Chicago, IL, is a city built on invention and innovation, starting with the credits it gets for birthing modern architecture. The Home Insurance building was the first skyscraper, and the Willis Tower is the tallest structure a woman designed. Chi-town is also where you'll find a backward-flowing river, the only engineering feat in the world!
There's always something happening around town, and special events, including the Grand Park Music Festival and the downtown Chicago Jazz Festival, draw tourists from far and wide. Filmmakers also descend upon the Windy City to work on various artistic projects.
Chicago film predates Hollywood, with most productions in the 1900s originating from the city. It remains a top film and television hub, with scores of film studios and cinematic locations churning out hit blockbusters. Giggster can connect you with a studio space, production office, or stage for your forthcoming project.
Why Giggster for Your Production in Chicago
You can create magic in Chicago, a city with resources to produce film education videos, production workshops, or stage plays. Giggster can connect you with a film studio or production location, with 653 listings across West Town and downtown Chicago to The River North.
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Is your project Sci-Fi-themed and needs a site with all the trappings of an other-worldly atmosphere? Look for a sci-fi-type location with an Old Hollywood/ Gothic appeal. Black box spaces and a bar filled with fantasy and science fiction artifacts and art may tick all the boxes.
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A video production studio has green screen technology, allowing you to create various backdrops and graphics. Lighting equipment, including a softbox, LED wall, and DJ party lights, are amenities you'll want to search for. Consider your requirements for a lounge area, dressing rooms, a fog machine, and even a wind machine.
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Do you need an event space with stages and production-quality lighting? Book a perfect theater for presentations, dance recitals, plays, training, and filming. Look for ample space to set up multiple cameras and other production gear.
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A chic loft is ideal for a photo shoot or film. Find a location with an open floor plan with a high ceiling, exposed beams, and wood tile floors. Be sure to seek out huge windows that let natural light into the studio, creating a cozy and bright atmosphere for all artistic projects.
Incredible Production Venues in Chicago Start at $20/hour
Exceptional Variety & Quality: Giggster has an extensive list of production locations, from studios and stages to on-location settings. Chicago has a studio, film space, or production office starting at just $20/hour.
Hassle-Free Booking: Our site's navigation is friendly and will quickly get you from location scouting to directing actors on a studio set. Every film studio or production location listing includes every detail about the booking, and there are no hidden surprises.
24-Hour Free Cancellation Policy: Setbacks can prevent you from showing up at the studio or film location on the scheduled date, and Giggster backs you with a 24-hour cancellation.
Platform Protections: Once you've chosen a filming space or production studio, get add-on liability insurance to cover possible damage or cancellation at check-out. Rent a film studio like Spacious & Modern Event Space with Sleeping Loft with our optional cancellation and liability backing.
Pros and Cons of Production in Chicago
Exploring what Chicago, IL, offers reveals why Michael Bay chose the Windy City as the backdrop for "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" and "Transformers: Age of Extinction." It's the center of content creation in the Midwest, but before signing a rental contract to secure a studio or stage, weigh the pros and cons of producing your next TV show or film in the city.
Advantages
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Resting on Lake Michigan, Chicago has several beachfront film locations. They provide a visual feast for the camera, and working in scenic settings boosts your team's morale.
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Chicago is known for its Deep Dish Pizza, Italian beef sandwich, and original rainbow cone. You'll enjoy having catering delivered to your stage, and the diverse culinary landscape also makes it an ideal place to film food-related content.
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Life in the Windy City centers around art and culture, with many institutions showcasing the regional heritage. The knowledge gives you tools to approach visual arts, dance, stage, or music production. Attending some of the city's top festivals also allows you to interact with local communities and gain insider knowledge.
Disadvantages
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Downtown Chicago has traffic snarl-ups that can cause production delays. The unwritten rule is to steer clear of a film studio or stage near popular attractions to avoid crowds and noise.
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Chicago becomes dreary during winter, and the below-freezing weather peaks between December and February. Nothing much happens around town, and the unfavorable conditions can hamper movement from one film studio to the following production stage.
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The city's industries and vehicles affect the air quality, making it uncomfortable to film outdoors. However, this is a small dealbreaker since booking an indoor studio or stage solves the issue.
The Best Production Spaces in Chicago
Giggster has 653 listings in Chicago ranging from film spaces to television studios and stage settings. The city has several more on-location spots to explore, such as Northwestern University, which lent its two campuses to big-screen productions like "The Devil Wears Prada," "Mean Girls," and "The Duff." Suppose you are still narrowing your options, factor features, facilities, and production services, with these ideas as inspiration.
TV Studios – Talkshows. A TV production studio is the ultimate video recording backdrop, with lighting, equipment, and the services of a professional broadcast team. The studio has different sets for producing everything from live newscasts to taped talk show recordings.
