The Backlot

[KSiteTV]

I understand that the budget is lower and going on location is costly. But...

Four episodes in and I am already so sick of seeing JUST ONE STREET in Metropolis. Are we to believe everything in Metropolis happens on just one street? Even on Lois & Clark they had a whole backlot to play with.

Right before Maxima attacked Lois, we even had the same pharmacy sign reflected in her window.

Wouldn't it have been easier/cheaper to just fly the actors down to L.A. and film the stuff on the backlot here? 'Cause the one up north, isn't happening.

I'm not dissing the set/construction people up in Vancouver; they did a great job making the street that they made. But I'd really like to see more.

[AndiGirl]

Yea...I noticed that too.
The first scene where the man is walking...down the same Metropolis street....
Then Lois gets attacked on the same street....

I think we've seen the dumb street atleast 5 times this season already.

[Sue Denim]

What's really painful is when you see the same sets used in different shows. It really, really confuses you.

[Tommy'sGirl]

The same problem existed last season. Everything happened at that gas station, remember? In "Cure" Dr. Knox kidnapped that ex-meteor freak in the gas station parking lot. It was used again in "Fierce" and other episodes. I got really tired of seeing it.

[SnowBird]

I didn't get tired of all of the other sets they used over and over and over again for going on 8 years. I'm sure not tired of the new Metropolis set I've seen in only 4 episodes. I'm glad for the actors that they don't have to go on different locations thereby saving them time to get a little rest from their very busy schedules.

[Shadowlord367]

But still, there's more they can do with that one lot if they wanted to. They used the same overhead camera work they did in Odyssey, and it's lit and set up the same way every time. Go from different angles, and at least switch things up.

[cksidekick]

yeah, change the signs around...dress the set differently from epi to epi...i'm still wondering why Maxima popped up on that street when the signal cam from Luthor Mansion...what are the odds?

[Routh]

COSIGNED TIMES A MILLION.

I've made about a dozen posts around here about this very subject. I hate what the budget cuts have done. :( The "buildings" on this set are very tiny, and I never get the sense that this is a city, Metropolis no less. Even worse, this tiny road that bends around near a tiny movie theater seems to be the place where EVERYTHING happens; JL meetups, bus explosions, attacks, muggings, alien landing spot, alien destruction spot.

Bwah. I miss the days when they would shoot in downtown Vancouver (like in the beginning of Descent, outside Luthorcorp). Now THAT feels like Metropolis.

[BadToad]

Its a very nice set, but setting every episode there is making the series look very cheap. I know they can't help it, and this was probably their only viable option. But I hate the CW for cutting their budget like this, and forcing them into this position.

[Supes4Ever]

I don't mind the same street, same lot dichotomy that is showing up that much. What I REALLY miss is the lack of their usually REALLY great music. Other then the occasional piece of instrumental music placed in the right sequence, we haven't seen any of the music used as well as it used to be before. Is it true they fired the music guy, or is that just a fake rumor?

[Atomic girl]

For some strange reason, the other sets that were used over and over again didn't bother me, but this one is already bugging me. I guess it's what the OP said. Is everything that happens in Metropolis to happen on the same street?

----- Added 1 Minutes later -----


I don't mind the same street, same lot dichotomy that is showing up that much. What I REALLY miss is the lack of their usually REALLY great music. Other then the occasional piece of instrumental music placed in the right sequence, we haven't seen any of the music used as well as it used to be before. Is it true they fired the music guy, or is that just a fake rumor?Mark Snow is no longer with Smallville. He either left before season 7, or in the middle of it. I guess I could check that somewhere....

[harryandginnyfanatic]

Another thing I don't get is how close is that street corner and the theatre to the Daily Planet? And where's the Luthorcorp building gone? We haven't seen it all season.

The geography of Metropolis has been changed around like Hogwarts did in the third Harry Potter movie.

[LexFactor]

Not sure what I can say that hasn't already been said but I completely agree with you Craig.

