Location, location, location!

1970s location in Germany steals the show

Finding good locations is a crucial part of production services and sourcing a great location can sometimes make or break a project. When Honda came to Germany to shoot the reboot of their iconic Africa Twin motorbike we found them a location second to none. The Parkhotel 1970 www.parkhotel-1970.de a hotel built and decorated in the style of the day in 1970 that is perfectly preserved in all it’s garish glory. If Austin Powers had designed a hotel, this would be it! When you experience this place it really is like stepping out of a time machine. Thorough research and preproduction is paramount especially when production and crew are travelling overseas to so-called unknown territory. Never underestimate the importance of a great location so it’s vital to make sure the location scout or fixer at the other end can provide the goods.

The initial location brief for the shoot required a classic seedy motel in the Frankfurt region. The kind of classic motel you see in countless USA movie and TV productions at one time or another. But there are no motels in Germany (and most of Europe) only hotels. Nothing like what they were asking for in their treatment. So we thought outside the box and gave them a few suggestions and the Parkhotel 1970 stood head and shoulders above them all. Like I said they loved it, and it helps if the client has an open mind. We think they made the right choice and ended up with a very unique location. One that still fitted their storyline and provided the feel and atmosphere the director was looking for. In fact he loved the place so much he even rewrote scenes when he saw the location so it could feature more in the commercial. That’s what I call the perfect location.