Green Screen Stages – Video Productions. A green screen studio is an ideal backdrop for still photography or video production. The backdrop creates a world of possibilities in terms of visual effects and graphics. It suits fight scenes, TV commercial shoots, comedy sitcoms, and sci-fi shows. The service provider might also provide in-house editing services.
Film Studio Backlots – Dramatized Films. Film studio backlots are the epitome of filmmaking, giving clients access to different sets and production amenities. The area behind a movie studio usually has permanent exterior buildings and streets, mirroring entire towns. A studio usually has room to create temporary sets for different productions.
Apartments – TV Shows. Apartments are versatile film settings for cooking shows, sitcoms, and interviews. The cozy, homely setting provides an authentic atmosphere for filming daily at-home scenes. Best still, you'll find several apartment styles and different buildings with varying amenities.
Coffee Shops – Meetup Scenes. "Friends," the '90s sitcom, is the best reference for coffee shops. It sets the stage for filming meetup scenes and interviews. The service provider might allow you to make some alterations, but generally, they come with pre-set atmospheres, and it's a matter of finding one that works for your project.
Planning Your Production in Chicago
With Giggster's 653 listings, finding a studio with professional lights and cameras, dressing rooms, and on-site team support is more accessible. Chicago also makes filming hassle-free, with selections of stages and backlots with room for set building and access to high-quality industry equipment. With all that said, pre-production wins the race, and these surefire tips can help with all film projects.
Take Time with Pre-Production – Everything you do before getting actors on the set and filming the first shot sets the stage for a successful production. Getting everything right is crucial, especially in choosing the best studio, stage, or on-location settings. Hire a professional crew and start working with them from the onset to ensure everyone is on the same page.
Prepare for the Unexpected – Rainy days, natural disasters, or a service provider failing are common filming setbacks. Think ahead and have backup plans to solve every possible scenario, whether having a secondary studio or stage ready to go or creating a flexible schedule with room for rescheduling. Also, keep extra batteries, lenses, and cast costumes on set.
Treat your Team as Guests – Filming days are always dull, and the routine of shooting scenes several times quickly gets boring. Have a holding area with a snack bar, games, and other fun activities to keep morale high and everyone motivated to keep the project going.
Plan a Wrap Party – After spending hours, a day, or months in a studio, stage, or film set, everyone becomes family. Celebrate everyone's hard work by hosting a wrap party in a fun and chilled atmosphere.
How to Save Money on Your Production in Chicago
Planning a photo/video shoot or play in a television studio, on-location setting, or stage can prove costly. With these cost-saving tips, you can access the best services from top-tier studios and run a successful set.
Choose a fully equipped production studio space.
Every studio features varying facilities, but most provide essential lighting and cameras. Assess suitability based on your project needs, knowing you'll spend less renting a studio with everything you need.
Have your production office on set.
Having your film base/ command center on the set makes sense to minimize movement and keep your equipment within reach. You can also schedule client meetings, provide studio tours, and host other non-filming functions without leaving the set.
Work with local communities.
Collaborating with local food vendors and service providers to support the community will result in discounts and deals.
Chicago Productions with Giggster
Chicago has a studio space or stage ready to host your film crew, and Giggster can help you find a suitable facility to kickstart your project. Search the Giggster app for the ideal location.
Filming locations from the best thrillers shot in Chicago
Chicago has played a major role in the film industry since the early 1900s, when it claimed the most cinemas per capita in the United States and distributed over three-quarters of the nation's silent films. With significant tax credits, a sturdy infrastructure, and reservoirs of local cast and crew talent, Illinois has long been a leader in incentivizing filmmakers to make their movies there.
The White City also claims many recognizable landmarks, including the Chicago River's boardwalk and bridges, the L, the John Hancock building, Wrigley Field, and Millennium Park, to name just a few. The energy of the city, along with its unique and diverse neighborhoods, has made it a prime site for commensurately high-energy filmmaking, notably thrillers.
For that reason, Giggster looked at noteworthy shooting locations you can visit from the best thrillers shot in Chicago. To qualify as one of the best, the film had to have at least a 7.5 user rating on IMDb. Some, like Emmit's Pub, are now relegated to the wistful past, but several more haven't seemed to age a day since they graced the silver screen in these films.
The climactic Grand Ballroom in 'The Fugitive'
- Location: Chicago Hilton and Towers, 720 S. Michigan Ave.
When the Chicago Hilton and Towers opened in 1927 (then known as the Stevens Hotel), it was akin to the Titanic of the hotel world—boasting the most guest rooms in the world, rooftop miniature golf, a bowling alley, a hospital, and more—only to be sunk by financial difficulties brought on by the Great Depression. Unlike the infamous ship, however, the distinctive lakeside property survived and eventually thrived under new ownership.
