Nashville is obviously known for music. But from a production standpoint, the city has a lot more going for it than honky-tonks, cowboy boots and neon signs.
For commercial photography, advertising, branded content, music videos, television and film, Nashville offers something incredibly useful: a major creative city surrounded by a huge variety of locations.
You can shoot downtown in the morning, move to a residential neighborhood after lunch and finish the day on a farm, country road or open field.
Add experienced local crews, straightforward permitting, production incentives and relatively manageable logistics, and Nashville makes a pretty convincing production destination.
Here are some of the biggest reasons to shoot in Nashville and Middle Tennessee.
A Lot of Locations in a Relatively Small Radius
This may be Nashville's biggest advantage. Within the city, you'll find historic homes, mid-century ranches, contemporary architecture, suburban neighborhoods, industrial buildings, warehouses, restaurants, bars, music venues, downtown streets and plenty of classic Americana.
Head outside the city and the landscape changes quickly.
Within roughly an hour or less of Nashville, you can find farms, barns, rolling hills, forests, creeks, lakes, country roads, historic estates, small-town Main Streets, quarries and large stretches of open land.
For commercial productions, that variety can make a huge difference. A campaign that needs several distinct looks may be able to accomplish all of them while keeping Nashville as its central production base.
And no, your shoot does not have to involve a cowboy hat.
Nashville Has an Established Production Community
Nashville isn't a market where you need to bring an entire production infrastructure with you.
There are experienced local producers, crew, photographers, directors, equipment vendors, rental houses, studios, casting resources and location professionals working throughout Nashville and Middle Tennessee.
The Tennessee Entertainment Commission also maintains production resources for companies considering filming in Tennessee.
For an out-of-town production, that means you can hire locally where it makes sense and travel only the people you really need — potentially reducing airfare, hotels, per diems, vehicle rentals and the general circus of moving a production across the country.
Permitting Is Relatively Straightforward
Nashville also has a fairly approachable film permitting process.
The Metro Nashville Office of Film and Special Events coordinates filming permits involving Metro-controlled public property, including streets, sidewalks and certain public parking areas.
A standard Metro Nashville film permit application is currently $130, with applications required at least three business days before filming.
We recommend giving yourself 5–7 business days whenever possible, especially if your production involves parking, traffic control, street or lane closures, Metro Parks or coordination with additional city departments.
Additional permits and fees may apply depending on the scope of the production, but compared with many major production markets, Nashville's basic permitting process is refreshingly manageable.
For filming in Nashville's parks, Metro Parks maintains separate commercial film, video and photography permit information.
Tennessee Offers Production Incentives
For qualifying productions, Tennessee also offers financial incentives.
The Tennessee Entertainment Commission's Film Incentives Program currently offers qualifying productions the opportunity to receive grants based on eligible Tennessee expenditures.
For larger productions considering several markets, it's worth speaking with the Tennessee Entertainment Commission early in the budgeting process to determine whether your project qualifies.
Nashville Is Particularly Good for Lifestyle Advertising
This is where Nashville really shines.
There's a natural mix of polished and lived-in here. You can find beautiful homes, porches, backyards, restaurants, workshops, schools, sports fields, farms and neighborhoods that feel authentic rather than overly designed.
That makes Nashville and Middle Tennessee especially versatile for automotive, outdoor, food and beverage, fashion, healthcare, family, home, hospitality and lifestyle advertising.
And if the campaign isn't supposed to look like Nashville? That's completely doable too.
Broadway, neon signs and live music venues are one small piece of what the area offers. Nashville can just as easily give you a suburban neighborhood, anonymous downtown street, rural farm, contemporary home or classic American Main Street.
You Have Room to Produce
Sometimes the best thing about a location isn't what the camera sees. It's everything you can hide behind it.
Productions need parking, basecamp, motorhomes, grip trucks, catering, wardrobe, holding, equipment staging and client vehicles.
As you move outside Nashville's denser neighborhoods, larger properties and more open space become increasingly common.
A beautiful house is great.
A beautiful house with acreage, room for holding and somewhere to hide 25 crew cars?
Now we're producing.
Nashville Makes Company Moves Manageable
Nashville certainly has traffic, particularly during rush hour and around major events, but the ability to access urban, suburban and rural environments from one central production base is a major advantage.
Instead of treating every new landscape as a travel day, productions can often build very different looks within the greater Nashville area.
For a multi-location advertising shoot, that can translate into less time moving the company and more time actually shooting.
So, Why Shoot in Nashville?
Variety, accessibility and production infrastructure.
Nashville gives producers access to city streets, residential neighborhoods, contemporary architecture, historic properties, small towns, farms, forests, water and wide-open Tennessee landscapes — often without traveling very far.
Pair that with experienced local crews, a straightforward permitting process and potential state production incentives, and Nashville becomes a strong alternative to many of the country's traditional production markets.
If Nashville isn't already on your location list, it probably should be.
Need Help Scouting 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 or location specs. We can help determine what Nashville can realistically offer before you put half the crew on a plane.