Sprawling along the coast of Southern California, Los Angeles is a vibrant city and the main hub of the United States’ film and television industry. Downtown Los Angeles is renowned for its leading art galleries, museums, and sporting venues, as well as being home to the luxurious mansions of celebrities and millionaires.
Los Angeles, with its extensive network of industry professionals, serves as an outstanding location for a video shoot, be it a photo shoot, music video, dance shoot, or promotional video. You can take advantage of the city’s diverse choice of outdoor space options and find a space that meets your exact needs.
Shoot locations in L.A. range from state-of-the-art studios and sprawling homes to more niche spaces such as power plants, retro office spaces, and unfinished basements (for horror-themed productions). With all kinds of spaces you can think of, it's no wonder why aspiring and professional filmmakers and content creators flock to L.A. to fulfill their dream projects.
When you’re looking for film or music video shoot locations in Los Angeles, you’ll find plenty of purpose-built studios, rooftops, and industrial spaces, as well as private homes that you can utilize.
Homes
Whether you’re after a mid-century mansion, an Edwardian Craftsman home, or a vintage-style apartment, you can find a diverse choice of residences to serve as your video shoot location in L.A. Homes are ideal for a documentary film shoot, headshot, or even a workout video, providing a versatile backdrop tailored to each unique project.
Industrial spaces
From lofts to warehouses, there’s no shortage of industrial spaces in Los Angeles that provide an ideal music video shoot location. Most come with a plain white aesthetic, so they can easily be transformed into anything you desire, be it a fashion shoot, music video, or clothing shoot.
Film Studios
Los Angeles boasts an abundance of film studios that are purpose-built and equipped with everything you need. Some studio locations come with a particular design aesthetic while others are a blank canvas for you to add your creative touch to the feature film or documentary shoot.
Rooftops
Los Angeles' rooftop venues boast spectacular views of the city center and are favored for their natural light, making them popular choices for photo shoots and music videos. Look for options that include behind-the-scenes spaces where your artists and crew can get ready.
Churches
A church might not be the first thing that comes to mind when looking for an L.A. music video shoot location, but they can provide a highly unique backdrop. Whether you’re after a horror-style setting or an ornate Spanish scene, a church might be just the answer.
Need help planning or producing your video shoot in Los Angeles? There are plenty of award-winning production companies in the city that can make your creative visions a reality.
Zane Productions
This award-winning video production company creates high-quality TV commercials, music video projects, and promotional videos, as well as branded web content and corporate videos. Their services include everything from video concept development to production and editing.
Tiger House Films
Established in 2011, Tiger House Films is a production company based in Los Angeles that serves locations throughout California and New York. They create everything from TV commercials to fashion films and branded content, combining an advertising agency, video production company, and post-production house in one.
Passage Pictures
Passage Pictures is one of Los Angeles’ top production companies in the television and film industries and can turn its hand to just about anything. The company was founded by the award-winning producer Uri Singer and features a team of highly experienced industry professionals.
With its established film and music industries, Los Angeles might be an obvious choice for your next video shoot. But the city’s high prices and notorious traffic are worth considering.
Established film and music industry
As the home of Hollywood, Los Angeles already has a well-established film industry and provides the setting for countless films, music videos, and photo shoots. This means that you have plenty of spaces and professionals at your disposal, no matter what you want to create.
Diversity of venues
Finding a video or photo shoot location in Los Angeles doesn’t mean you’re restricted to purpose-built film studios. You can also take advantage of the city’s diverse range of architectural homes, industrial-style lofts, and rooftops offering incredible views.
Experienced professionals
Whether you need sound engineers, camera crew, or backup dancers, Los Angeles boasts one of the highest concentrations of film industry professionals in the United States.
Easy international connections
Los Angeles International Airport is a global aviation hub, with flights from all over the world arriving and departing from here. Your performers and crew won’t have any trouble getting to and from your L.A. video shoot location, no matter where they are traveling from.
Enviable weather
With a large number of sunny days throughout the calendar year, Los Angeles has a mild climate, making it the perfect place to host video shoots in either indoor or outdoor locations.
High costs of living
Los Angeles isn’t the most affordable place to host a video shoot. Services and utilities you'll need for your shoot will be more expensive than the national average.
High real estate costs
With low vacancy and high demand in the property market, Los Angeles’ real estate market is expensive, which means rental fees for venues can be high. But, with enough time to research spaces and compare prices, you can get a video shoot location that works within your budget.
Traffic
Traveling across the city during peak hours can be tedious, with traffic regularly coming to a standstill. This is something to keep in mind when deciding on your video shoot location.
Parking
Parking can also be difficult in the city, so if you and your crew plan on driving, consider a location with private parking facilities.
Crime
Los Angeles does have a relatively high crime rate but, according to the FBI, it also has one of the largest declines in crime of any U.S. city.
Rodeo Drive
Rodeo Drive is one of the most upscale streets in Beverly Hills. It’s lined with designer boutiques and high-end hotels, including the Beaux Arts-style Regent Beverly Wilshire that appeared in the 1990 rom-com Pretty Woman. Want to give your L.A. video shoot a glamor boost? Consider renting a Beverly Hills luxury mansion or a modern dream villa near the Sunset Strip.
Lower Grand Tunnel
Lower Grand is a semi-enclosed tunnel that makes an ideal backdrop for dramatic, industrial-style video shoots. It’s a great place to play with backlighting and shadows and is a popular setting for athletic apparel and car product commercials.
The Bradbury Building
Built in 1893, this five-story office building is particularly renowned for its skylit atrium, which is framed by stairs and walkways decorated with ornate ironwork. It was commissioned by the LA-based gold-mining millionaire Lewis L. Bradbury and has been featured in numerous TV shows and movies such as Blade Runner.