The best outdoor music video locations in Los Angeles are the ones that give you a strong look, control over the space and an easy day for your crew: think beaches and desert rock for scale, downtown streets and rooftops for grit, and private estates for a world you can light and lock down. If your concept needs a fantasy setting, a pool that glows at night or a fairytale front door, a private property like ours in Valley Village can deliver all three in one company move.
We have hosted music videos, TV and commercials at The Enchanted Manor for years, so here is how we would scout the city if we were in your shoes, and where our backyard fits in.
What makes a great outdoor music video location
Before you fall in love with a picture on a location site, run it through the checklist experienced producers use. A location that looks perfect in a still can fall apart once twenty people, a generator and a playback speaker arrive.
- The look holds up from several angles. A music video eats coverage. You want a wide, a performance setup, a few B-roll corners and a hero shot, ideally without moving trucks.
- You can control it. Public places mean passers-by, traffic noise and time limits. Private property lets you reset, rehearse and play back loud tracks without an audience.
- Light works for you. Know where the sun travels across the space and whether practical lighting is already built in. Night shoots are much cheaper when the location already glows.
- Logistics are simple. Parking, a place for hair and make-up, somewhere to stash gear, power, restrooms and a short walk from basecamp to set all save hours.
- Permissions are clean. A clear owner, written permission and the right permits keep your shoot from ending early.
Classic outdoor looks around Los Angeles
Los Angeles is famous for packing many landscapes into one county. These are the broad categories most directors start with.
Beaches and coastline
Santa Monica, Venice and the Malibu coast give you the sun-drenched California look. They are beautiful and recognisable, but they are also public and busy, so expect crowds, wind on your audio and strict rules about where crews can set up. From our door, Santa Monica Beach is about 19 miles and Venice Beach about 19.5 miles.
Desert and rock
North of the city, the high desert and dramatic rock formations of northern LA County deliver the wide, empty frames that suit epic or moody tracks. The trade-off is distance, heat and very little shade or infrastructure, so plan water, power and an earlier call time.
Downtown streets, alleys and rooftops
Downtown LA has the gritty, urban texture that hip-hop and indie videos love: murals, fire escapes, industrial streets and skyline rooftops. These spots usually need permits, may need traffic or pedestrian control, and are rarely quiet.
Parks, hills and the LA River
Griffith Park, about 11 miles from us, offers trails, hills and city views, and the concrete channel of the LA River has appeared in countless films. Again, these are public spaces with permit requirements and other visitors.
Private homes and estates
This is where many music videos are actually made. A private estate gives you a controlled set with built-in production value: architecture, landscaping, pools and interiors, with the freedom to shoot multiple setups in one place. It is also the category where our home lives.
Why a private estate often beats a public spot
Public locations are free to look at but rarely free to film. Once you add permits, timing restrictions, crowd management and the risk of losing light while waiting for a clear frame, a private property can be the more efficient choice, especially for performance-heavy videos where the artist needs privacy to do take after take.
A private location also gives you consistency. You can scout it in daylight, come back at night to test lighting, and know exactly what you will find on shoot day. You can play back the track as loud as the owner allows without competing with traffic or tourists, and talent has somewhere comfortable to rest between setups.
Finally, an estate can play many roles. In a single day you might shoot a front-door arrival, a poolside performance, a fireside verse and a fairy-lit night sequence without a company move. Fewer moves means more time actually shooting.
The Enchanted Manor: storybook exteriors and a resort backyard
Our home sits on a quiet cul-de-sac in Valley Village with more than 18,000 square feet of grounds, and the LA River runs behind the house. Georgia Durante, a former precision and stunt driver with more than 30 years in the business with the Performance Two Driving Team, spent 25 years remodelling it into the manor you see today. She lives on the property and knows what a crew needs.
Here is what directors tend to fall for:
- A fairytale front. A winding brick path, a stone archway and large arched wooden doors set among lawns, lanterns and stone cottages. It reads as a storybook village, not a Los Angeles street.
