The outside area where shows and movies are made is called the backlot. Here, building facades, most empty shells, double for countless locations and eras from all over the world.
Designed to look like everywhere, and nowhere, with a bit of set decoration this could be New York in the 90's, Paris in the 30's, or Spokane last week.
Here, several facades show some decoration from a recent shoot. If you're watching a show or movie and it's not obvious that an actor is in a certain city (like, they're standing in front of the Statue of Liberty), they're almost certainly not. They're probably on a backlot or soundstage somewhere.
Massive hanger-sized buildings called sound stages offer a soundproof and controllable space to shoot a movie or TV show. The WB lot in Burbank is one of the largest in the world.
My tour was shortly before the release of "Batman v Superman", so there was a lot of Batman stuff. In one space, several vehicles from the various movies sat together. Based on car chassis, they all ran under their own power (some better than others).
If your TV show is set in the 50's, it's not like you can run out to Best Buy and get a phone to put on a desk. There's this much selection for pretty much every object you can think of.
Which sets you can visit varies. I've done this tour four times over the years and each time you see something different. It depends what's shooting and what's on hiatus. Turns out we weren't supposed to take pictures in here, so I won't say what show this is.
For a part of the tour you get to explore the Archive, a sort of museum for famous sets and props. Downstairs was extensive Batman memorabilia. Upstairs was Harry Potter.
New to the tour is "Stage 48," a separate building that shows the process of making a movie, from "script to screen." It's a great addition, showing you how stuff actually works behind the scenes.
Amusingly, in the screenwriting section, Robert McKee's "Story" is on the desk, a book lauded by screenwriting teachers and derided by actual screenwriters.
Yep, you get to sit in a reproduction of the Central Perk set. Depending on your timing, you can even take part in a fake "episode" where you say lines and interact (on screen) with Monica and Phoebe. Everyone who did it seemed to love it.
At the end of the tour there's a room with a few last props and costumes. I didn't know this still existed. One of my favorites of all time. Name that movie...
