Film Locations Glossary
Backlot
What is a backlot?
A backlot is the studio-owned exterior area where permanent or semi-permanent street sets stand, from brownstone rows to small-town main streets.
Shooting there trades authenticity for control: no permits, no residents, no traffic, and lighting rigs that can stay up overnight. It is the direct alternative to a practical location, and the comparison is usually made on cost per shooting day rather than on look alone.
Example
A brownstone exterior on a backlot runs the stage rent plus dressing, with no permit, no residents, no traffic control, and a lighting rig that stays up overnight. The same scene on a practical New York street adds permits, posting, ITC, police, and a curfew.
Figures are illustrative, chosen to show the mechanics rather than to quote market rates.
Where you'll see it
Compared against a practical location at budget stage, on cost per shooting day rather than look.
Common mistake
Comparing the backlot's day rate against a location fee and stopping there. The real comparison includes permits, posting, traffic control, police, curfews, and weather loss, all of which the backlot removes.
Related questions
- What is the difference between a backlot and a soundstage?
- A backlot is an outdoor standing set with real sky and weather. A soundstage is an enclosed, acoustically treated space with full control and no sky unless it is built.
- Why shoot on a backlot instead of a real street?
- Control. No permits, residents, traffic, or curfew, and rigs can stay up overnight. The trade is that it looks like a set unless it is dressed and shot carefully.