Lights, Camera, Adventure: 4 Memorable Chicago Filming Locations
As a Chicago video production company, we’ve had the opportunity to film some amazing locations in our hometown. Here’s a list of some of our all-time favorite filming locations around the city.
1. The Tootsie Roll Factory
Not every day in corporate video production can be a trip to a candy factory, but when we had the chance to film at the Tootsie Roll factory, it was truly a treat! We got to see how the tootsie roll is made and watch it wind through the factory before it’s cut.
We conducted interviews off the factory floor for better audio and lighting. These were wonderful stories to shoot b-roll for because there was so much to see in the production line. Our cameraman was able to pick up some very creative shots as the candy traveled the assembly line.
The crew was able to taste some nice hot candy right off the line and when we left, they sent us home with a big box of assorted Tootsie Roll products—a generous fringe benefit for our video production services.
2. Roof of Boeing’s Headquarters
During a windy winter night, our Chicago video crew lifted their gear to the roof of Boeing’s HQ by rope and climbed the straight access ladder. Once there, they panned the Chicago city architecture to the Boeing sign.It was a beautiful view that made for great video and it was a great “behind the scenes” effort just to capture the shot. Our camera crew had to set the tripod as close to the roof edge as safety allowed. After all was said and done, we were able to shoot a variety of angles, which ended up being used as openers and closers on many Boeing corporate videos.
3. The Trading Floor of the Chicago Board of Trade
As you might guess, it’s not uncommon for a production company in Chicago to regularly send commercial videographers to various places where Ferris Bueller spent his Day Off. We did hundreds of shoots from the floor at the Board of Trade: news stories, large member meetings, and events with dignitaries including Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and President H.W. Bush.
This is a place where you would see an old system of trade called open outcry— the way the stock market looked in 80’s films. The floor provided for great b-roll footage - thousands of traders in bright colored jackets jumping up and down in the pits, close ups of trading cards waving in the air, numbers changing on price boards and, for select events like New Year’s Eve, confetti falling from the ceiling.
4. Mezzanine of the Federal Reserve Bank
One of our highest security shoots to date! As millions of paper dollars and coin currency move in and out of a Federal Reserve Bank each day, high security is a constant. Production vehicles must enter a controlled lot where they are examined inside and out. All gear must be lifted to conveyors and is checked by hand by the Federal Reserve guard staff. Once inside the bank, all movements must be escorted by a bank representative.
For this production, we were setting up for a 3-camera live CNBC broadcast using the classic architecture of granite walls, railings, and pillars as our background which we lit to provide depth and eye interest.
Across two shooting days, we filmed interviews with Federal Reserve Governors as well as the Chairman of the Fed. During off-air times, we were able to shoot b-roll of meetings, where the discussion of economic policy and prediction went several miles over our heads!
Though our work has taken us all over the world for our clients, Chicago remains our cherished home base. Within this vibrant city, each location offers its own unique charm and character. Chicago continues to inspire our creativity. We look forward to sending the Production Craft crew to capture even more of these fantastic locations through our lens.
Production Craft, Inc. is a video production company based in Chicago, serving markets worldwide.
We are proud to be a Women Business Enterprise (WBE) certified by the State of Illinois Business Enterprise Program (BEP) and the National Women Business Owners Corporation (NWBOC).