I understand that the budget has been cut and I sympathise but it is ridiculous that everything in Metropolis happens on this one tiny street.

Also, in response to harryandginny fanatic, I'm not sure where exactly this street is supposed to be in relation to the Daily Planet but it must be close. Both Lois and Tess seem to conveniently park their cars there.

[ClarkyBoy14]

Could they build onto it?

[eas]

I agree.... another issue that I have with the lack of budget is that complete lack of "soundtrack" now. Back in the day, every other scene would get it's own song & they used it very effectively to let the audience know what was going on in Clark's mind (or Lana's, etc...).

Now, we've got NOTHING. I would have killed for a song during the end Clois loft scene, because it might have given us some idea of where things stand between them. When you re-watch the early seasons, so may Clana scenes were made more effective by the use of songs. ("White Flag", for example, or "You're Beautiful".) Back in "Devoted" we knew exactly what Chloe was thinking during the dunk tank scene with "so much for my happy ending..." playing in the background.

Anyway... yeah, the budget cuts are showing in a lot of ways... the use of the same set - over and over - and the lack of soundtrack. And, even, the lack of special effects. Although, I WAS happy to see Clark super-speeding when he fed Shelby. I missed seeing him using his powers for stuff other than saving people.

If PS3 are really thinking of a S9, then they need to seriously negotiate a budget increase. D.O. needs to send some of the "GG" and "90210" money their way, given that "SV" has more viewers than the other shows.

[newbaggy]

I agree.... another issue that I have with the lack of budget is that complete lack of "soundtrack" now. Back in the day, every other scene would get it's own song & they used it very effectively to let the audience know what was going on in Clark's mind (or Lana's, etc...).

Now, we've got NOTHING. I would have killed for a song during the end Clois loft scene, because it might have given us some idea of where things stand between them. When you re-watch the early seasons, so may Clana scenes were made more effective by the use of songs. ("White Flag", for example, or "You're Beautiful".) Back in "Devoted" we knew exactly what Chloe was thinking during the dunk tank scene with "so much for my happy ending..." playing in the background.


I'm sorry eas but I am going to have to disagree vehemently with this. The lack of "soundtrack" strikes me as the one great artistic benefit of the reduced budget. At least now, there is less chance of perfectly good scenes being ruined by the insistence that the audience has to be distracted by some dreary ballad.

You might have killed to have a song during the end Clois loft scene - I would have killed to keep stop one being added! You don't need a song to tell you how things stand between Clark and Lois, Tom and Erica's performances make it clear: neither of them really knows. There is a lot of guardedness and ambiguity, because neither knows how much to reveal to the other. Sticking a song over the top would have been at best a distraction; at worst, it could have destroyed the scene.

Where your other examples are concerned, it's the look on Chloe's face when she sees how much Clark and Lois are enjoying each other's company that tells the audience what she's thinking, not the song - though the "so much for my happy ending" does ram it home for those slow on the uptake. But for every example that does work, there must be at least ten that - IMHO - don't. For example, the "Lana DVD" scene in "Arctic" - Tom and Erica's expressions tell you everything, as does Kristin's tearful performance. All it needs is the gentlest instrumental underscoring, but we have to put up with some woman droning on about how "you changed my life" because "you're perfect". Honestly, if it were not for the quality of the performances (and the fact that I can turn the sound down), the song would make the scene unwatchable.

Getting back to the point of the thread - the backlot. I actually don't mind it as much as some. Yes, having the cinema as a focal point emphasises that you are seeing the same few streets every week, and a bit of money for some location filming on the streets of Vancover would definitely help. But for years, Smallville has tried to disguise bits of the Burnaby backlot as parts of Metropolis (or Granville). Think of all those scenes in generic back alleys, or the roads that always run alongside the elevated railway. At least, these are properly constructed sets - not a couple of signs, a dumpster and a few parked cars to disguise the outside of a sound stage. However, they do need to find ways of shooting (and possible re-dressing) those sets to look like different parts of town.