Nick Carr // Scout Stories
@nickcarr.bsky.social
I'm a movie location scout. My job is to explore. This is what I find. Inquiries: nickcarr@gmail.com. Teamsters Local 399
Oftentimes, the hardest part of location scouting isn’t the where, it’s the who; as in, who owns the property and can give permission for filming. I’m searching for an alley contained on private property in a particular area and found this one pretty quickly, liked it because it has a curve. <more>
November 14, 2025 at 11:27 PM
Oftentimes, the hardest part of location scouting isn’t the where, it’s the who; as in, who owns the property and can give permission for filming. I’m searching for an alley contained on private property in a particular area and found this one pretty quickly, liked it because it has a curve. <more>
Well that was a crazy past year of scouting!
November 14, 2025 at 6:21 AM
Well that was a crazy past year of scouting!
I’m scouting a mom-and-pop fast food restaurant, the kind that has literally everything on the menu. It’s about 4pm. A man who is clearly homeless walks in and goes to the front counter and orders french toast with a side of bacon, in a voice that sounds both utterly exhausted and triumphant. <more>
November 13, 2025 at 7:02 PM
I’m scouting a mom-and-pop fast food restaurant, the kind that has literally everything on the menu. It’s about 4pm. A man who is clearly homeless walks in and goes to the front counter and orders french toast with a side of bacon, in a voice that sounds both utterly exhausted and triumphant. <more>
Love when LA’s islands in the clouds decide to come out
November 12, 2025 at 11:38 PM
Love when LA’s islands in the clouds decide to come out
It is crazy how commonplace it is to find yourself behind a full Back To The Future replica DeLorean in Los Angeles
November 11, 2025 at 12:23 AM
It is crazy how commonplace it is to find yourself behind a full Back To The Future replica DeLorean in Los Angeles
Given that I literally never, ever see anyone casually hanging out on their balcony at any time of day or night in my scouting travels, I can only assume that having a balcony seems like a wonderfully romantic idea right up until the moment you actually get one.
November 7, 2025 at 12:39 AM
Given that I literally never, ever see anyone casually hanging out on their balcony at any time of day or night in my scouting travels, I can only assume that having a balcony seems like a wonderfully romantic idea right up until the moment you actually get one.
Wonder what the hours are
October 7, 2025 at 11:43 PM
Wonder what the hours are
Just a quick announcement to say that all three Scout Stories issues are now back in stock! The latest "Hidden NY" is $12/free US shipping. And you can save $4 by getting all three Scout Stories issues in a bundle: Hidden NY / Desert / Show Business.
Purchase here: nickcarr.com/scoutstories/
Purchase here: nickcarr.com/scoutstories/
September 8, 2025 at 5:36 PM
Just a quick announcement to say that all three Scout Stories issues are now back in stock! The latest "Hidden NY" is $12/free US shipping. And you can save $4 by getting all three Scout Stories issues in a bundle: Hidden NY / Desert / Show Business.
Purchase here: nickcarr.com/scoutstories/
Purchase here: nickcarr.com/scoutstories/
Years ago, I had the pleasure of working on several TV series with a fellow location manager named Philip Fracassi. One day, Philip abruptly vanished from the film industry, only to re-emerge soon after as one of the most exciting new horror authors of the past decade... <cont'd>
August 5, 2025 at 7:11 PM
Years ago, I had the pleasure of working on several TV series with a fellow location manager named Philip Fracassi. One day, Philip abruptly vanished from the film industry, only to re-emerge soon after as one of the most exciting new horror authors of the past decade... <cont'd>
A rough alley in a rough part of LA, but the flowers are reaching for the sky.
July 20, 2025 at 6:08 PM
A rough alley in a rough part of LA, but the flowers are reaching for the sky.
What strange times to be living in, when some think of this family as having been lucky to have existed in a more enlightened age, free from the detriments of modern medicine.
May 19, 2025 at 6:52 PM
What strange times to be living in, when some think of this family as having been lucky to have existed in a more enlightened age, free from the detriments of modern medicine.
Four days to lose all your children. I can't fathom the immense grief that must have been felt on this exact spot, over and over again without relent. Perhaps most tragic of all was seeing that both parents lived at least a decade longer.
May 19, 2025 at 6:52 PM
Four days to lose all your children. I can't fathom the immense grief that must have been felt on this exact spot, over and over again without relent. Perhaps most tragic of all was seeing that both parents lived at least a decade longer.
I did a little searching, and found that in fact a diphtheria outbreak had ravaged the the community in that year. All four children - Anniebell, Milford, Clifford, and Marinda - succumbed to it within four days.
