Alabama Film & Photography Production untervices & Camera Crews
Are you a media company, brand, ad agency or production company looking for film / photography production support or shooting crew in Alabama? Contact us for trusted fixers, producers, directors, DoPs, videographers, photographers, and full shooting crews tailored for the specific needs of your project.
Filming in Alabama
For an introduction to shooting in Alabama see below notes on film locations, permits, when to shoot, unique local stories, costs, tax incentives, crews, talent, equipment, communications, art department, studios, post facilities, visas and work permits for filming, transport, film-friendly accommodation, and safety advice.
Alabama Film Locations
Alabama is a Deep South state stretching from the Gulf Coast to the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. Film locations include the cities of Montgomery, Birmingham, Mobile, Huntsville, Tuscaloosa, as well as beaches, bayous, mountains, lakes, rivers, waterfalls, caverns, forests, wildflowers, farmland, covered bridges, antebellum mansions, and small towns nestled in rolling hills.
Agricultural film locations include plantations of corn, cotton, peanuts, soybeans, and peaches. Alabama mines coal. Energy locations include coal and natural gas fired power plants, nuclear power plants, and hydroelectric dams.
Alabama has hosted films including The Devil All the Time (2020), The Fanatic (2019), The Death of Dick Long (2019), Get Out (2017), Gerald’s Game (2017), Hush (2016), Before I Wake (2016), Selma (2014), Oculus (2013), 42 (2013), Due Date (2010), Big Fish (2003), Mississippi Burning (1988), Close Encounters of The Third Kind (1977), and To Kill A Mockingbird (1962).
Montgomery is the state capital. Government buildings of note include The Alabama State Capitol building, Alabama Department of Archives and History, United States Post Office and Courthouse, and Alabama Judicial Building. Civil Rights film locations of note include The National Memorial for Peace and Justice, Dexter Avenue King Memorial Baptist Church, Civil Rights Memorial, and Rosa Parks Museum. Other museums of interest include the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, Museum of Alabama, Hank Williams Museum, and The MOOseum. Mansions of note include the Alabama Governor’s Mansion, First White House of the Confederacy, Winter Place, and Gerald–Dowdell House. Other Montgomery film locations include the Confederate Memorial Monument, Union Station and Trainshed, Riverfront Park, Alabama State University, RSA Tower, and Bell Building. Selma (2014), and Big Fish (2003) filmed in Montgomery.
Birmingham film locations of note include Sloss Furnaces, Alabama Theatre, Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, Birmingham Museum of Art, McWane Science Center, Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum, Vulcan Park and Museum, Southern Museum of Flight, Birmingham Botanical Gardens, and Legion Field. The Devil All the Time (2020), The Fanatic (2019), and 42 (2013) filmed in Birmingham.
Huntsville film locations include the US Space and Rocket Center, NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Burritt on the Mountain, Huntsville Museum of Art, Alabama Constitution Hall Park, US Veterans Memorial Museum, North Alabama Railroad Museum, Lowe Mill ARTS & Entertainment, Von Braun Center, Maple Hill Cemetery, and Huntsville Botanical Garden.
Tuscaloosa is known for the Tuscaloosa Federal Building & US Courthouse, Tuscaloosa VA Hospital, and antebellum homes such as Battle-Friedman House, and Jemison-Van de Graaff Mansion. University of Alabama campus buildings include Foster Auditorium, President’s Mansion, Shelby Hall, Manly Hall, Clark Hall, Amelia Gayle Gorgas Library, Alabama Museum of Natural History, Moody Music Building, and Bryant–Denny Stadium. Due Date (2010) filmed in Tuscaloosa.
Mobile is a Gulf Coast city known for the Mobile Convention Center, Gulfquest/National Maritime Museum of the Gulf of Mexico, Mobile Carnival Museum, Mobile Museum of Art, Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Old City Hall, Bragg-Mitchell Mansion, Oakleigh House, DAR house, Fort Conde, Bankhead Tunnel, Bienville Square, Stan Galle historic baseball field, Bellingrath Gardens, and USS Alabama decommissioned battleship. Gerald’s Game (2017), Oculus (2013), and Close Encounters of The Third Kind (1977) filmed in Mobile.
Fairhope is a city on the eastern shoreline of Mobile Bay. Get Out (2017), Before I Wake (2016), Hush (2016), Oculus (2013), and Close Encounters of The Third Kind (1977) filmed in Fairhope.
Selma is a famous civil rights city known for the Edmund Pettus Bridge. Selma (2014) filmed in Selma.
Monroeville offers an American small town square with a courthouse and store fronts. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) filmed in Monroeville.
