#26 - Joe Martin - January 27, 2018 - Washington, DC
Saturday, February 10, 2018
Joe Martin asked me the other day when we first met.. I could place a location but I could not place the exact year. I do know that it was on a photo shoot on the west side of the US Capitol Building near the reflecting pool and I think the year was 1997. I was a second assistant for a portrait shoot with a New York City photographer and Joe was the location manager and scout for the job.
Joe has been a location scout and location manager for over twenty years in Washington, DC and has also worked on movie and photo shoots all over Maryland and Virginia. So what exactly does that job entail? A LOT of work and knowledge of WHO to contact and HOW to contact the right people to get permission to film or photograph in locations. Joe has a lot of experience in DC in procuring locations for major motion pictures, television, and photo shoots. He knows how to get permits and all the "ins and outs" working with the Capitol police and National Park Service and the assorted law enforcement divisions in DC. However - pulling location permits is just part of his job. He finds locations for directors and producers. He knows DC like the back of his hand and will go out and find specific places and procure the permissions, and sometimes will negotiate location contracts and use fees. During a movie as a location manager, he will be responsible for finding and securing locations to be used, obtaining all fire, police and other governmental permits, and coordinating the logistics for the production to complete the work. Sometimes he is the public face of the production, and responsible for addressing issues that arise due to the production's impact on the community.
Joe grew up in Boston, Massachusetts and came to DC to work as a policy staffer for U.S. Congressman Barney Frank (1985-1991). He used those organizational and people skills gained from working on Capitol Hill to work in location scouting and management. Joe has worked on dozens of films and TV shows over the years. Take a look at his impressive but incomplete IMDb listing of credits here. Some of his credits include being the location coordinator for the TV series "The West Wing" - location manager for the TV series "K Street" and host of movies including "Deep Impact", "Enemy of The State" and "Spy Game". He has also done location work for many Condé Nast publications including this shoot for Vanity Fair with photographer David Burnett. Joe procured location permits for Burnett to photograph filmmakers Ken Burns and Lynn Novick at the Vietnam Memorial in Washington DC. Joe knows what a film/photo crew can and can not do in historic locations such as the Vietnam Memorial. Tripods and lighting equipment are out of the question for use in such a location. The National Park Service just will not permit it - so Joe will consult with the photographer/ director to help them understand the location beforehand and know what to expect. Sometimes knowing some of the restrictions changes the way filming is done or sometimes excludes a location from use. Many areas around Washington DC are tightly restricted. Joe's knowledge of this helps film crews avoid many pitfalls.
Joe and I spent a recent warm January afternoon together visiting several locations near his home in the Petworth area of Washington, DC. We first made images at the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in America which provided some good background textures. We then made our way to the United States National Arboretum but were quickly and ironically told we could not photograph there as we had no permits. An eagle-eyed security guard zeroed in on my tripod and large medium format camera before we could even get the tripod established in a first set up. We half expected to get denied photography permission at the Arboretum, being unfazed we made our way just down the street. I made the final frames just outside the offices of The Washington Times on New York Avenue.
Joe has been a location scout and location manager for over twenty years in Washington, DC and has also worked on movie and photo shoots all over Maryland and Virginia. So what exactly does that job entail? A LOT of work and knowledge of WHO to contact and HOW to contact the right people to get permission to film or photograph in locations. Joe has a lot of experience in DC in procuring locations for major motion pictures, television, and photo shoots. He knows how to get permits and all the "ins and outs" working with the Capitol police and National Park Service and the assorted law enforcement divisions in DC. However - pulling location permits is just part of his job. He finds locations for directors and producers. He knows DC like the back of his hand and will go out and find specific places and procure the permissions, and sometimes will negotiate location contracts and use fees. During a movie as a location manager, he will be responsible for finding and securing locations to be used, obtaining all fire, police and other governmental permits, and coordinating the logistics for the production to complete the work. Sometimes he is the public face of the production, and responsible for addressing issues that arise due to the production's impact on the community.
Joe grew up in Boston, Massachusetts and came to DC to work as a policy staffer for U.S. Congressman Barney Frank (1985-1991). He used those organizational and people skills gained from working on Capitol Hill to work in location scouting and management. Joe has worked on dozens of films and TV shows over the years. Take a look at his impressive but incomplete IMDb listing of credits here. Some of his credits include being the location coordinator for the TV series "The West Wing" - location manager for the TV series "K Street" and host of movies including "Deep Impact", "Enemy of The State" and "Spy Game". He has also done location work for many Condé Nast publications including this shoot for Vanity Fair with photographer David Burnett. Joe procured location permits for Burnett to photograph filmmakers Ken Burns and Lynn Novick at the Vietnam Memorial in Washington DC. Joe knows what a film/photo crew can and can not do in historic locations such as the Vietnam Memorial. Tripods and lighting equipment are out of the question for use in such a location. The National Park Service just will not permit it - so Joe will consult with the photographer/ director to help them understand the location beforehand and know what to expect. Sometimes knowing some of the restrictions changes the way filming is done or sometimes excludes a location from use. Many areas around Washington DC are tightly restricted. Joe's knowledge of this helps film crews avoid many pitfalls.
Joe and I spent a recent warm January afternoon together visiting several locations near his home in the Petworth area of Washington, DC. We first made images at the Franciscan Monastery of the Holy Land in America which provided some good background textures. We then made our way to the United States National Arboretum but were quickly and ironically told we could not photograph there as we had no permits. An eagle-eyed security guard zeroed in on my tripod and large medium format camera before we could even get the tripod established in a first set up. We half expected to get denied photography permission at the Arboretum, being unfazed we made our way just down the street. I made the final frames just outside the offices of The Washington Times on New York Avenue.
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