If you are asking which location I would put in a film, I would have to choose NYC. I guess my reason behind that would be that I want to direct sci-fi/thriller type films. NYC has kind of a cramped feeling with so many skyscrapers and so little space between them.

I just think that NYC is a little creepier than LA. Maybe it's just me.?:)?

Well, Spiderman is set in NYC, but much of the work was done in LA, so I've been thinking that LA has more of the specialized expertise in big-budget SF thrillers. At least, that's what it looks to a noob like me.

If you are going to shoot in the US, I would say LA. I having been working in the biz for the last 6 years. I can tell you that the amount of available truly experienced crew is definitely higher in LA. The weather allows a lot more flexibility, which is why people started shooting there to begin with. There are more rental houses, more shooting facilities, and more specialty locations. You can shoot LA for a lot of other places depending on how creative you are, but NYC is NYC and looks like NYC. And even if you want NYC, a lot of people shoot in Toronto.

making low budget dreams come true

quote:

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Originally posted by Aspiring mogul

Well, Spiderman is set in NYC, but much of the work was done in LA, so I've been thinking that LA has more of the specialized expertise in big-budget SF thrillers. At least, that's what it looks to a noob like me.

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Where you do the location shooting and where the
production is based are two different things. There
are specialists in big budget SF thrillers all over the
world. Weta Digital for example - ILM for example.
A city has no more or less specialized expertise than
another city. The people have the specialized expertise
and they can be based anywhere.

No reason your prodCo can't be based in your home
town, you shoot locations in NYC, London and Dubai,
shoot on stages in LA then do all post in Australia.

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The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.
Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)

quote:

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No reason your prodCo can't be based in your home
town, you shoot locations in NYC, London and Dubai,
shoot on stages in LA then do all post in Australia.

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Wouldn't that be more expensive than just shooting everything in one city?

quote:

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Originally posted by Aspiring mogul

Wouldn't that be more expensive than just shooting everything in one city?

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Yes it would.

So why do they shoot in so many locations just for one crummy scene? Because the skill sets and facilities are spread all over the planet?

We seem to be talking at odds to one another.

I was speaking in general - you seem to be talking about something
very specific. Sorry about the confusion.

There is no reason at all to shoot one crummy scene all over the
world. In fact it would be very foolish. What I meant was; there
are talented people and excellent facilities all over the world.
There is no reason why it couldn't be done that way - not that it
always should be done that way.

As you said, "Spider-man" was set on NYC but much of the shooting
was done in LA. If that leads you to believe that LA has more of
the specialized expertise in big-budget SF thrillers I believe you
have made an incorrect assumption. NY has the specialized
expertise in big-budget SF thrillers, New Zealand has the
specialized expertise in big-budget SF thrillers, UK the
specialized expertise in big-budget SF thrillers, Australia has
the specialized expertise in big-budget SF thrillers.

So if you, the producer were based in London, you could put
together a big-budget SF thriller just as easy as if you were
based in NY or LA. That was my point. I wasn't speaking about
any specific crummy scene.

Makes sense. I remember watching a James Bond DVD, and I switched over to voice-over commentary. Pierce Brosnan, was talking about the introductory scene, where, when they skulked onto the beach in North Korea, they were in a sound stage, and, a second later, they were on another location. I suppose that's TWO scenes, not one.

For the purposes of this discussion, I would tend to agree with 'ACE Studio'. For pretty much the entire world, moviemaking has been associated with Hollywood for a full century. If you walk into a restaurant in Manhattan, chances are that your waiter (or waitress) will be a stage actor. If you walk into a restaurant in the greater Los Angeles area, chances are that your waiter will have a script to produce, and your waitress is a screen actress.

Both of these cities have abundance of talent and crew for all levels of film production (from no-budget, amateur, to high-budget A-list). I'm sure, though, that L.A. sees significantly more moviemaking action and, in absolute numbers, has more people than NYC.

In the end, the difference may well be irrelevant, since there's plenty to go around.

As for shooting in NYC, there seems to be this impression that NYC == Manhattan, when in fact it is not. While no other city can give you the real Manhattan (there ain't no Times Square, or Empire State Building in Toronto), there are plenty of generic neighbourhoods in NYC (Staten Island is full of them, as is Queens) that look like ANY American suburbia.

Big productions can choose to shoot anywhere, so they may avoid shooting around NYC neighbourhoods. NYC has a special Mayor's Office for Film, Theatre and Broadcasting, and that tells you how much location shooting is done in NYC. That also means that city won't have a problem taking advantage of those productions. On the other hand, a smaller town will likely be more than happy to accommodate a movie production if that means bringing jobs (even temporary) to the town. A big location shoot is comparatively less of a disruption to a smaller town than to NYC.

Thanks to technology, there is no reason to do any of these tasks in any specific place, rather than some other place. You can shoot most of your movie in Boston, or in Bruxelles, or in Belgrade. You can then add visual effects in Bolivia, or Botswana, or Bhutan. And you could finish the rest of the post in Budapest, Bujumbura or Belfast... All works pretty seamlessly. My first thought still applies, though; concentration of quality talent is certainly higher in L.A. than anywhere else in the world.