and New York, experienced Locations PAs with several years of credits can negotiate rates at the higher end of these ranges. Union productions covered by IATSE agreements provide overtime pay and health and pension contributions that significantly increase total compensation beyond the base rate.

Do you need a degree to become a Location Assistant?

No degree is required. The role is accessible to anyone with a valid driver's license, reliable transportation, strong local geography knowledge, and the stamina for long shoot days. Most Locations PAs break into the role through general production assistant work, building relationships with locations department members and demonstrating reliability on set before moving into dedicated locations work.

How do you start a career in the locations department?

The most common entry path is through general PA work on student or independent productions. PA work builds on-set credibility and creates opportunities to meet Location Coordinators and Managers who are looking for reliable assistants. Registering with local film commissions, joining PA networks and industry Facebook groups in your market, and attending industry events where locations professionals gather are all effective ways to get your first Locations PA booking. Once you have a few credits, the role tends to compound — Coordinators and Managers re-hire people they trust.

Is an Assistant Locations position union or non-union?

Both exist. The majority of entry-level Locations PA work is non-union, particularly on independent productions and lower-budget features and television. On major studio productions and high-budget streaming projects, locations crew may be covered under applicable IATSE agreements. New Locations PAs typically build experience on non-union productions before accumulating enough credits and connections to transition into union work. The applicable IATSE local varies by market — Los Angeles, New York, and other production hubs each have their own applicable locals for locations department crew.

What is a typical call time for a Locations PA?

Locations PAs almost always have the earliest call time on the crew list. Because they must have signage in place, base camp organized, and parking managed before the rest of the crew arrives, a Locations PA call time is typically 60 to 90 minutes before the general crew call. On shoots that require significant setup — large base camps, complex parking plans, or locations in dense urban areas — a Locations PA may arrive two to three hours before the crew. Pre-dawn call times of 5 AM or earlier are routine.

What skills are most important for a Location Assistant?

Local geography knowledge, a valid driver's license, and strong communication skills are the three most essential qualifications. Beyond those, the ability to manage competing priorities under time pressure, handle difficult conversations with members of the public calmly, and maintain attention to detail across a long shoot day are the skills that separate Locations PAs who advance quickly from those who plateau. Physical stamina for long outdoor days and reliability — showing up early, staying late, and never leaving the location without confirming wrap is complete — are the professional baseline the department expects.

There is no degree requirement to work as an Assistant Locations. The role is an entry-level position that accepts motivated candidates with good driving records, local geography knowledge, and a willingness to start early and stay late.

The PA Entry Path

The most common way into an Assistant Locations position is through general production assistant work. New PAs often start on set in a catch-all capacity — running errands, managing the set perimeter, distributing sides — before they find their niche. PAs who show an aptitude for logistics, enjoy working outdoors, and are comfortable managing public interactions tend to migrate naturally toward locations work. A PA who volunteers for locations tasks, builds a relationship with a Location Coordinator, and consistently shows up reliably is likely to receive their first dedicated Locations PA booking within their first year of working sets.

Film School and Related Education

Film school is not required, but it can accelerate networking. Students who attend programs at schools like USC, UCLA, NYU, or Chapman gain access to student productions that replicate the department structure of professional sets. Working as a locations PA on a student film — even an unpaid one — gives early-career crew members a structured introduction to the department hierarchy and the practical reality of managing a shooting location.

Some candidates come from adjacent backgrounds that translate directly to the role. Urban planning, hospitality management, event coordination, and tour management all develop logistics skills and public-facing communication abilities that are immediately useful in the locations department.

The Location Managers Guild International (LMGI)

The Location Managers Guild International (LMGI) is the professional organization for Location Managers and Location Scouts in the United States and internationally. Membership is not open to entry-level assistants directly, but LMGI is an important organization to be aware of as you build your career. Their events, resources, and networking opportunities provide visibility into what Location Managers are looking for in their assistants, and knowing the organization exists signals professional awareness to senior crew members.

LMGI also publishes educational resources on the craft of location management that any Locations PA can study independently, regardless of membership status.

IATSE Awareness and Union Pathways

On union productions, locations work is covered by IATSE. The specific local varies by region. In New York, locations crew may fall under IATSE Local 600 or Local 161 depending on the production structure and job function. In Los Angeles, the IATSE Basic Agreement governs minimum rates and conditions on major studio productions. Non-union independent productions typically hire Locations PAs without union affiliation, and working these productions is a standard part of building the credits and connections required to eventually qualify for union membership.

Getting Your First Job

The most reliable way to get hired as a Locations PA is through a direct referral from a Location Coordinator or Manager. Build relationships with locations department members through film industry events, PA networks, and community film boards. In major markets, local film commissions maintain crew lists and sometimes post crew calls for productions filming in the area. Registering with local film commission crew lists is a low-effort, high-visibility move for anyone trying to break into locations work in their market.