A
filming location is a place where some or all of
a
film or television series is produced, in
addition to or instead of using
sets constructed on a
movie studio backlot or
soundstage. For example, the television
series
24 is filmed
primarily on location except for some scenes which are always
filmed on the same sets.
On location is a term used to describe the filming
on such a real site. The term is often
mistakenly believed
to mean that the production is being filmed on the actual location
in which its story is set, but this is not necessarily the
case.
Pros and cons
Location filming has several advantages over filming on a studio
set:
- It can be cheaper than constructing large sets
- The illusion of reality can be stronger - it is hard to
replicate real-world wear-and-tear, and architectural details
- It sometimes allows the use of cheaper non-union labor or to
bypass a work stoppage in the US. Canadian locations such as Vancouver
and Toronto
are known
for this.
- It sometimes allows "frozen" currency to be used. The 1968
movie Kelly's Heroes was
filmed in Yugoslavia using profits that
had been made on movie exhibitions in that country but couldn't be
exported.
Its disadvantages include:
- A lack of control over the environment - passing aircraft,
traffic, pedestrians, bad weather, city regulations, etc.
- Finding a real-world location which exactly matches the
requirements of the script
- Members of the audience may be familiar with
a real-world location used to double as a fictional location (such
as Rumble in the Bronx
inexplicably showing the mountains outside Vancouver in the
background of an urban Bronx
-set
scene)
- Taking a whole film crew to film on location can be extremely
expensive
Location filming can provide significant economic development
benefit to an area, including local cast and crew and the use of
facilities such as catering and accommodation.
Practicalities

The Mayor's Office of Film, Theatre
and Broadcasting in New York City helps keep cars from parking near
shooting locations
Location filming usually requires a
Location Manager, and locations are usually
chosen by a
Location Scout.
Many
popular locations, such as New York City
in the United States
, and the Isle of Man
in the United Kingdom
, have dedicated film offices to encourage location
filming, and to suggest appropriate locations to
film-makers.
In many cases a
second unit is
despatched to film location scenes, with a
second unit director and sometimes with
stand-in actors. These locations shots can
then be edited into the final film or TV program alongside
studio-shot sequences, to give an authentic flavour, without the
expense or trouble of a full-scale location shoot.
NYPD Blue, for example, was filmed primarily
in Los
Angeles
, but used second unit footage of New York City for
colour, as well as featuring a small number of episodes filmed on
location with the cast.
Substitute locations
It is common for films to be set in one place, but filmed in
another, usually for reasons of economy or convenience, but
sometimes because the substitute location looks more historically
appropriate.
Some substitute filming locations, and the corresponding film
setting, include:
- Almería
, Spain
- Southwest
USA (The Good, the
Bad and the Ugly, as well as numerous other Spaghetti Westerns)
- Augusta, Georgia
- Boston, Massachusetts
(That Darn
Cat (1997))
- Bath
, UK -
Boston,
Massachusetts
(Sleepy
Hollow (1999)
- Bristol
, UK -
Peckham
, London
(Only Fools and
Horses)
- Berlin
, Germany
- Paris
, London
(Around the
World in 80 Days (2004)), Moscow
, Russia
(The Bourne
Ultimatum (2007))
- Birmingham
, UK - New York City (Velvet Goldmine)
- Brent Cross
, London, UK - Hamburg
(Tomorrow Never
Dies)
- Budapest
, Hungary
- Berlin (Spy
Game), Paris
(Maigret - UK TV series
(1993))
- Chicago, Illinois
elevated railway -
New York elevated railway
(Spider-Man 2)
- City
Chambers, Glasgow
, Scotland
- The Vatican
(Heavenly
Pursuits)
- Dubuque
, Iowa
- Cleveland
(F.I.S.T.),
portions of Boston
(Field of
Dreams)
- Fort
Hunter Liggett, California
- Vietnam
(We Were
Soldiers)
- Glasgow, Scotland - Moscow, Russia (Gorky Park), New York City
(The House of
Mirth)
- Hamilton, Ontario
- American blue-collar towns & inner
cities. Detroit (Exit
Wounds (2002)), the Bronx (Finding Forrester (2000))