May 19, 2025 at 6:52 PM
I did a little searching, and found that in fact a diphtheria outbreak had ravaged the the community in that year. All four children - Anniebell, Milford, Clifford, and Marinda - succumbed to it within four days.
I started wondering what could have caused such a tragedy. Injuries sustained from a fire? Some kind of tragic accident?
May 19, 2025 at 6:52 PM
I started wondering what could have caused such a tragedy. Injuries sustained from a fire? Some kind of tragic accident?
Looking closer, I saw they were for four children from the same family. All were very young at the time of their death, the oldest 7, the youngest 1. And strangely, all died within a four day span: May 10, May 12, and two on May 13.
May 19, 2025 at 6:52 PM
Looking closer, I saw they were for four children from the same family. All were very young at the time of their death, the oldest 7, the youngest 1. And strangely, all died within a four day span: May 10, May 12, and two on May 13.
I was scouting farmland near LA for orange groves when I found myself parked next to the old graveyard for the area. I took a quick walkthrough to see the oldest grave (1876, pretty damn old for LA). As I was leaving, I noticed four graves in a row.
May 19, 2025 at 6:52 PM
I was scouting farmland near LA for orange groves when I found myself parked next to the old graveyard for the area. I took a quick walkthrough to see the oldest grave (1876, pretty damn old for LA). As I was leaving, I noticed four graves in a row.
Clearly owned by someone who once took a lot of pride in their video store. Rest in peace, Martinez Video No. 2.
April 22, 2025 at 10:05 PM
Clearly owned by someone who once took a lot of pride in their video store. Rest in peace, Martinez Video No. 2.
In movie location scouting, you’ll often be asked to find a place with with “texture,” a fancy way of referring to the wear and tear that builds on a property from decades or even centuries of use, age, and neglect. This facade for a down-and-out hotel near Skid Row may not look like much to most…
April 14, 2025 at 9:27 PM
In movie location scouting, you’ll often be asked to find a place with with “texture,” a fancy way of referring to the wear and tear that builds on a property from decades or even centuries of use, age, and neglect. This facade for a down-and-out hotel near Skid Row may not look like much to most…
One of the crazy things you learn when scouting old mining properties is that people frequently trespass, sneak into open shafts and chip away in hopes of finding gold, without any concern for the odorless, invisible gas that could kill them without warning.
April 4, 2025 at 9:12 PM
One of the crazy things you learn when scouting old mining properties is that people frequently trespass, sneak into open shafts and chip away in hopes of finding gold, without any concern for the odorless, invisible gas that could kill them without warning.
First time in 20 years of scouting I’ve ever seen a warning sign for quicksand. Which of course makes me all the more interested in checking it out…
April 4, 2025 at 6:34 PM
First time in 20 years of scouting I’ve ever seen a warning sign for quicksand. Which of course makes me all the more interested in checking it out…
I just drove by this house and am fascinated by its design philosophy. “Make it like the Addams Family, only modern” feels like a real conversation that took place.
April 3, 2025 at 11:27 PM
I just drove by this house and am fascinated by its design philosophy. “Make it like the Addams Family, only modern” feels like a real conversation that took place.
Been a long time since this sign had any meaning
February 25, 2025 at 10:33 PM
Been a long time since this sign had any meaning
The Wall.
This is the wall everyone wants right now.
Concrete, flat, a muted gray. Sometimes with the imprint of boards, sometimes with those little indented holes, sometimes both.
Brutalist. Stark. Simple.
<thread>
This is the wall everyone wants right now.
Concrete, flat, a muted gray. Sometimes with the imprint of boards, sometimes with those little indented holes, sometimes both.
Brutalist. Stark. Simple.
<thread>
January 29, 2025 at 6:55 PM
The Wall.
This is the wall everyone wants right now.
Concrete, flat, a muted gray. Sometimes with the imprint of boards, sometimes with those little indented holes, sometimes both.
Brutalist. Stark. Simple.
<thread>
This is the wall everyone wants right now.
Concrete, flat, a muted gray. Sometimes with the imprint of boards, sometimes with those little indented holes, sometimes both.
Brutalist. Stark. Simple.
<thread>
Tbt that time my parents came to visit me in college and stopped to watch a film being shot on campus, and wound up immortalized in Spider-Man 2
January 27, 2025 at 5:19 PM
Tbt that time my parents came to visit me in college and stopped to watch a film being shot on campus, and wound up immortalized in Spider-Man 2