Illinois Film & Photography Production Services & Camera Crews

Are you a media company, brand, ad agency or production company looking for film / photography production support or shooting crew in Illinois? Contact us for trusted fixers, producers, directors, DoPs, videographers, photographers, and full shooting crews tailored for the specific needs of your project.

Filming in Illinois

For an introduction to shooting in Illinois 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.

Illinois Film Locations

Illinois, the Land of Lincoln, offers filmmakers and photographers a wide variety of film locations including the famous Chicago skyline, Lake Michigan, Mississippi River, unique architecture, rust belt locations, museums, mansions, college campuses, sporting venues, historical sites, parks, farmland, prairies, forests, rolling hills, rivers, and covered bridges.

Agricultural film locations include plantations of corn, wheat, soybeans, pumpkins, and apples. Cattle farms are also available for filming. Energy locations include nuclear power plants, wind powered, and coal and gas fired power plants.

Illinois has hosted many films including The Batman (2022), Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014), The Informant! (2009), Public Enemies (2009), The Dark Knight (2008), Prison Break (2005-2017), Batman Begins (2005), Miracle on 34th Street (1994), Groundhog Day (1993), The Fugitive (1993), Wayne’s World (1992), A League of Their Own (1992), Home Alone (1990), Flatliners (1990), Uncle Buck (1989), Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987), Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986), The Breakfast Club (1985), Ordinary People (1980), The Blues Brothers (1980), and In the Heat of the Night (1967), to name a few.

Film locations can be divided into the following regions:

Chicago

Chicago is the third largest city in the United States. Located on Lake Michigan, Chicago boasts an iconic skyline made up of a diversity of groundbreaking, original buildings designed by many important architects.

Chicago is home to a variety of interesting neighbourhoods including the skyscrapers and museums of the Magnificent Mile, Loop, Chinatown, Wicker Park, Lincoln Park, South Side, Aurora, Cicero, Berwyn, as well as the affluent suburbs of Kenilworth and Lake Forest. John Hughes filmed movies such as Uncle Buck (1989), Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987), Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986), and The Breakfast Club (1985) throughout the Chicago suburbs.

A great deal of Chicago’s finer buildings can be seen from the Chicago River. Architecturally important structures of note include Marina City, Merchandise Mart, John Hancock Center, Wills Tower with its Skydeck Ledge, Wrigley Building, Chicago Federal Center designed by Mies van der Rohe, Tribune Tower, Rookery Building, Chicago Temple Building, Chicago Board of Trade Building, Chicago City Hall, Chicago Public Library, Chicago Water Tower, Palmer House Hilton, Millennium Park’s Cloud Gate sculpture and Crown Fountain, Jay Pritzker Pavilion designed by Frank Gehry, Aqua Tower designed by Jeanne Gang, Trump International Hotel & Tower, and DuSable Bridge. Frank Lloyd Wright designed houses include Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio, Frederick C. Robie House, and Coonley House.

Museums of note include the Art Institute of Chicago designed by Renzo Piano, Field Museum, Museum of Science and Industry, Adler Planetarium, Museum Of Contemporary Art, Barack Obama Presidential Center, Chicago History Museum, DuSable Museum of African American History, National Hellenic Museum, Oriental Institute Museum, Polish Museum of America, National Museum of Mexican Art, Driehaus Museum, Museum of Broadcast Communications, Pritzker Military Museum & Library, International Museum of Surgical Science, Lizzadro Museum of Lapidary Art, and Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum.

University of Chicago buildings of note include Rockefeller Chapel, Harper Memorial Library, Regenstein Library, Eckhart Hall, Booth School of Business, Oriental Institute, and Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. Northwestern University buildings include University Hall, Deering Library, University Library, Pick-Staiger Concert Hall, Block Museum of Art, Dearborn Observatory, and Ryan Field.

Religious buildings of note include Bahá’í House of Worship, Buddhist Temple of Chicago, Chicago Loop Synagogue, Holy Name Cathedral, Holy Trinity Polish Catholic Church, Fourth Presbyterian Church, Unity Temple designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, Holy Trinity Orthodox Cathedral, Our Lady of Sorrows Basilica, Rosehill Cemetery, and Graceland Cemetery.

Sporting venues including Soldier Field, Arlington Park, Wrigley Field, Comiskey Park, United Center, and Wintrust Arena.

Entertainment venues include Navy Pier, Chicago Cultural Center, McCormick Place, Chicago Theatre, Symphony Center, Civic Opera House, Harris Theater, Avalon Regal Theater, Copernicus Center, Goodman Theatre, Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Victory Gardens Theater, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Pickwick Theatre, and The Second City Comedy Club.

Jazz and Blues clubs of note include Andy’s Jazz Club, Kingston Mines, House of Blues Chicago, The Green Mill, Buddy Guy’s Legends, and Untitled Supper Club.

Parks of note include Lincoln Park, Grant Park, Millennium Park, Chicago Botanic Garden, Garfield Park Conservatory, Maggie Daley Park, Humboldt Park, Washington Park, Jackson Park, Cantigny Park, and Waterfall Glen Forest Preserve.

Lake Michigan beaches of note include Montrose Beach, Ohio Street Beach, and 31st Street Beach.