- Hawaii
- West Africa (Tears of the Sun), Brazilian
Amazon (The Rundown)
- Helsinki
, Finland
- Moscow, Russia (Reds, Gorky Park)
- Hedsor House
, England
- A beautiful English film location (Most
Mysterious Murders)
- Isle of Man
, UK - Ireland
(Waking
Ned)
- Iceland
- Himalayas
(Batman
Begins), and Iwo
Jima
(Flags
of Our Fathers)
- Lincoln Cathedral
, UK - Westminster Abbey
(The Da
Vinci Code)
- Liverpool
, UK - Moscow, Russia (Yentl, The Hunt for Red
October)
- Long Beach,
California - Various movies
- Madrid
, Spain -
Moscow, Russia (Doctor
Zhivago)
- Malta
- Ancient
Sparta
(Troy); Ancient Rome
(Gladiator); Rome
, Beirut
, Cyprus
, Tel Aviv
, Athens
(Munich); Sweethaven
(Popeye)
- Manchester
, UK - New York (Alfie
(2004))
- Melbourne
, Australia - London, New
York City (Queen of the
Damned)
- Mount Taranaki/Egmont
, New
Zealand
- Japan
(The Last
Samurai)
- Oxford
, UK -
The Republic of China
(Spy Game)
- Prague
, Czech
Republic
- Vienna
, Austria
(Amadeus
(1984)), Zürich
, Switzerland
(The
Bourne Identity (2002))
- Romania
- Los Angeles (Seed
of Chucky)
- Roslyn
, USA - Cicely, Alaska
(Northern
Exposure)
- Royal Horticultural Hall, London, UK - interior Berlin
Tempelhof Airport (Indiana Jones and the Last
Crusade)
- Seville
, Spain - Havana
, Cuba
(Die Another
Day)
- Slovakia
- California (Ravenous)
- Wales
- North Korea
(Die Another
Day)
- St Pancras Hotel, London - Arkham Asylum, Gotham
City (Batman Begins)
- Saint Petersburg
, Russia - Berlin, Germany (Der Untergang
(Downfall))
- Sydney
, Australia
- Metropolis (Superman Returns (2006))
- Thailand
- Various locations
around Thailand have been used for many films depicting the
Vietnam War era, including The Deer Hunter, The Killing Fields,
Casualties of War,
Air America and
Operation Dumbo
Drop.
- Tilbury Docks
, Essex, UK - Gotham Harbour
(Batman Begins)
- Toronto
, Canada
-
Many locations are depicted, but Chicago
and New York
City
are most often represented.
- Valles Caldera
, New
Mexico
- various
- Vancouver, Canada
-
depicting various places but often Washington
state, especially Seattle
- Vienna
, Austria
- Bratislava
, Czechoslovakia
(The Living
Daylights)
- Winnetka, Illinois
- Chicago, Illinois
(Home
Alone)
Gallery
Image:Weird Science house north view.JPG|North view of the
Los Cerritos, Long Beach,
California house used in the the 1985
teen
film Weird Science
as the fictional, upscale family home Wyatt Donnelly and the
location of the Gary-Wyatt party. The Weird Science house also
appeared in the 2001
comedy film
Not Another Teen
Movie and in the 2001
drama/
psychological thriller/
science fiction film
Donnie Darko.Image:Ferris
Bueller house northeast view.JPG|Northeast view of the
Los Cerritos, Long Beach,
California house used in the 1986
comedy
film Ferris Bueller's
Day Off as the Bueller family home. This
Los Cerritos, Long Beach,
California home also was used in the 2001
comedy film Not Another Teen Movie and the
2002
thriller film
Red Dragon.Image:American Pie house
west view.JPG|West view of the
Los Cerritos, Long Beach,
California house used in the 1999
teen
comedy film American Pie. The house served as
the Levenstein family home where the character Jim sets up the
camera to peep on the beautiful foreign exchange student, Nadia.
The house also is seen in
American
Pie 2.Image:Michelle house American Pie northwest
view.JPG|Northwest view of the
Los Cerritos, Long Beach,
California house used in the 1999
teen
comedy film American Pie. The house served as
the family home of
Alyson Hannigan's
character Michelle Flaherty, a band geek and perky flute player
know for starting sentences with "And one time, at band camp,
..."Image:American Pie 2 painters house west view.JPG|West view of
the
Los Cerritos,
Long Beach, California house where the four character friends
in the 2001
comedy film American Pie 2 worked to paint this
house yellow while vacationing at a lake.Image:Donnie Darko house
northwest view.JPG|Northwest view of the
Los Cerritos, Long Beach,
California house used in the
2001
drama/
psychological thriller/
science fiction film
Donnie Darko as the fictional
family home for the teenager
Donnie Darko.
The house also
appeared in an episode of the 2003-2005 American
television fantasy/family drama Joan of
Arcadia as part of a house party scene.
See also
External links