Bringing a production to Nashville?
Good choice.
Nashville is an easy city to like from a production standpoint: experienced local crews, relatively straightforward permitting, a huge variety of locations and quick access to everything from downtown streets to farms and open countryside.
But every production market has its quirks.
If you're producing a commercial, advertising campaign, branded shoot, music video, film or photo production in Nashville for the first time, here are a few things worth knowing before you arrive.
You Probably Don't Need to Travel Your Entire Crew
Nashville has a well-established production community.
There are local producers, production companies, assistants, location professionals, camera crews, lighting and grip crews, stylists, hair and makeup artists, casting resources, studios, equipment vendors and production support services working throughout the city.
The Tennessee Entertainment Commission maintains statewide production resources that can be helpful when you're beginning to crew and budget a Tennessee production.
For an out-of-town producer, the takeaway is simple:
Travel who you need. Hire locally where you can.
It can save significantly on airfare, hotels, per diems, ground transportation and baggage or equipment costs.
Nashville Is More Than "The Nashville Look"
If your creative calls for neon, honky-tonks, live music and cowboy boots, Nashville can obviously help you out.
But that's a very small part of the location inventory here.
Nashville has historic neighborhoods, mid-century ranches, contemporary homes, industrial buildings, warehouses, restaurants, offices, suburban streets and plenty of locations that don't read specifically as Tennessee.
Move outside the city and the landscape changes quickly.
Within roughly an hour, you can find farms, barns, forests, creeks, lakes, rolling hills, country roads, small towns and large private properties.
That range is one of the biggest advantages of basing a production here.
You Can Get Rural Surprisingly Fast
Don't assume a farm location means a three-hour company move.
Depending on what you're looking for, rural environments can start appearing within 20–45 minutes of central Nashville.
Areas around Franklin, Leiper's Fork, College Grove, Ashland City, Joelton, Gallatin, Lebanon and the communities surrounding Nashville can offer dramatically different rural looks.
That makes it possible to stay in Nashville, use Nashville crew and vendors and still get a genuinely rural Tennessee location without moving your entire production halfway across the state.
For more ideas, see our guide to Where to Find Rural Film Locations Near Nashville Without Driving Three Hours.
Permitting Is Pretty Straightforward
For productions using Nashville's streets, sidewalks, public parking or other Metro-controlled public property, you'll likely work with the Metro Nashville Film + Special Events Permit Office.
A standard Metro Nashville film permit application is currently $130.
Metro requires applications to be submitted at least three business days before filming, although we recommend allowing 5–7 business days whenever possible.
More complicated productions involving street closures, traffic control, public parking, parks or coordination with multiple agencies should build in additional time.
We've put together a more detailed breakdown in our How to Get a Film Permit in Nashville: Requirements, Costs + Timing guide.
Parks Have Their Own Permitting Process
Nashville has great parks and green spaces, but Metro Parks operates its own commercial film and photography permitting process.
That means a standard Nashville film permit doesn't automatically give you permission to set up a commercial shoot in a Metro park.
Metro Parks provides current commercial filming requirements, fees and application information through its Film, Video + Photography Permit Office.
If the creative relies heavily on a particular park, trail or green space, start that conversation early.
Location Parking Is Worth Taking Seriously
Nashville can be considerably easier for production vehicles than denser markets like New York, but parking still needs to be part of your location decision.
This is especially true downtown and in Nashville's busier commercial neighborhoods.
Don't just scout where you're putting the camera.
Scout where you're putting the grip truck, camera van, motorhome, catering, client vehicles and crew cars.
A location can be perfect creatively and still become a production headache if there isn't anywhere for the production itself to live.
On larger jobs, we recommend thinking about location, basecamp and production parking as one package rather than solving them separately.
Check Nashville's Event Calendar Before Locking Your Dates
This one matters.
Nashville hosts a lot of events.
Concerts, Titans games, Predators games, conventions, festivals, college events, races and major downtown events can dramatically affect hotel availability, traffic, parking and access to certain neighborhoods.
The Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp maintains a citywide events calendar that's worth checking during pre-production.
If you're planning a downtown shoot in particular, check what's happening before you lock the schedule.
The quiet street you scouted on Wednesday may have 50,000 new friends on Saturday.
Rush Hour Is Still Rush Hour
Nashville is easier to navigate than some major production cities, but it isn't traffic-free.
Morning and evening rush hours can slow company moves considerably, particularly along major interstate corridors.
Build realistic travel time into your schedule and don't assume a location that's 15 miles away is always a 15-minute move.
For multi-location days, geography still matters.
Whenever possible, cluster locations rather than bouncing from one side of Nashville to the other.
The Weather Deserves a Backup Plan
Middle Tennessee gives productions four real seasons—which is great creatively and occasionally less great operationally.
Summers can be hot and humid. Thunderstorms can move through quickly. Spring can be wet. Winter temperatures can vary considerably from one day to another.
For exterior-heavy shoots, weather cover is worth discussing during the scout.
On rural properties in particular, think about what happens after rain.
That beautiful field may still look beautiful.
The grip truck stuck in it? Less so.
The National Weather Service Nashville office is the best source for local forecasts and severe-weather information as the shoot approaches.
Nashville International Airport Makes Travel Pretty Easy
For productions traveling key crew or clients, Nashville International Airport (BNA) is conveniently located close to the city and offers nonstop service to a large number of U.S. markets.
That can make Nashville an easy production destination for agency, client and creative teams coming from different cities.
Current flight and airport information is available through Nashville International Airport.
And once everyone lands, you're not starting with a two-hour drive to the production base.
Always appreciated.
Give Yourself Permission to Scout Outside Davidson County
One of the easiest mistakes an out-of-town production can make is searching only within Nashville city limits.
Don't.
Some of the most interesting location opportunities are in the surrounding counties.
Williamson, Wilson, Sumner, Robertson and Cheatham counties can dramatically expand your options while still keeping the production based in Nashville.
If the location isn't in Nashville proper, that doesn't automatically mean it's far away.
For a broader idea of what's available, see What Can You Shoot Within One Hour of Nashville?
Hire a Local Scout Early
We're admittedly biased here.
But if you're coming into Nashville with a specific creative brief, bringing in a local scout early can save a lot of time.
Google and location marketplaces are useful starting points, but they only show properties that are already online.
A local scout can go beyond existing listings—directly sourcing homes, farms, businesses, warehouses and private properties that may have never hosted a production before.
They can also help answer the questions that aren't visible in the scout photos:
Can we park here?
Can we fit a motorhome?
Can a grip truck make that turn?
Is the owner actually comfortable with a 40-person crew?
What's next door?
How loud is that road?
Where does everyone go to the bathroom?
Not glamorous questions.
Very important questions.
The Short Version
If you're producing in Nashville for the first time:
Hire locally where it makes sense. Give permitting at least 5–7 business days when possible. Check the event calendar. Think about parking before locking locations. Don't underestimate traffic. Have a weather plan. And don't limit your location search to Nashville city limits.
Most importantly, take advantage of the geography.
Nashville gives you a major production base with quick access to city streets, residential neighborhoods, small towns, farms, forests, lakes and open countryside.
That's a lot of production value without moving very far.
Bringing a Production to Nashville?
Nashville Location Company provides location scouting, sourcing, vetting, location management and permitting support for commercial photography, advertising, branded content, film and motion productions throughout Nashville and Middle Tennessee.
Send us your creative brief, reference images, shoot dates and location specs.
We'll help you figure out what Nashville can offer—and hopefully eliminate a few production problems before they become production problems.