Transport film locations include Jane Byrne Interchange, Chicago Union Station, O’Hare International Airport, and Midway International Airport, and Port of Chicago.

Joliet Correctional Center is a defunct prison that hosted Public Enemies (2009), Prison Break (2005-2017), and The Blues Brothers (1980).

Stickney Water Reclamation Plant is the largest water reclamation plant in the world.

Chicago is the start of the famed Route 66.

Northern Illinois

Springfield is the state capital. Film locations of note include the Illinois State Capitol building, Old State Capitol, Illinois Governor’s Mansion, Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, Lincoln Home, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Dana-Thomas House, Horace Mann Headquarters designed by Minoru Yamasaki, and Sugar Creek Covered Bridge.

Rockford locations include Frank Lloyd Wright’s Laurent House, Anderson Japanese Gardens, Nicholas Conservatory & Gardens, and Rock Cut State Park.

Galena is a picturesque Midwestern town.

The Egyptian Theatre is located in DeKalb.

Woodstock was filmed for Prison Break (2005-2017), Groundhog Day (1993), and Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987).

Nauvoo was an early Mormon town.

Carthage jail is where Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, was killed.

Arthur is the heart of the Illinois Amish country.

University of Illinois is located in Urbana. Buildings of note include Main Quad, Foellinger Auditorium, Altgeld Hall, Main Library, and Krannert Art Museum.

Illinois Railway Museum in Union was filmed for Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014), and A League of Their Own (1992).

Farnsworth House, located in Plano, was designed by Mies van der Rohe.

The John Deere World Headquarters, located in Moline, was designed by Eero Saarinen.

Chestnut Mountain Resort is a ski hill.

Nature locations in Northern Illinois include Starved Rock State Park, Wildlife Prairie State Park, Matthiessen State Park, and Mississippi Palisades State Park.

Nuclear Generating Stations include Braidwood, Byron, Clinton, Dresden, Quad Cities, and LaSalle.

USP Thomson is a high security federal prison.

Southern Illinois

Southern Illinois, also known as Little Egypt, is a rural part of Illinois, that shares a culture closer to Southern states than to the rest of Illinois.

In the Heat of the Night (1967) filmed in Sparta, Freeburg, Chester, and Belleville.

Cairo is the state’s southernmost city located at the confluence of the Mississippi River and Ohio River.

Metropolis is Superman’s hometown.

Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site is the site of a pre-Columbian Native American city directly across the Mississippi River from St Louis, Missouri.

Fort de Chartres State Historic Site was a French fortification of New France.

Lewis and Clark State Historic Site is located in Hartford.

Mary’s River Covered Bridge is located in Chester.

Penitentiaries in Southern Illinois include USP Marion, and FCI Greenville.

Nature locations in this region include Giant City State Park, Garden of the Gods Wilderness, Ferne Clyffe State Park, Cypress Creek National Wildlife Refuge, Shawnee National Forest, Pere Marquette State Park, and Cave-In-Rock State Park.

Meeting of the Great Rivers National Scenic Byway travels through the floodplain of the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers.

Illinois Film Location Permits

The permitting process varies depending upon what part of the state you are shooting in and the type of permit you require. In general, permitting is a quick, easy and inexpensive process. Chicago city permits typically take 3 days to process, depending on the specifics of the shoot. Please contact us for location specific information.

When To Shoot?

Most of Illinois has a humid continental climate with hot, humid summers and cold, snowy winters. Southern Illinois has a humid subtropical climate with more moderate winters. Illinois experiences thunderstorms and tornadoes which peak in April and June.

Events of interest to filmmakers and photographers include:

• Chicago Blues Festival in June.
• Superman Celebration takes place in Metropolis in June.
• Chicago Pride Parade in June.
• Grant Park Music Festival in Chicago from June to August.
• Pitchfork Music Festival in Chicago in July.
• Windy City Smokeout in Chicago in July.
• Lollapalooza in Chicago in August.
• Chicago Air and Water Show in August.
• Jefferson Park Arts & Music Festival in Chicago in August.
• Illinois State Fair takes place in Springfield in August.
• Chicago Jazz Festival in September.
• Riot Fest in Chicago in September.
• Chicago House Music Festival in September.
• Chicago Marathon in October.
• Turkey Testicle Festival takes place in Huntley in November.
• Christkindlmarket in Chicago in December.

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.

Illinois Tax Incentives For Filming

Illinois offers a transferable tax credit of 30% on qualifying local spend. An additional 15% may be earned on the labor expenditures generated by the employment of residents of geographic areas of high poverty or high unemployment.

Illinois Film Crew & Talent

Crew. Illinois has a good pool of local key and supporting crew.

Contact us if you are looking for a Chicago or Springfield 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 Illinois.

Talent. Chicago is a large and diverse city with talent from all ethnicities and walks of life available. Movie character stereotypes include big moustachioed Chicago Bears fans, North Shore preppy types, South Side of Chicago rappers, storm watchers, and farmers in the south of the state.

Illinois Film Equipment

Equipment. Chicago is a major production centre with all of standard and specialised camera, grip ad lighting equipment required for smaller and larger shoots.

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.

Illinois Studios & Post Production