Filming Commercials in Los Angeles

While probably not your best bet for a snowboarding commercial, Los Angeles is otherwise one of the best central locations for securing a variety of quality, and camera-ready filming locations.

The city features a diversity of landscapes. Many of them are battle-tested for production as well, due to how many films, TV shows, and commercial productions are filmed in Los Angeles, every day throughout the year.

Backdrops Available in the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area

1. Urban settings
2. Luxury residences
3. Suburban neighborhoods
4. Scenic coastal views
5. Historic landmarks
6. Desert landscapes
7. Mountain ranges
8. Modern office buildings
9. Public spaces and markets

Bolstering this variety is the long tradition of filmmaking in the area. When you location scout in Los Angeles while seeking to bring the vision of your business’s unique story and message to life, you can easily borrow on the many years of ingenuity and engineering that have previously turned countless physical spaces in the city into all sorts of exciting settings.

Want a few specific and unique examples? Consider:

The Old LA Zoo: It’s an abandoned zoo! Need a dystopian or creepy backdrop to contrast with your amazing product or service? Abandoned zoo isn’t a bad place to start.

The Bradbury Building: While not completely unknown (Blade Runner!), The Bradbury Building isn’t quite as famous as other LA landmarks. Filming in it won’t be cheap, but for the right company looking to make a big impact – you won’t find many other old buildings that look like this.

Brewery Arts Complex: This former Pabst Blue Ribbon brewery has housed working artists since 1982. It features a variety of artistic and industrial backdrops (and a lot that blend the two). For brands looking to stand out with their cinematography among a variety of sublocations, this location could be worth considering.

Zuma Beach, Malibu: Zuma Beach in Malibu offers expansive ocean views, sandy shores, and dramatic sunsets, making it a picturesque location for any commercial looking to capture a serene or aspirational setting.

Thousand Oaks Solar Panel Farm: For brands focusing on sustainability or innovative technology, the solar panel farms in Thousand Oaks could provide a striking backdrop for conveying a message of progress and/or environmental consciousness.

Highway Overpass, Los Angeles: It took some work to secure the permits, but we loved showcasing vehicles in our commercials filmed under an LA highway overpass. The curves of concrete, the stacked sense of motion and possibility – and that iconic LA traffic vibe – all these characteristics of the location can add authenticity to an auto shoot, or energy or drama to a different kind of narrative.

The commercials we all remember often share two things in common: they feel effortlessly real and they feel relatable. 

This comes down to masterful execution on the side of the actual production (and editing) of your commercial, as well as some precision casting of experienced on-camera talent. 

Simply put, filming commercials in Los Angeles often makes achieving top quality in these crucial areas of a production immediately accessible. 

There are more actors in LA than anywhere else in the world. This brings all the talent you could possibly want or need to your door, when it comes time to find that perfect driver, family, shopper, chef, executive – whoever best represents your buyers or services in a relatable and attractive way.

And when it comes to ensuring those actors look the part, and that their environments feel real and exciting and comprehensively representative of your brand and its promise, you won’t find a better place in the world for quickly gathering the production crew or post-production team required to craft a commercial worthy of your brand.

With all allowances for the cost-efficiency of being able to jet right into town and gain speedy access to excellent locations and top talent, the fact remains Los Angeles will usually cost more as a location for your commercial than most other major metropolitan areas.

That easy access to Hollywood magic? It’s taken a lot of work hours to build, over many decades. And, when it comes to compelling locations, you’d be hard-pressed to find any that haven’t already been offered and paid a decent sum for access and the right to shoot on the property. This pushes rates higher, something that isn’t always the case in many other metropolitan areas, with some exception.

There’s a flip side to much of these drawbacks, however.

Hiring local crew reduces travel and accommodation expenses. Los Angeles is also a town of relationships. Companies like ours maintain connections in Los Angeles that help expedite many of the stages of planning and running your shoot. Long-term partnerships with vendors often result in discounts that can be leveraged to maximize your investment in your commercial, leaving more budget to spend on ensuring your story truly stands out among your competitors.

An example of an amazing local partner? When we needed five different permits for a single location in Los Angeles – because it was a highway overpass – we called Pacific Production Services. They helped us get everything square, so we could focus on the creative decisions needed to make our client’s commercial the best it could be.

FilmLA, the film office for the city, is a well-oiled machine that can get permits cleared quickly compared to other film offices. They can also help coordinate logistics with communities you might want to shoot in, and with resourcing on the ground if or when you’re coming into the area from your headquarters elsewhere in North America or the world. 

And those locations that might be more expensive, on average, compared to other cities? 

They’re also more used to and comfortable with having a big film crew take over their space. That’s not always the case in smaller markets.

The basics of filming in Los Angeles now being established, this is the part where we casually remind you that the brilliant execution of your commercial’s story requires a lot more work to do your brand justice.

If you’re considering Los Angeles as the location for your commercial, but want to discuss some of these pros or cons in more detail, drop us a note. We love talking shop with people who do their homework. If Los Angeles feels like the right move, from the point of view of our experience, we’ll confirm that for you.

But we can also listen in and dialogue with you on your overall goals, and then proceed from there to tease out the best options for achieving success with your commercial, from locations on through to every other stage of production and editing.

P.S. – Don’t forget to drive yourself directly from LAX to In-N-Out Burger when you get to LA, if that’s your idea of a good messy meal.