Centrally located to high-traffic destinations, the Chicago Hilton and Towers is the perfect endpoint for the tightening cat-and-mouse game between a man wrongfully convicted of murder, Dr. Richard Kimble (Harrison Ford), and U.S. Marshal Sam Gerard (Tommy Lee Jones) in 1993's "The Fugitive." The doctor corners the back-stabbing friend who really killed his wife at a physicians' gala in the hotel's Grand Ballroom. Although it's a jaw-dropping space lit up in purple and adorned with chandeliers and French Baroque accents, the camera's focus is entirely on the wanted man finally clearing his name.
The bar where Danny talks Linus into the heist in 'Ocean's Eleven'
- Location: Emmit's Pub, 495 N. Milwaukee Ave.
Underground tunnels, dwarf-tossing, cops, and attempted robbery—the history of Emmit's Pub practically begs for a thriller to be shot there. Formerly a police hangout known as O'Sullivan's Public House, the beloved Windy City tavern transforms into a watering hole for con men in 2001's "Ocean's 11" (and shows up in its sequel, "Ocean's 12").
After seeing Linus (Matt Damon) pickpocket an unsuspecting straphanger on the L, Danny Ocean (George Clooney) returns the favor, leaving in place of the stolen wallet a business card telling Linus to meet at Emmit's. Although the corner sign out front is unmistakable, once inside, the camera trains closely on the two hustlers, and the neon beer signs, whiskey on the rocks, and dimly lit interior could belong to any bar. But locals don't need movie cameos to remember Emmit's, which closed in June 2022; they've got their own memories, from bartenders who married regulars to those who attended the chess club or the women-only cigar club hosted there.
The Lexington Hotel in 'The Untouchables'
- Location: Chicago Theatre, 175 N State St
From 1928 to 1932, Alphonse "Scarface" Capone called the Lexington Hotel home and headquarters and took advantage of its amenities accordingly. The building boasted 11 secret staircases—one behind a mirror next to Capone's bathtub—and he and his crew used the underground tunnels to travel freely. Before it was demolished in 1995, the Lexington Hotel hosted a brothel, an international women's museum and research center, and "The Mystery of Al Capone's Vaults," a two-hour TV special hosted by Geraldo Rivera that garnered 30 million views.
With such an illustrious history in mind, the creators of 1987's "The Untouchables" chose a fittingly lavish setting for the hotel in their historical crime drama: the Chicago Theatre, called "the Wonder Theatre of the World" when it opened in 1921. The morning after Eliot Ness' (Kevin Costner) failed liquor raid, a hotel attendant grabs the daily newspaper and walks up the Chicago Theatre's red-carpeted grand staircase, modeled after that of the Paris Opera House, to deliver the good news and breakfast to Al Capone (Robert De Niro) in bed.
Where Daniel Craig's character lives in 'Road to Perdition'
- Location: Hotel Florence, 11111 S. Forrestville Ave.
In 1881, George Pullman built a hotel named after his oldest daughter in what is now the South Side's Pullman Historic District, a neighborhood encompassing the railroad magnate's groundbreaking attempt to build a utopian community in the 1880s. Nearly a century later, the Historic Pullman Foundation saved the 50-room establishment from demolition. Although the interior of the Hotel Florence is closed to visitors as of July 2022, those watching 2002's "Road to Perdition" can glimpse the cherry woodwork and stately fireplaces in one of the film's early scenes.
Irish mafioso John Rooney (Paul Newman) hosts a wake for his associate's brother at the mansion where he lives with his son, Connor (Daniel Craig), and Rooney's hitman, Michael Sullivan (Tom Hanks), attends with his family. Seeing the 120-year-old rooms animated by cigar-smoking actors and extras decked out in formal wear gives an idea of what the Hotel Florence must have been like at its height of glory.
Wayne Enterprises headquarters in 'The Dark Knight'
- Location: Richard J. Daley Center, 50 W. Washington St.
Unlike the original Wayne Tower in "Batman Begins," brought to life using the Chicago Board of Trade dressed up in a CGI facelift and Wayne logo, the Richard J. Daley Center wears no makeup to act as the new Wayne Enterprises headquarters in 2008's "The Dark Knight." The 31-story skyscraper's distinctive look is due to some unique attributes: It's the first to be built with corrosive tensile steel, which intentionally rusts for aesthetic and structural purposes, and has nearly half the standard number of floors for a building of its height, owing to the high ceilings necessary for courtrooms. But knowing that background information isn't necessary to appreciate the Daley Center's striking appearance in "The Dark Knight" as an onyx-black blot on an otherwise illuminated skyline.
Although Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) and his alter-ego, Batman, are forces for good in Gotham, the visual is an ominous foreshadowing of bad things to come for the fictional city. For about three seconds, Daley Center gets to be a much more exotic locale than the real-life location for court records and archives, public notaries, and the Cook County Comptroller, among other municipal services.
