TX - Right place, right now.

Finding the right location for a production is vastly more complex than simply turning up, getting the owner's permission, offering a pile of dosh as compensation for use of the property, turning up with the crew and actors, filming and then moving on.BBC 1's new drama, Fields of Gold sees Anna Friel and Phil Davis on the trail of a story involving shady connections between the government, big business and bio-technology for the newspaper they work on. The hunt for locations began early on.Location manager Joel Holmes says: 'Once I've been brought on board, I tend to do a thorough breakdown of the script, scene by scene using a spreadsheet. From that, I'm able to generate lists of what I need to find.'Holmes also undertakes in-depth conversations with the designer and director to find out exactly what visual aspects they're after. For Fields of Gold, a verite look was needed.Then it all comes down to legwork. 'You can't avoid it in the end,' continues Holmes. The storyline meant a farm with specific characteristics was central to the script. A wheat field had to be in clear view of the farm building and the building itself had to be fairly run down. '(That kind of detail) is quite difficult to determine when using photo libraries or agencies.I basically embarked on two to three weeks driving around south-east England, working from maps, assessing farms from how they look on a map, trying to determine what the topography around them would be like.'Even then, there were complications. Some farms (dairy farms) were clearly not suitable. Sometimes, for example, a location might have looked right before a line of electricity pylons was discovered going through the wheat field. Slowly, Holmes built up a short-list of potential sites. Those short-listed would be approached and permission sought to take some reference stills. The pictures were taken back to the designer and director who then asked to see a few of them in person. Eventually, the pros and cons of each location were weighed up and one selected. Holmes then returned to the farm to gain formal permission and negotiate terms. The place that was eventually chosen saw a lot of action, both in terms of screentime and the number of people it had to house. It took two weeks to prepare the location, plus a few days afterwards to return the farm to its original state.Holmes also had to consider other elements outside the actual filming.'You have to ensure that everyone can get there and that everyone has somewhere to park. You also have to consider the residents,' he says.The action in the drama is fast-paced and the eight-week shoot was filmed entirely on location - the Freemason's United Grand Lodge in Covent Garden, a village hospital, a country hotel in Hertfordshire, and a sports centre in Stoke Newington are all featured.Urban locations bring their own set of problems. For filming in a residential street, Holmes has to consult both with the borough council and the residents.'I tend to do a door-to-door knock,' says Holmes. 'You have to consider particular requirements like having parents pick their children up from school and build that into your day.' Filming in central London is extremely problematic - filming somewhere like Oxford Street during the week is going to cause major disruption.Despite the pitfalls, the location manager is, as Holmes explains, 'duty bound to find the best location in terms of the look and feel' with possible problems dealt with after a site has been found. 'They were all very strong locations,' states Holmes. 'I don't think we compromised ourselves on any of them.'FIELDS OF GOLDBroadcaster: BBC 1Producer: BBCStart: 8 JuneLength: 2 x 90-minutesCommissioning editor: Jane TranterPRODUCTION CREDITSWriters: Ronan Bennett, Alan RusbridgerDirector: Bill AndersonProducer: Liza MarshallExec producer: Laura MackieDoP: Julian CourtProduction designer: Ben ScottEditor: Joe WalkerSound: Richard MantonCostume designer: Mike O'Neill.