Last Updated 3 months ago
Definition
A location is a real-world place where filming takes place, rather than a purpose-built studio set or soundstage. It can be a house, street, office, restaurant, warehouse, forest, school, parking lot, rooftop, beach, or almost any physical environment used as the setting for a scene. In film and television production, when people say a scene is being shot “on location,” they mean the crew is working in an actual place in the real world rather than inside a controlled studio environment.
In simple terms, a location is a place the production goes to, instead of a place the production builds.
That distinction matters because locations bring both realism and difficulty. A real place often gives a scene texture, scale, authenticity, and environmental detail that can be hard or expensive to fake convincingly on a stage. At the same time, real places come with noise, weather, access problems, permits, power limitations, safety issues, time restrictions, neighbors, traffic, and all the messy realities of the world not caring that you are making a movie.
A location can be completely practical, like filming in an actual apartment because it looks right for the character. It can also be transformed heavily by the art department, lighting crew, and camera team until the space barely resembles itself. Either way, it is still a location if it is a real place outside the controlled world of a studio build.
In professional production, the word “location” can refer both to the physical site itself and to the broader shooting setup around it. People may say “we’re at location,” “the location is locked,” “locations approved the permit,” or “we lost the location.” In those cases, the term is doing a lot of work. It can mean the place, the logistical arrangement around the place, or even the department handling that side of production.
What Counts as a Location
A location is not limited to dramatic outdoor places or large public spaces. It can be almost anywhere a production shoots real-world material.
Common examples include:
houses and apartments
offices and boardrooms
restaurants and bars
streets and sidewalks
schools and hospitals
parks and forests
warehouses and factories
stores and malls
rooftops and alleys
cars, buses, and transit spaces
beaches, farms, and rural roads
A location can be interior or exterior. A kitchen in a rented house is a location. A downtown street corner is a location. A cabin in the woods is a location. A functioning office building used for one day of filming is a location.
The key point is that it exists independently of the production. The crew is adapting to the space, not designing the entire space from zero the way they would on a stage build.
That is why locations usually involve negotiation and compromise. You do not own the world you are shooting in. You are temporarily borrowing it, controlling it as best you can, and working around its limits.
Location vs. Studio Set
A location and a studio set serve similar storytelling purposes, but they work very differently.
A location is a real place that already exists. The production uses that environment and adapts it for filming.
A studio set is a built environment created specifically for production, usually on a soundstage or backlot.
The biggest advantage of a location is realism. Real spaces often have natural wear, believable architecture, scale, and environmental detail that feel authentic on camera. They can also save money if the production finds a place that already looks perfect for the story.
The biggest advantage of a studio set is control. On a stage, the production controls sound, lighting access, walls, rigging, weather exposure, shooting hours, and physical modification of the space. A set can be designed around the camera. A location often forces the camera to adapt.
So the tradeoff is usually authenticity versus control, though budget and logistics complicate that equation fast. Sometimes a location is cheaper. Sometimes it is much more expensive once permits, company moves, overtime, noise issues, and access restrictions start piling up.
Why Productions Use Locations
Productions use locations because they often provide visual value that would be hard to recreate artificially.
A real location can offer:
architectural realism
natural textures and imperfections
production value from scale or detail
geographic specificity
cultural authenticity
faster access to a believable environment
a sense of lived-in reality
For example, a real courthouse hallway, factory floor, suburban house, or city alley may immediately feel more convincing than a low-budget built version. A location can also help performance. Actors often respond differently when placed in a real environment rather than an abstract stage approximation.
Some productions rely heavily on locations because that realism is central to the style. Naturalistic dramas, documentaries, indie films, and many television productions often lean hard on real spaces. Even bigger productions may combine locations with stage work, using real exteriors and selective interiors depending on what the story and schedule demand.
The Challenges of Shooting on Location
This is where the romantic idea of “real places” runs into production reality.
Locations are difficult because they are not designed for filmmaking. A beautiful house may have terrible power. A great street may have nonstop traffic noise. A perfect café may only give the crew four hours. A scenic forest may be impossible to access with trucks. A downtown office may look great but have no space for holding, no rigging options, and strict union building rules.
Common location problems include:
sound contamination from traffic, HVAC, planes, crowds, or neighbors
limited power access
tight spaces for crew and equipment
weather exposure
parking and truck logistics
permit restrictions
limited shooting hours
public interference
bathroom and holding issues
safety hazards
continuity changes caused by sunlight, weather, or public activity
This is why location shooting is often a battle between what looks good on camera and what can actually function as a production base.
A lot of inexperienced filmmakers choose locations only with their eyes. Professionals choose them with their eyes and their logistics brain. A place is not a good location just because it looks cool. It has to work.
The Role of the Locations Department
On larger productions, the locations department is responsible for finding, securing, managing, and coordinating locations. That includes scouting options, negotiating access, handling permits, communicating with property owners, arranging logistics, and helping the production use the space without creating unnecessary damage or conflict.
This department is often the difference between a usable location and a disaster.
They think about things many beginners miss, like:
where crew parking goes
where the generator can live
whether the neighborhood allows night work
what rooms can be used for holding
how the company moves in and out
what the restoration requirements are
how to protect the property
who has legal authority to approve filming there
So while “location” sounds like a simple creative term, it is tied directly to one of the most logistical parts of production.
Location vs. Setting
These terms are related, but they are not the same.
A setting is the place where the story takes place within the world of the narrative.
A location is the actual place where the production films that setting.
For example, the script setting may be “a struggling family’s apartment in Chicago.” The actual filming location might be a house in Toronto, a studio interior, or a combination of both. The audience sees the setting. The crew deals with the location.
This distinction matters because film production constantly turns one real place into another fictional place.
Why It Matters
The term location matters because it identifies one of the biggest practical and creative choices in production: where the scene will actually be shot. That decision affects image quality, realism, sound, budget, schedule, crew movement, power, safety, and the entire rhythm of the day.
For students and beginners, the main lesson is this: a location is not just a background. It is a production system. It affects everything. A good location supports the story and the crew. A bad location drains time, money, energy, and shot quality no matter how pretty it looks.
For directors, cinematographers, production designers, assistant directors, sound teams, and producers, location choice shapes the entire production strategy. It is one of those decisions that feels simple from the outside and ends up controlling half the job.
In practical terms, a location is a real-world place used for filming instead of a studio set. It can add realism and production value, but it also brings major logistical challenges that have to be managed properly.
Related Terms
[Location Scout]
[Locations Department]
[Permit]
[Studio Set]
[Production Design]
[Company Move]
[Setting]