Lafayette also offers small town America looks including the Chambers County Courthouse Square. Mississippi Burning (1988) filmed in Lafayette.
Eufaula has a tree-lined main street and beautiful southern homes.
Frank Lloyd Wright’s Rosenbaum House is located in Florence.
Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site is located in Tuskegee.
Talladega Superspeedway is located in Lincoln.
Nuclear plants include Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant, and Joseph M. Farley Nuclear Generating Station.
The Devil All the Time (2020) also filmed in Anniston, Jacksonville, Helena, Pell City, Dora, Wetumpka, Montevallo, Deatsville, and Riverside.
Big Fish (2003) also filmed in Wetumpka, Prattville, Moulton, Tallassee, Deatsville, Lowndesboro, and Millbroo.
Nature parks of note include Gulf State Park, Oak Mountain State Park, DeSoto State Park, Little River Canyon National Preserve, Sipsey Wilderness, Cathedral Caverns State Park, Rickwood Caverns State Park, Ruffner Mountain Nature Preserve, Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge, Joe Wheeler State Park, Chewacla State Park, Cheaha State Park, Monte Sano State Park, Lake Guntersville State Park, Bankhead National Forest, Meaher State Park, Noccalula Falls Park, Moundville Archaeological Park, and Dauphin Island.
Alabama Film Location Permits
No state-wide permits apply. Individual public locations may require permits depending on the size and scope of the production. Proof of insurance is required. Please contact us for location specific information.
When To Shoot?
Alabama has very hot summers and mild winters with plenty of rainfall throughout the year making for a lengthy crop growing season. Temperatures tend to be warmer in the south of the state. Fall colors occur in north. Thunderstorms occur throughout the year and are most common during the summer hurricane season.
Public holidays may affect timing, availability and costs. See here for public holiday dates in the United States.
Unique Local Stories
Brands are looking for local stories that match their brand narrative. Our local teams are a great lead for sourcing those unique stories and characters.
If you are looking for stories for your next shoot, send us your brief and we will pitch you ideas.
If you have a unique story you would like to pitch to a brand anywhere in the world, pitch us your idea. We have well-established processes to ensure that your ideas are properly seen and protected.
Alabama Tax Incentives For Filming
The state offers productions a 25% refundable tax credit on qualifying spend and 35% on payroll paid to residents of Alabama.
Alabama Film Crew & Talent
Crew. Alabama has a good pool of local film crew.
Contact us if you are looking for a Birmingham, Montgomery or Mobile based director, DP, photographer, videographer (cameraman / camera operator), camera assistant (focus puller), sound operator, grip, gaffer, stylist, hair and makeup, PA / runner, production driver, or any other film crew in Alabama.
Talent. The local population is predominately Caucasians and African Americans speaking in a Deep-Southern drawl. Movie character stereotypes include cotton farmers, shrimp fisherman, good ole boys, and Southern Baptist preachers.
Alabama Film Equipment
Equipment. Standard camera, grip and lighting equipment available locally. More specialised equipment may need to be brought in from more established production centers.
Communications. Communication is key. Our agility and global experience allows us to customise the right communications systems for every shoot.
Web posted casting, scouting, and videoconferencing.
For clients that are unable to attend set we offer a virtual video village solution. This dedicated and secure high-resolution video streaming platform allows clients from one or multiple timezones to view setups without compromise and to participate in real-time with the team on set. Separate systems can be set up for the discrete conversations that are required to make a job run right. Working remotely with our local teams reduces your content production costs, turnaround times, carbon footprint, and risks associated with unpredictable global events.
Alabama Studios & Post Production
Alabama has a few smaller facilities to choose from.
Alabama Film-Friendly Accommodation
Please contact us for recommended film friendly hotels in Birmingham, Huntsville, Mobile, Montgomery and other areas of Alabama.
Final Notes
Safety. Alabama is a very safe and reliable place for foreign productions to shoot. See here for up to date travel advice.
Down Time. Take an afternoon to visit the National Memorial for Peace and Justice.
Projects. For an example of TV commercials, stills campaigns, online content, corporate videos, virtual reality 360 content, feature films, TV series and documentaries shot in Alabama, please see below:
Hire Alabama Production Support & Shooting Crew
If you are looking for a film or photographic production service company, line producer or fixer for your shoot in Alabama, please contact us.
If you are looking for a shooting crew for your shoot in Alabama, such as a director, DoP, photographer, videographer (cameraman / camera operator), camera assistant (focus puller), sound operator, grip, gaffer, stylist, hair and makeup, PA / runner, production driver, please contact us.
We are able to provide you with answers, references and bids quickly.
