How I will choose the location for my short film

I know that I have some ideas for what I want to get across on my film, but I need to be sure that I have thought about the location for it carefully. I have a few options, I have spent a lot of time in France over xmas for example so I did shoot some footage there, I read a really useful article on location scouting in an online magazine called Videomaker. This did help to focus my thoughts even though it was about a much larger scale production, however really good tips such as brining an extra memory card, and looking into the pros and cons of different locations too – thinking about the weather, my transport options and who else will be involved for example. Also this article reinforced why I should make notes about what I’m thinking, and the locations I look at as this builds up a useful resource. I did shoot footage in france but realised that this was not going to be practical – I would have no option ( well no practical option) to go back and re shoot anything, and as this scenario I was looking at was outside I would also be relying on weather conditions etc I also looked at other sites such as Independentfilmadvice.com and the advice to be found is interesting, and though most of the sites are not what you are looking for each one does have some little bit of advice that is helpful. These helped me to think about the actual practicalities of shooting my short film. For example I new hit had to be somewhere I know and that I have easy access to as the person I am using as my actor works and so is not around all the time and I need to be flexible about the filming and be able to do it anytime. So I made a short list of things to ;look out for. Firstly the atmosphere of the location. I need to think about what I am finally going to film and match this to the location possibilities. secondly The lighting possibilities, the use of outdoor shots means I will rely on weather to an extent, will I be able to bring in lighting if needed? Thirdly, access – I need to use a location that is available all the time, due to the actors commitments and availability. In other productions this may involve negotiating with for example shop keepers or passers by and I would need to be prepared for this type of thing to minimise difficulties when it comes to shooting. FinallyThe sound is a concern for many filmmakers, eg filming near a railway line involves more planning to avoid the noise of the train if that is what you want to do. I may choose to record the soundtrack separately however but I need to know what my options are.