» The Real Neptune: Shooting Locations Options

[ElectricBoogalo]

Since I need to do something productive while waiting for the season finale to air, I thought it would be cool to come up with a list of shooting locations used on the show so that anyone who wants to take a road trip down to San Diego can do a driving tour of Veronica Mars (seeing Balboa Park as Cuba in tonight's episode inspired me!). My eyesight isn't what it used to be, so if I'm wrong on any of these please feel free to correct my mistakes!

Mars Investigations - the exterior shot used for the building is located on Adams Avenue in North Park (down the street from Lestat's Coffee House

Mars residence - Inn at Sunset Cliffs in Point Loma

Neptune High - Oceanside High School in Oceanside

Pilot
Seven Veils - The Body Shop (yup, a real strip club)

Credit Where Credit Is Due
Dog Beach in Ocean Beach - where the bonfire is held
Weevil mentions playing golf at Torrey Pines
Weevil mentions surfing at Cape Crescent (I've never heard of it)
Veronica tells Keith that she and Duncan are just outside of town on the PCH, a mile from the Reel Inn
Caitlin and Chardo charge a room at the Neptune Grand (not sure which hotel they used, but I know it was in La Jolla)

Meet John Smith
Troy and Veronica's date takes place at Seaport Village
Veronica and Justin follow John Smith #3 to Les Girls
when Veronica and Justin follow John Smith #3 to his house the sign for the cross street is visible - Plum Street
when Veronica and Justin drive back to Neptune, it looks like they are driving through Pacific Beach (but it's very likely that mine eyes dost deceive me)

The Wrath of Con
Veronica meets Karl at what looks like Seaport Village
when Veronica is tracking Karl, she is inland San Diego (Ruffin Road, Balboa Avenue, and Viewridge Avenue are clearly visible on the map) but then she pulls up to the theater which is near the water
the San Diego State scenes were actually filmed at Muir College residence halls at UC San Diego

You Think You Know Someone
Border Grille & Diner - not sure where this was filmed
Veronica mentions a restaurant called Luigi's - there are several Italian restaurants by that name so your guess is as good as mine
Zig Zag Sports Club - not sure where this was filmed
Mario's daughter's birthday party - looks like it was filmed in Pacific Beach

Return of the Kane
Veronica says Keith wants to take her to the San Diego Zoo

The Girl Next Door
the "paradise" in Sarah's notebook is a view of Shell Beach in La Jolla as seen from the Children's Pool

[Peace Fire]

Where do they shoot interior scenes (high school, the apartment, Mars Investigations, all the houses)? I'm assuming they're studio sets, so where's the studio?

[TrueMyth]

Well, Rob Thomas' site says to address fanmail to:

Veronica Mars
c/o Stu Segal Prod.
4705 Ruffin Road
San Diego, CA 92123

I don't know if that's where the sets are housed, but it seems possible.
I live in San Diego and work in La Jolla. How cool would it be to stumble across a film crew when season two kicks off.

[Peace Fire]

That's just the address for the production company, but it's nice to have that too. :)

I'm moving to San Diego in December, and actually want to get work as an extra *cross fingers*. Maybe we can stalk filming sites together. :)

[Maevin]

How they shoot scenes at the real Oceanside High School? I always thought the workweeks for the cast Mon-Fri only, with the weekends off. Do the real students get the day off during the VM shooting? Sigh. Either way, I wish I went to that high school.

[kissyboots]

I know that the campus shown in 'Kanes and Abels' was not the actual LMU campus. I went to school there, and the dorms don't look anything like that.

The folders on Amelia's roommate's bed, however, were the folders they sell at LMU.

[Peace Fire]

How they shoot scenes at the real Oceanside High School? I always thought the workweeks for the cast Mon-Fri only, with the weekends off. Do the real students get the day off during the VM shooting? Sigh. Either way, I wish I went to that high school.

What that means is the exterior shots are that school. Usually interior shots (or even cafeteria shots) are done in a studio. It's too hard to control outside elements (horns honking, planes flying over head) on location. So, they probably go to the school a couple of times throughout the year and take shots of the school from different angles.

This post has been edited by Peace Fire: May 5, 2005 @ 12:12 am.

[vogue500]

When I went to UCLA they used to shoot Buffy there, and they would just set up shop and people would stand back, etc. I know, gigantic campus, but I doubt they shut the school down. They probably just tell the kids not to pay attention and to keep on walking.

[DizzyMissLiz]

Often when a show films at a school [I would assume that the lunch tables and such are exteriors at a real school], they'll just shut down the area where they're filming and the kids go about their business as usual. The kids sometimes stop to watch, but mostly they don't care. Of course, my experiences were in Los Angeles, so people might react a little differently in San Diego.

[wonderwilma]

They shot the exterior of Oceanside HS for the pilot only. The interiors and school exterior are at the studio.

The Echolls' mansion is in Rancho Santa Fe (I'm blanking on the street name).

[3headedmonkey]

The video store in Meet John Smith is Kensington Video.

I'm pretty sure Cho's Pizza in Kanes & Abel's is Paesano.

[sueypooey]

Wow, thanks for starting this thread. I think a roadtrip to San Diego may be in order once the show goes on hiatus for the summer.

From the Buffy commentaries (shut up), it seemed to me that they would often film after school let out for the afternoon, giving them some four hours of daylight. The extras in the background on Buffy weren't actual high school kids; they were older kids, often recurring extras.

In the pilot, the scene on the beach with Weevil's biker gang where Weevil smashes Logan's car was also filmed on the Dog Beach portion of Ocean Beach. There's a big huge blue dog pawprint painted on the concrete there, which I don't think was ever shown on tv -- I guess they filmed around it. I was actually on Ocean Beach that morning (around 10 or 11 AM) in April, and kept seeing signs that said "Mars --->" and lots of motorcycles. If only I'd known then! Sigh.

[wonderwilma]

I was actually on Ocean Beach that morning (around 10 or 11 AM) in April, and kept seeing signs that said "Mars --->" and lots of motorcycles. If only I'd known then! Sigh.

Doesn't that suck? I'm pretty sure I saw those signs too.

[SnooperIdeas]

Usually interior shots (or even cafeteria shots) are done in a studio.

Neptune High's "cafeteria" is really on location. I visited Oceanside High last weekend... *waves fanboy flag* ...and I can say with certainty that the Neptune High outdoor eating area is on the Oceanside High campus. I was kinda surprised by that myself, but it really is a nice location. I can see why they'd shoot both the front (with the Pirates sign) and lunchtime stuff there.

Also interesting: at the beginning of Credit Where Credit's Due, when Veronica is decoding the 09er party announcement for Wallace, they walk right from Veronica's locker, over the Pirates crest on the floor, and outside onto the Oceanside High campus. There were cuts, yes, but it actually looked like it was all the same place.

This post has been edited by SnooperIdeas: May 5, 2005 @ 2:40 am.

[wonderwilma]

I swear they shoot the lunchtime scenes on the studio lot since I was an extra for numerous lunchtime scenes. *waves fangirl flag*