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Backlot

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scaffolding, which are fully exposed. Ladders are usually built into the structure, allowing performers to climb to an upper-floor window or the roof to perform scenes. Not all the buildings and houses are shells. Some are closed in with a fourth wall. When not otherwise in use, they serve as storage facilities for lighting and other production equipment. When in use, the structures are dressed by adding doors, window treatments and landscaping. L-shaped temporary walls are placed inside of doors to give the illusion of an interior. When not in use, the structures are usually stripped of this dressing.
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Some movie studios build a wide variety of sets on the backlot, which can be modified for different purposes as need requires and "dressed" to resemble any time period or look. These sets include everything from mountains, forests, ships, to small-town settings from around the world, as well as
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The shells, or façades, on a studio backlot are usually constructed with three sides and a roof, often missing the back wall and/or one of the side walls. The interior is an unfinished space, with no rooms, and from the back of the structure one can see the electrical wires, pipes, beams and
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for the majority of outdoor scenes, and backlots were widely viewed as an obsolete, unwanted capital expenditure and a tax burden on studios. Many were razed and the land was either sold to developers or repurposed for theme parks (e.g.,
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All the sets on a studio backlot are built to appear large, as if covering miles of ground on the big or small screen, while actually occupying only a few acres of the backlot.
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At their peak, some backlots covered hundreds of acres around existing studios, and filmmakers rarely left the lot, as they would intercut the backlot shots with a handful of
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Today many studio backlots are gone or nearly gone. There are several reasons for this. Los Angeles, like the rest of the United States, went through an
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and blue/green screen effects in big budget movies has accelerated the decline in the use of studio backlots, as more films are shot completely indoors.
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was blamed in part on this issue, which in turn marked the end of large-scale backlot production in Southern California.
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At the same time, during the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s (the period when Hollywood underwent the transition from the
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Outdoor annex to a movie studio for shooting exterior scenes, including permanent buildings
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that encircle a central park with trees. An example of this is (the former)
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and gave audiences a peek at life on the other side of the camera.
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containing permanent exterior buildings for outdoor scenes in
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in Burbank, California seen in the title sequence of
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By the early 1970s, the industry had transitioned to
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Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers
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Since the late 1990s, the increased use of 463: 8: 971:Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences 629:American Society of Cinematographers Awards 653: 470: 456: 448: 398:Warner Bros.: Hollywood's Ultimate Backlot 157:to suburban homes, and 19th century-style 80:Learn how and when to remove this message 91: 43:This article includes a list of general 578:National Society of Film Critics Awards 395:Bingen, Steven; Marc Wanamaker (2014). 347: 364:On Hollywood: The Place, the Industry 7: 981:American Society of Cinematographers 986:Hollywood Foreign Press Association 49:it lacks sufficient corresponding 25: 712:Guild of Music Supervisors Awards 676:Producers Guild of America Awards 664:Directors Guild of America Awards 110:is an area behind or adjoining a 253:economic boom after World War II 34: 670:Writers Guild of America Awards 605:Los Angeles Film Critics Awards 536:National Board of Review Awards 724:Location Managers Guild Awards 700:Costume Designers Guild Awards 569:American Cinema Editors Awards 1: 706:Visual Effects Society Awards 288:) or office buildings (e.g., 641:Critics' Choice Movie Awards 554:New York Film Critics Circle 205:offers a rare look into the 682:Cinema Audio Society Awards 479:Cinema of the United States 286:Universal Studios Hollywood 222:It's Garry Shandling's Show 213:. Television shows such as 1096: 1022:Classical Hollywood cinema 991:Motion Picture Association 694:Art Directors Guild Awards 688:Screen Actors Guild Awards 510:Films in the public domain 1037:American Eccentric Cinema 1032:American independent film 623:Independent Spirit Awards 485: 122:, or space for temporary 805:Northern Mariana Islands 239:filmed on location by a 1007:AFI 100 Years... series 617:Golden Raspberry Awards 101:Culver City, California 64:more precise citations. 1080:Film location shooting 1047:Sundance Film Festival 1012:National Film Registry 611:People's Choice Awards 500:Highest-grossing films 145: 120:television productions 103: 99:, a former backlot in 647:Hollywood Film Awards 137: 95: 515:Movie theater chains 207:Warner Bros. backlot 563:Golden Globe Awards 211:Burbank, California 171:or, in the case of 1017:Pre-Code Hollywood 505:Best-selling films 495:Box office records 237:establishing shots 163:Warner Bros. 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Index

Backlots
references
inline citations
improve
introducing
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RKO Forty Acres
Culver City, California
movie studio
filmmaking
television productions
set construction

Coronation Street sets
Old West
Victorian
townhouses
Warner Bros. Ranch
Friends
Universal Studios
Norman Bates
Hitchcock
Psycho
Mel Brooks
Blazing Saddles
Warner Bros. backlot
Burbank, California
Moonlighting
It's Garry Shandling's Show

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