The tech scout: walking a Miami location with the crew before the shoot

Updated: September 12, 2026

Two scouts, two purposes

The first time you visit a location, you are asking whether it is the right place for the film. That is the creative scout, and it belongs to the director and the producer. The second visit is different. The director of photography, the gaffer, the sound recordist and the first AD walk the same space asking a much less romantic question: can we actually shoot here, and what does it take? That is the tech scout, and skipping it is how a Miami shoot loses its first two hours to a circuit breaker nobody knew about.

This guide covers who goes on a tech scout, what each department checks, the Miami-specific items that catch out crews from elsewhere, and how the notes turn into the shooting plan. It assumes the location has already been chosen; for finding it in the first place, see our guide to location scouting in Miami.

Who goes and when

The tech scout happens after the location is locked and the shooting schedule is drafted, ideally five to ten days before the shoot, so there is still time to order equipment and change the plan. The core group is the producer or production manager, the first AD, the DP and the gaffer. Add the sound recordist if the location has any acoustic questions (in Miami, almost all of them do), the key grip if there is rigging, and the art director if set dressing is significant. The location contact must be present and must be someone who can open every door and answer questions about power and access, not a leasing agent who is seeing the building for the second time.

Time the scout for the same hour you plan to shoot. Sun position, traffic noise, the air handler cycle and the neighbour's leaf blower all change through the day, and a scout at 10 am tells you little about a 4 pm shoot.

What each department checks

Camera

• Every planned setup, physically stood in with a director's viewfinder or a phone: where the camera goes, where the lens points, what is in the background.
• Sun path through the shooting window. In Miami the sun is high and hard from late morning; an exterior that was lovely at the creative scout in February is a different place in July at noon.
• Reflections: glass towers, water, white walls. Downtown and Brickell interiors often have floor-to-ceiling glass on two sides, which decides where the camera can face.
• Floor and ceiling: is there room for a slider, a dolly, a jib? Is the ceiling high enough for a light on a stand?

Lighting and power

• Where the panel is, how many circuits, what amperage, and what else is on them. A condo unit with a 20-amp circuit shared with the refrigerator will trip when the second light goes on.
• Whether a generator is allowed, where it would sit, and how far the cable run is. Many Miami buildings and all beach locations restrict generators.
• Windows: size, orientation, and whether they can be blacked out or gelled. Whether blinds work.
• Practical lights in the space and whether they can be controlled or switched off. Fluorescent office ceilings and LED strips in restaurants are the usual problem.

Sound

• Air conditioning: can it be switched off during takes, and who has the key or the code? In a Miami summer the answer decides whether you record dialogue or replace it later.
• Exterior noise: flight paths (much of Miami is under MIA or Opa-locka approaches), Metrorail, I-95, boat traffic on the Intracoastal, construction next door.
• Room acoustics: hard floors, glass, high ceilings. Whether sound blankets can be hung.
• Scheduled noise: cleaning crews, deliveries, the neighbour's landscaping day.

Production and logistics

• Load-in route from the truck to the set, including elevators (size, weight limit, whether it needs to be padded or booked), stairs, door widths and the distance in metres.
• Parking for the truck and crew vehicles, and what it costs. Our separate guide covers basecamp, parking and load-in planning.
• Holding areas for talent and crew, a room for wardrobe and makeup, bathrooms, and where catering can be set up.
• Building rules: hours, insurance certificate requirements, security check-in, protection for floors and walls. For condos and offices see our notes on filming on private property in Miami.
• Mobile signal and Wi-Fi, which matter for client review links and for the production office.

Miami-specific items

• Heat. Where the crew will get shade and water between setups, and whether there is a cool room. An exterior tech scout should note where the sun will be at every hour of the day, because it determines where the crew can stand.
• Afternoon storms. In summer, identify the covered fallback for every exterior setup, and check where the water pools when it rains. Our guide to the rainy season covers scheduling.
• Salt air. Waterfront locations mean gear cases stay closed and lenses get wiped; note the wind direction and where spray reaches.
• Tides. For anything on a seawall, dock or beach, check the tide table for the shoot day, not the scout day.
• Language. Confirm which languages the building staff and security speak and whether the crew call sheet needs a Spanish version.

Recording the scout

Everything found on the scout goes into a single location report, one per location, shared with the whole crew. A useful format:

• Photos of every setup position, the panel, the load-in route, the parking, the holding rooms, with a wide shot and a phone compass reading for exteriors.
• A floor plan sketch marking camera positions, light positions, power sources, cable runs, sound blanket positions and the AC control.
• A list of decisions: what to order (extra distro, a generator, a 12 by 12 frame), what to ask the location for (AC off, blinds down, the freight elevator booked), and what to change in the schedule.
• A risk list: the circuit that will trip, the noisy neighbour, the tide at 3 pm.

The report feeds the equipment order, the call sheet and the schedule. A tech scout that ends without a written report was a pleasant walk, not a scout.

Tech scouting with Miami Video Production

Every location on our shoots gets a tech scout with the DP, gaffer, sound and first AD, timed to the shooting hour, and a written location report to the whole crew within a day. We have walked hundreds of Miami buildings, beaches and offices and know which downtown towers restrict generators, which Brickell condos need a certificate of insurance on file a week ahead, and which Wynwood streets are unusable for sound on a weekday afternoon.

If you are planning a shoot and want the location checked before you commit to a schedule, talk to us. More on how we prepare a shoot is on the about page, and the rest of our planning guides are on the blog.