Where we fly most
Around Ventura County and Los Angeles, a single week can take us from the coast to the mountains, the valleys and the city.
The coast. From Rincon and the Ventura pier down past Oxnard, Point Mugu and Leo Carrillo to Malibu, Santa Monica and the South Bay. Beaches, bluffs, harbors and the Pacific Coast Highway.
The mountains and canyons. The Santa Monica Mountains, the Topatopa range above Ojai, the San Gabriels and the roads that climb through them.
The valleys. The Ojai and Santa Clara River valleys, the Conejo Valley, Simi, the San Fernando Valley and Santa Clarita. Farms, ranches, new communities and long, golden evenings.
The city. Downtown towers, Hollywood, the Westside, the port and the freeways that tie it all together.
Airspace is the first thing we check
Southern California has some of the busiest airspace in the country. LAX, Hollywood Burbank, Van Nuys, Santa Monica, Long Beach and a dozen smaller airfields surround Los Angeles, and Ventura County has Camarillo, Oxnard and the Navy at Point Mugu. Flying inside that controlled airspace needs FAA authorization, which can come through in minutes or take weeks depending on the spot.
Then there are temporary flight restrictions for wildfires, stadium events and VIP visits, which can appear with very little notice. We check all of it when we plan, and again on the morning of the shoot.
Permits and locations
In the City of Los Angeles, unincorporated Los Angeles County and many other cities, film permits go through FilmLA. In Ventura County, the county handles unincorporated areas and most cities issue their own.
Land ownership matters too. National park land, including the NPS-managed parts of the Santa Monica Mountains, generally doesn’t allow drones to take off or land. California State Parks set rules park by park, and many city beaches have their own. We’ll find a legal take-off spot, or suggest a better location nearby.
Weather and light
The coast has its own weather. In late spring and early summer the marine layer can sit over the beaches until noon, or all day, while it’s blazing sunshine ten miles inland. In fall and winter, Santa Ana winds can turn canyons and passes gusty enough to ground a flight.
The upside is the light. Along much of this coastline the sun sets over the water, and on a clear evening the golden hour runs long and warm. We plan around all of it, and we always have a backup window.
Places we know best
Ventura County
Ventura, Oxnard, Camarillo, Thousand Oaks, Westlake Village, Simi Valley, Moorpark, Ojai, Santa Paula, Fillmore, Port Hueneme
Los Angeles County
Malibu, Santa Monica, Los Angeles, Calabasas, Agoura Hills, Santa Clarita, Burbank, Pasadena, Beverly Hills, Long Beach, Palos Verdes, Manhattan Beach
Filming somewhere else? We travel for the right project, across California, the rest of the US and further. The planning works the same way anywhere: airspace, permits and light first, then the shots.
Shooting in Ventura, LA or somewhere else entirely?
Send us the location. We’ll check the airspace, the permits and the light, and tell you what’s possible.