Los Angeles a great place to do your next film or video project

Dear Reader

Downtown Los Angeles is an interesting place to shoot with a variety of architecture, ambience and character. On a busy day, LA can resemble a back lot for the studios, with sometimes five or six productions shooting at the same time, yet invisible to one another. This is what makes shooting in LA great, it can look like New York, Boston or San Francisco or almost any other city. The entire infrastructure one needs, prop houses, grip and lighting equipment, camera’s and the most seasoned crews reside in or near Los Angeles.

Film LA Inc. (213 977 8600) has streamlined the film permit process, making it easier for filmmakers to obtain the necessary permits for their projects. The LA 411 is a great resource as well, in terms of locating equipment and crew. What I like about shooting in Los Angeles is that generally parking is not an issue, LAPD retired cops know the industry and help keep traffic around the set flowing.

As the sun slowly descends below the Pacific Ocean, the traffic is non-existent, and a new crowd emerges from their lofts, smartly dressed and ready to party, relegated mainly to areas around the Staples Center and the Bunker Hill district. The rest of downtown LA is a ghost town at night, not withstanding the occasional homeless person who wonders the night in search of solace and a small meal. This is when the real action happens; film crew set up for complicated shots, maybe a car chase or monster invading Los Angeles or a super model walking down the streets of LA for a fashion shoot. Even crews on a budget can find locations for their films for a modest price.

Again if you need a Motor Homes or Portables Restrooms for your next shoot, please call Mike Green RVS at 818 317 7099.

Tejon Ranch

Dear Reader

Tejon Ranch is a location few in the public can access, unless one is fortunate to work in the entertainment industry and has the opportunity to shoot at the ranch. Tejon Ranch is located north of the HWY 138 and extends north of Bakersfield past HWY 58. The ranch is mainly used for cattle grazing and shooting commercials, photo shoots, TV and feature films.

The ranch ranges from an African savanna to rolling green hills; something one would find in Ireland. Since the ranch, in certain locales is above four thousand feet in elevation, in winter, the rolling hills are covered in snow. Therefore TR offers film makers a wide range of locations to shoot at, in fact the ranch is so large, one could have several big budget films shooting at the same time and not interfere with each other, nor would one know the other production is there.

Lodging is plentyful, the Best Rest Inn, the Ramada Hotel, both in Lebec, and the Econo Lodge in Gorman. There is a dump station and fuel at the Flying J in Lebec, hardware stores and a small grocery store in Frazier Park, restaurants aplenty.

The great plus about the ranch is that it is less than an hour and half north of Los Angeles. TR has easy access in most locations for large vehicles, there are a few locations on the ranch that are not accessible by large trucks.

I have been on the ranch on numerous occasions, almost every time, we shot at a different locale. This time we were shooting a scene with cowboys and cattle, the sky was cloudy and menacing, we observed lightning strikes several times, yet the air was surprisingly humid and hot. Our caterer was cooking a barbeque delight, ribs, chicken, corn on the cob, grilled vegetables, it was a great feast. Our shoot was over and our bellies full, it was time to go home.

Dumont Dunes Revisted

Dear Reader

As I indicated, there was a reason why I was at Shoshone, California. Shoshone is the closest town to Dumont Dunes, about thirty minutes north. If one needs fuel, including diesel/gas, food or lodging, Shoshone is the closest town to Dumont. The closest city is Pahrump, Nevada; there you can find a grocery store, casinos, and better lodging, especially for large crews. The Shoshone Inn is small, twenty rooms max, and it is basic, a bed, TV and a shower/tub.

Our crew is small, so Shoshone was the perfect place to lodge, fuel and eat. As the driver of a large motor home, there was plenty of parking and since my motor home is fond of diesel, my RV was never hungry, the fuel was not cheap about thirty cents higher than Baker and Baker is about sixty cents higher than Los Angeles. Shoshone does have an RV park, so on extended stays, the dump station is a necessity.

The road into Dumont Dunes is a rough road, at best, I was able to maintain about five miles an hour, so it took me about an hour to reach the main parking lot. Once you are off the main road the ground is soft, so read the road carefully, one of our guys made the mistake of driving too close to the dunes and got his SUV stuck. We hired two guys who were familiar with the dunes to lead us to our location, around the corner from the main parking lot. I was a little apprehensive about leaving the main parking lot, but our guide assured me I would not get stuck. To play it safe I engaged my automatic traction control, which provided power to both rear wheels, I kept a steady speed until we arrived at our designated location.

