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Top 10 Video Shoot Locations in the United States
The US offers a rich bounty of picturesque and evocative settings both natural and manmade where videographers can shoot any type of video scene. The various video shoot locations in the United States could make for an exhaustive list of stunning landscapes, architectural designs, and familiar historic sites. Below, you’ll find 10 locations bound to be on that list.
Video Shoot Locations in the United States that Will Make You Reach for the Camera
1. New York City
New York is filled with neighborhoods to suit every kind of scene, from scenes of the gritty New York underbelly in Little Italy or Chinatown to fashion and money on Fifth Avenue or greed and money on Wall Street.
Greenwich Village offers the opportunity to shoot eclectic, funky scenes of American counterculture, while massive Central Park allows you to create a dreamlike “Alice in Wonderland” feel.
New York also offers an abundance of subways and other public transit, sidewalks, apartments, delicatessens, hotels, bars, and nightclubs in which to shoot scenes of everyday urban life.
2. Atlanta, Georgia
Downtown Atlanta offers a beautiful array of uniquely southern urban settings, like the shops of the Fairlie Poplar District or Ponce City Market, the views of the bridge over the railroad tracks at Westside Provisions, or the residential neighborhoods like Summerhill and all along Georgia Avenue and Marietta Street.
For a more familiar and monumental backdrop, try the High Museum, and for a more natural setting, try Inman Park. Just outside of Atlanta, you have even more options with the Avalon and Alpharetta City Center, and Senoia, a location known for numerous video productions.
3. Boston, Massachusetts
Historic and vibrant, Boston offers a range of uniquely New England urban settings for getting memorable video footage, from Fenway Park, the ballpark famously known as the Home of the Red Sox, to the quaint North End.
Shooting video in Boston, you’ll enjoy lots of green spaces, from the Commons to the Esplanade, and historic sites aplenty, including Faneuil Hall and all along the Freedom Trail. You can film crews rowing along the Charles River and ships docking in Boston Bay.
4. Washington, D.C.
The District of Columbia offers videographers a lot more in the way of shooting locations than just the obvious Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, US Capitol, and White House.
Yards Park by the Wharf offers a bridge for shooting that’s an architectural marvel. DC CityCenter offers a modern setting amid reflective glass skyscrapers, windows, and
water fountains. It’s especially picturesque there during the DC Cherry Blossom Festival, or anytime along Palmer Alley.
Another DC waterside attraction that makes for ideal shooting during cherry blossom season, in particular, is Tidal Basin across the water from the Jefferson Memorial. Other, less well-known but equally magnificent historic sites in DC include the Library of Congress, with its high domed ceilings, and the James Madison Memorial Building, with its rows of columns reaching to the sky.
5. Dallas, Texas
If you’re looking to shoot video of horses, oil wells, cowboys, and the good old American west, Dallas, Texas offers everything you need, including Fuel City where you can capture close-ups of Longhorn Cattle and other livestock.
What’s more, it’s all just miles away from a city with a picturesque, and immensely recognizable skyline boasting familiar landmarks like Reunion Tower. Shoot from Overlook Park or the Skyline Trail along the Trinity River to get your skyscraper backdrop.
Fair Park is a perfect place to shoot local fair scenes, with the 55-foot animatronic cowboy Big Tex greeting all entrants and the luminescent Texas Star Ferris Wheel.
Dallas is also famous for its unique bridges, including Margaret Hunt Hill Bridge, Ronald Kirk Pedestrian Bridge, and Margaret McDermott Bridge.
6. San Francisco, CA
From the Golden Gate Bridge to Sutro Baths to the Embarcadero, the City by the Bay offers videographers an endless array of unique, romantic, and familiar video shoot locations.
The Bernal Heights Swing gives you a panoramic bird’s eye view of the City, while the shores of Baker Beach give you a view of the famous red bridge and the rolling green hills of Marin Valley on the opposite shore.
The Ferry Building gives you a sense of San Francisco’s rich history in shipping while the Mission and Haight Districts give you a sense of the City’s rich history in the counterculture.
7. Los Angeles, CA
Another hot spot for videographers in immense California is fashionable yet gritty LA. There, you can turn a warehouse in the arts district, like the literal Arts District Warehouse, into almost any large-scale indoor setting you need. You can do the same with LA’s abundance of expansive penthouses with skyline views of the city. You can even shoot outdoor scenes with similarly significant space to work with on LA’s many rooftops, allowing full panoramic views of the city.
You can also shoot scenes befitting the posh lifestyles of the rich and famous in the likes of Beverly Hills, Brentwood, Rodeo Drive, and Hollywood.
8. Tennessee
Nashville and Memphis are the first two shooting sites that come to mind when almost anyone thinks of filming in Tennessee, as each offers the trifecta of natural, architectural, and historic wonders. Those aren’t the only gifts, however, that Tennessee has to offer videographers.
Firstly, consider that East, Middle, and West Tennessee each offer their own unique styles and tones to a video shoot, each representing a different part of the Tennessean culture.
• East Tennessee offers the majestic Smoky Mountains with breathtaking views and old-growth forests unspoiled by man. There you can shoot scenes of Appalachian culture and the history of bluegrass, among others.
• Middle Tennessee gives videographers a wide, open heartland of green fields, dense forests, and rolling hills to create lush outdoor scenes from family farming to cowboys and Indians to American Civil War.
• West Tennessee sits along the Mississippi River banks where you’ll find the heart of Delta Blues culture, including Beale Street and scenes of barbecue and the birth of rock ‘n roll.
Other ideal shooting sites in Tennessee include Engel Stadium in Downtown Chattanooga; Watertown, the epitome of good old-fashioned small-town USA; the dark and foreboding Tennessee State Prison; and Fall Creek Falls with the highest falls east of the Mississippi.
9. Connecticut
Connecticut offers a wide range of settings that allow videographers to give viewers a sense of everyday life, from rural to urban. Shoot scenes of rural New England life among old Colonial homes like Howe House, quaint cottages like Jonathan Sturges Cottage, and homesteads like Nathan Hale Homestead. Shoot urban scenes throughout Hartford or in sites like The Lloyd Center in Stamford or the Palace Theater in Stafford.
10. Miami, Florida
For filming fun in the sun, nothing beats Miami Beach. Miami isn’t all beaches, however. There’s also a rich abundance of diverse neighborhoods throughout the sunny city, from tropical, old world South Beach, with its art deco architecture, dreamlike Espanola Way footpath and cruise ships sailing past palm trees at South Pointe Park, to lush suburban North Miami, with its mangrove-lined trails at Oleta River State Park and its artful architecture, such as the Museum of Contemporary Art. Miami also offers the artsy, hipster vibes of Wynwood and the pristine Mediterranean oasis of Coral Gables.
Recap: Video Shoot Locations in the United States
The United States is loaded with video shoot locations. From mountains to beaches, historic districts, urban landscapes, and museums, there is always an endless supply of locations for your video project. Of course, where a camera crew decides to shoot a video always depends on the video project itself, budget, and other factors.
Need help finding a video crew for your next video shoot? Let’s chat, we have video crews available in virtually every location. Whether you are looking for a full video crew for a music video in NYC or a video team in D.C., we can work with you to make your video project a success.
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