How are TV shows and movies shot in SA? KSAT Explains

SAN ANTONIO – The filming of 1923, the spinoff of the hit show Yellowstone, downtown will have some onlookers craning to get a glimpse of any stars who might be on the temporary San Antonio set.

For locals in the film industry, this project is an opportunity.

Danny Ramos, a locations manager, production manager, producer, director and native San Antonian, has worked in the film industry for 35 years.

Ramos studied the industry when he attended San Antonio College.

“Working with (director) John Avildsen in ‘8 Seconds’ with Luke Perry and Stephen Baldwin back in the 90s. That was my first gig,” Ramos said. “Then I started working on music videos. The R.E.M. video when we closed down I-10.”

Ramos went to Los Angeles for a while, but there’s no place like home.

“I’m just trying to give back to my community,” Ramos said. “Instead of ‘See ya later, San Antonio. I’m going to Hollywood and go work on movies in studios out there for Warner Brothers,’ why not just bring it back here and be here with my family?”

Ramos, and local filmmakers like him, can do that here in the Alamo City with the help of the San Antonio Film Commission.

“That’s truly what they’re here to do,” San Antonio Department of Arts & Culture director Krystal Jones said. “They help local filmmakers find resources to make their films, find locations, and then they also actively recruit productions to come to San Antonio and film in San Antonio.”

The commission acts like a local hub for productions that want to film here.

Jones explained a scenario where a producer reaches out to the San Antonio Film Commission.

“‘Hey, we’re looking for a downtown street that might look like 1923 Chicago. We’re looking for a ranch. We’re looking for something that looks like Grand Central Station,’” Jones said. “And we say, ‘Here’s our package of locations. Here’s some images we have.’”

The commission keeps a production directory that showcases local spots available for filming.

“Which is open to anybody in San Antonio that owns property, even cars, to list their piece of property as a place for filming,” Jones said.

The commission also helps coordinate logistics such as street closures and communication with businesses that could be impacted by a production.

Additionally, they help connect local talent by working with people like Ramos.

“It’s jobs. This is just exactly what it is,” Ramos said. “There’s a big opportunity for a lot of local freelancers out there that do either the camera work or assistant directors or makeup or hair that they can work on these projects at their local level.”

We all know San Antonio is friendly, but Ramos said it is film-friendly, as well.

“We let every vendor know and the companies that work here we’re going to film here,” Ramos said. “We’re going to invade your place, but we’re going to bring something beautiful to your place. Something that we’re all going to be proud of.”

“There is an economic generator for businesses in that area because it’s not just, ‘Thank you so much for shutting down for us,’” Jones said. “But they’re also going to pay you for the time that you’ve been shut down.”

Another added benefit to shooting productions on city property: free permits.

“In other cities, you might have to spend $250 a permit per location per day,” Jones said.

When shoots happen on private property, the film commission helps make those connections between locations, owners and local talent.

As well as local dreamers, like Ramos.

“We’re all going to benefit from this,” Ramos said. “And we get to survive and live here in San Antonio and still do the Hollywood thing and live that dream.”

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