Our guides bought a modified sand rail with then to traverse the four hundred foot sand dunes and bring crew and talent to location. Even the best four-wheel drive truck would have problems climbing a dune with a twenty-five percent incline. Dumont is very tricky place to navigate; even the best of driverscan get their vehicles stuck in the loosedry sand.

It was a hundred and five in the shade and humid, the clouds looked ominous and menacing, could a monsoon be near. The Producer stared at the sky for a moment, I assured him that a monsoon would be rare in this region; I was right it did not rain. Watching a sand rail climb a sand dune is like defying the laws of gravity; it requires a skilled driver who knows that in order to reach a location on the side of a dune requires the driver to pass the location and make a long curve up pass the designated locale and then maneuver the sand rail down to such location.

From where I stood, next to the motor home, the crew looked like ants. The sun was slowly setting and the sand was a golden brown, the air was still and quiet. We owned the Dunes, which I thought was unusual, but our guide indicated to me that Dumont Dunes is dead from late April to early October. Therefore if one wants to shoot at Dumont, without any interference from the public spring to late summer is the perfect time to do a shoot.

Be warned though, it is hot, hot, hot, bring plenty of water and an air conditioned motor home like one from Mike Green RV’s (818) 317 7099. In the cooler months it can still get hot in Dumont Dunes, so prepare properly. Again I will always recommend Willie’s On and Off Road Center (760) 257 3734 for your off road needs, including dune buggy’s, scouting, plus more. Sheri Davis from the Inland Film Commission (951) 779 6700 ext. 231; is always the best person to call for information and film permits for Dumont Dunes and the entire Inland

Empire.

Shoshone an oasis in the desert

Dear Reader

It is quit now in the town of Shoshone, except for the sound of an owl and some birds, an occasional car passing by. The sun is slowly rising above the mountains, I can hear the rustling wind from the nearby trees, a cool breeze blowing in the inhospitable desert town situated south/west of one of the hottest places in the world, Death Valley. Shoshone has an allure about it, a town forgotten by time, a place were miners mined for gold in the late 1800’s. Behind the Shoshone Inn visitors can see the entrance to such a mine, closed with chicken wire guarding the entrance from trespassers. If one listens carefully one can hear the sounds of an encampment of miners discussing the zest for treasures buried in the ground below them. Those days are gone forever, but this town an oasis perched in the unforgiving Mojave Desert provides solitude to those who seek solitude.

I arrived in Shoshone late afternoon, the air was hot and thick, and I let my diesel engine idle for a few minutes allowing the turbo chargers to cool off. I registered at the motel, a place that reminded me of something my parents would find on their travels in the 1950’s, a one story U-shape building surrounded by trees. My room was located in the back, as tempted as I was to back up to my room, the towering trees with its thick branches detoured me from such a thought. Instead I parked my RV next to the Inn, away from trees. The room was modest, the air conditioner blasting, keeping the room at a comfortable temperature.

I was hungry; I prayed that whatever food I could find would be eatable. I walk across the street to the Crowbar Café & Saloon; I peered through the menu, a cross between Americana and Mexican food. Could this food be good, I pondered? The waitress seemed nice, I ordered an enchilada combo, the plate arrived hot, and the food was delectable. This was the best enchilada I had ever had the chance to indulge in, I was happy, very happy.

I went back to my room and grabbed my camera, this place was too tempting not to take pictures, and I took many pictures. In a world with more malls and mini-malls one needs to take time and make since of life, this is why man or woman must seek solace and explore new roads or in this case old roads, a way to link oneself to the past.

Shoshone is about a mile long, if one blinks their eyes for a moment, they could pass this town. This is a place one should stop at, smell the clean desert air, and discover the rich history, the museum, and rusting relics of a life melting in the hot sun. Wild life in abundance, the hot springs and the still of the air, far removed from the bustling city. At night one sees stars, galaxy’s from a far off place, the hollowing of coyotes in the distance, a darkness one could not find anywhere except in the deep caves that miners dredge in the not so distant past. To the south/east I could see the lights of Las Vegas, glowing like a fire.

On my next blog I am going to discuss the purpose of my trip to Shoshone.

Sequoia National Park

Dear Reader

I have lived in California all of my life, California is a state so humongous that it could take a life time to visit every National Park and every tourist destination. Since I have been working in the "entertainment industry" as a provider of motor homes and transportation equipment I have had a chance to visit some prodigious locations.

