Eugene Strange

I'm often brought in early to act as the Director's "First Eye" - researching, conceiving, and scouting locations across the globe to help shape a film's visual identity from the ground up. It's a role I take immense pride in, contributing creatively at the very start of a project when the world of the film is still being imagined. Between feature film work, I run Salt, a location and production service company based in London. I was one of Salt's first employees back in 2001, starting as a junior location manager, and took over running the company in 2006 - the same year I began what would become a long and rewarding collaboration with Jonathan Glazer, starting with his iconic 'Sony Paint' commercial. Since then, we've worked together on Under the Skin and The Zone of Interest - both deeply unique experiences that continue to shape how I see my role. Our creative partnership is something I treasure. When I'm involved from the very beginning of a project, I feel I can have a profound influence on its aesthetic, using location ideas and photography to help build the film's world. I've worked this way with Edgar Wright on his upcoming The Running Man, and with directors like Lynne Ramsay and Pawel Pawlikowski on projects in development. I also started early on Aneil Karia's upcoming contemporary Hamlet, starring and produced by Riz Ahmed alongside Jim Wilson. I'm incredibly proud of past work on films including Justin Kurzel's Macbeth, James Marsh's The King of Thieves, James Griffiths' Cuban Fury, and my first feature, Daniel Barber's Harry Brown. My aim is always to ensure that locations are not just backdrops, but vital parts of the production design - something I've had the pleasure of crafting alongside brilliant designers like Chris Oddy, Fiona Crombie, and Marcus Rowland. Outside of features, I've scouted for hundreds of commercials, collaborating with directors such as Spike Jonze, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Guy Ritchie, Asif Kapadia, Autumn de Wilde, and most recently, the incredible team at Megaforce. There's no greater thrill for me than finding that perfect location - and if a photo I've taken during a scout ends up being the shot we use in the final film, even better.