- A grotto pool with three waterfalls. The saltwater lagoon-style pool is framed by rockwork and palms, with a raised Jacuzzi beside it.
- Colour on demand. The pool and spa lights cycle through nine colours, from deep blue to violet and emerald, which gives you a ready-made night palette without a lighting truck.
- Thatched palapas and a gazebo bar. A tropical, resort feel with a bar counter, barbecue and dining deck.
- Fire and fairy lights. A lava-rock fire pit, an outdoor fireplace on a private patio with plush couches, and trees strung with fairy lights that feel, as we like to say, like walking in dappled moonlight.
- Whimsical extras. A tri-level deck, an outdoor shower, a children's playhouse built as a mini version of the main house, and a tree house.
Real credits and crew-friendly details
Productions that have shot here include Lifetime's William & Kate, Bravo's Shahs of Sunset, Jay Leno, Funny or Die, a Buick commercial, music videos, web series and cosmetic launches. The house has a make-up room and equipment storage, so hair, make-up and wardrobe have a proper base instead of a car boot.
For logistics, we are minutes from the 101 and 405 freeways and easy to reach from Burbank and LAX airports. There is parking for 12 to 15 cars on the cul-de-sac plus open street parking. Universal Studios Hollywood is about 4.9 miles away and the Warner Bros. Studio Tour about 7.4 miles, so we sit right in the working heart of the Valley's entertainment world.
"It was hard to believe it was actually Los Angeles." — Andrew W., a guest at the manor
That reaction is exactly what a location should do on camera: transport the viewer somewhere they cannot quite place.
How to scout and book a music video location
- Start with the treatment. List every setup the director wants: arrival, performance, narrative scenes, night sequence. Then look for locations that cover the most setups in one place.
- Scout at the right time of day. If you shoot at golden hour or night, scout then. Check where the sun drops and what practical lights exist.
- Walk the logistics. Where does the truck park? Where do hair and make-up go? How far is it from gear storage to set? Where can talent rest?
- Ask about sound. Confirm how loud playback can be and for how long, and be a good neighbour on residential streets.
- Sort the paperwork early. Get written permission from the owner, check whether you need a FilmLA permit for your crew size and street use, and have your certificate of insurance ready.
- Plan for the neighbours. On a residential street, courtesy keeps a location available for the next production, including yours.
If you are bringing out-of-town talent or crew, the Inn on the property is also available as a vacation rental, and you can find ideas for downtime in our Hollywood Sign hike guide.
Book a scout at The Enchanted Manor
If your next music video needs a storybook front door, a glowing grotto pool or a fairy-lit night garden, we would love to show you around. See our production location page for more on filming here, or our events page if you are planning a launch party or celebration. To check dates or arrange a scout, call or text Georgia on (213) 999-3050 or email stuntlady@me.com. They come as strangers and leave as friends, and crews are no exception.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a permit to shoot a music video outdoors in Los Angeles?
Usually yes. Filming on public property in the City and County of Los Angeles generally requires a permit, which is coordinated through FilmLA. Private property shoots still need the owner's written permission, and many productions pull a permit there too when crews, vehicles or street parking are involved.
Has The Enchanted Manor been used for music videos?
Yes. Music videos have been shot here, along with Lifetime's "William & Kate", Bravo's "Shahs of Sunset", Jay Leno, Funny or Die, a Buick commercial, web series and cosmetic launches.
What can a production use at The Enchanted Manor?
Crews have a make-up room and equipment storage on site, plus the storybook front with its brick path and arched wooden doors, the saltwater grotto pool with three waterfalls, a thatched gazebo bar, fire pit, fairy-lit trees and pool and spa lighting in nine colours.
Where is The Enchanted Manor and how much parking is there?
We are at 5235 Goodland Avenue in Valley Village, on a quiet cul-de-sac minutes from the 101 and 405. There is parking for 12 to 15 cars on the cul-de-sac plus open street parking.