One of my chances came in 2005 when one of my dearest clients Shotsie from First Shot Productions asked me to come on a location scout for a future shoot in Sequoia National Park, along with her assistant "Selma". The trip took about four and a half hours, including a stop for fuel and snacks, since Sequoia is a National Park there is only one petrol station and the hours of this station is not 24 hours, so top off your tank before you enter the park.

Once we got to the park we stopped at several potential locations including this location, a tunnel carved into a tree. This part of the road is closed to thru traffic but it offered an interesting locale to shoot at. Ultimately the Client rejected this locale because they were shooting a winter edition of their Christmas catalog and the Client wanted locations with snow.

We checked into the Wuksachi Lodge; when we arrived at the parking lot there was nine feet high snow drifts even though it was early March. This was perfect in one way, we needed the snow for our background, but too much snow could cancel our shoot or make it impossible to navigate our large vehicles including the box truck, the horse trailer and the motor home. There was another problem, the General Highway (Hwy 198) is the most navigable road for large vehicles like the RV, but when winter storms blow in from Alaska, 198 is the first road to close because of snow. Highway 65 is always opened throughout the year, but because of the winding narrow passes, vehicles over 30 feet are not advised on this byway. Fortunately for our job, when we shot there in late March, 198 was opened and we had no problem navigating our way to our various locations.

We spent two days in Sequoia scouting various locations including Grants Pass, and Giant Forest. This was a chance for me to determine the best location to park the motor home and other large vehicles and to devise maps for the crew. Since there are no dump stations in Sequoia, I advised my Producer that we should look at alternative restrooms during our shoot. This was no problem, since every location except one had a restroom. The other issue was diesel fuel for our support vehicles, I advised my drivers to top off their tanks before they entered the park, since my RV has a 900 mile range, one tank kept me in business for the four day shoot.

Since my Producer did a lot of pre-planing, the shoot went great. We had a exceptional time, it was cold, the photographer got the shot they needed, and the Client went back to the United Kingdom happy.

If you are planing on shooting in California, Oregon, Washington or surrounding states please call me Mike Green at 818 317 7099, we have the motor homes and portable restrooms for your future productions.

This is my journey

Dear Reader

Friends ask me all the time what do you do? I tell them I provide motor homes for the entertainment industry, specifically for photo shoots, commercials, music videos and feature films. They are usually astounded that such a job actually exist. I have been a driver/operator of motor homes for almost ten years. I started my career in this business driving for someone else, eventually I got promoted to "transportation captain" and was in charge of a small fleet of motor homes for a West Los Angeles photo studio. I went solo in 2004 when that studio cease operations, I continued to work with the same producers from that studio and along the way obtained new clients.

My journey has been a engrossing trip, I have met many fascinating people and traveled to some unparalleled locations. I have met many celebrities, models and sports stars, what I like most about my job is, I never know who is going to be siting in my sofa or at my make-up table. The one thing I learned on my journey is just how human people are, some people are bless with good looks, or a passion and talent for acting, singing or sports. Some people are bless with the gift of being a good human, which I like to think is a common goal of mankind.

I am going to continue to provide the best service and the most practical motor homes in the business and I hope the entertainment industry continue to thrive even in a difficult economy. America don't give up on America, it is still the great country, and times will get better, they always do.

Vasquez Rocks Revisit

Dear Reader

Vasquez Rocks is a great place to shoot, though this location has been shot numerous times, it is worth noting, that this park is massive and as such offers innumerable possibilities. A short hike to the north you can get a spectacular sunrise shot like this. (Note: this picture was modified)

A few years ago I was hired, by a promising photographer to provide a high end motor home for a European Magazine fashion shoot. The Photographer wanted a desert shot, he had a blanket film permit for north/west Mojave (Palmdale, Little Rock), at the last second he decided to add Vasquez Rocks at my request. Since Vasquez Rocks is on the way to the Mojave Desert we stop at VR first. The photographer loved Vasquez, he rushed his photo assistants to ready the camera, the make-up and hair stylist hurried to get the two models ready for the shot, which included gladiator props, please don't ask me what they did with the props, I never saw

the final pictures, though I have always been curious about this fashion shoot.

Again, when my Clients ask for my imput before a shoot, I can assist them more efficiently. If they have location questions or ideas I can help them. If they are concern about parking the RV or other large vehicles I can go out to the location and check the locale, look for any obstructions and confirm the directions. Good large vehicle directions are essential, bad directions can cause logistical problems.

If you have any questions about this location or other locations mentioned in my blog and/or you need a motor home for your next shoot call me, Mike Green 818 317 7099.