It’s dawn on Friday — shoot day for a high-end corporate video for Dell.
I packed my SUV with gear the night before. That way, in the morning, I could simply shower, dress, jump in the car and go. Which is what I did. Well, everything except the “go” part.
My car battery was dead.
Really? Today? The day of a very important video shoot? My battery is dead?
Um. Yes.
My Rav 4 is less than two years old and has always been amazing and reliable, so I chalked it up to a freak event.
Now, it was on to the back up plan.
I pulled the minimal gear I needed and loaded it into my Honda S2000. Now, if you know the size of an S2000, then you know you can’t fit much into it.
I really didn’t need all the gear that I packed. After all, my crew would have everything they needed. But I’m just a little obsessive (well, maybe a lot) and always bring a back up camera, laptop and a few other supplies. In any case, I loaded up the car with the bare necessities and zipped out of the driveway.
Ten minutes later, I’m sailing down the toll road to Round Rock.
The closer I got to Round Rock, the more the stress of the early morning dead battery and last-minute car switch faded away.
And I think I know why.
Firstly, my crew is awesome. I pulled into the location to see our crew already arriving and unloading for the shoot. DP Andrew Barrera was setting up his camera. Ben Oliver was unloading the grip truck and Leslie Alexander was setting up the makeup station. My crew knows their jobs and performs them with exceptional skill and expertise.
The second reason my morning stress faded quickly was because the location, Gravity Workspace, was amazing. I don’t just mean the look of the space, which was stellar. I also mean the way the owner and manager of the space went out of their way to make us feel welcome and accommodated.
Which is why I love to make movies, commercials and corporate videos in Texas.
I’ve been blessed to produce and direct projects in Nashville, Beverly Hills, Boston and Orlando. But it’s always great to be back home shooting in Texas. And today’s shoot was in Round Rock.
Which brings me to the point of this blog post:
Top Three Locations to Shoot Video in Round Rock, Texas
Here are the top three places I’ve shot, produced and/or directed videos in Round Rock, Texas. Again, these aren’t ALL of the places to shoot great video in Round Rock. These are simply the top three places that I’ve shot at with awesome video results.
#3. Old Settlers Park
I produced a commentary video for a Western TV Pilot. The client wanted a great place to shoot that would exude the western feel. Old Settlers Park was the perfect spot. We shot both exteriors and interiors. The location has convenient parking for crew and the landscape and buildings are beautiful.
“Round Rock’s Old Settlers Park is the City’s crown jewel of the park system and is a well-known sports destination in the youth and amateur sports leagues. The park’s 645 acres provides ample space for several recreational pursuits such as disc golf, cricket, 20-field baseball complex, 5-field softball complex, soccer facilities, and more. Old Settlers Park is also a place to congregate outside, barbeque and have a game of horseshoes at one of the two pavilions.”RoundRockTexas.gov
#2. Dell Diamond
When tasked to produce and direct a high-octane commercial spot for WebGem, we were fortunate enough to get Dell Diamond as our key location. The folks there were friendly and happy to welcome our production. The location worked perfectly for our needs.
#1. Gravity Workspace
Gravity Workspace has two big pluses going for it. One, the place looks cool. Two, the folks who run Gravity are some of the most friendly and accommodating people you could hope to meet. And they have great coffee.
Okay, that’s three things. But I digress.
At Gravity, parking is easy for crew members and being in the heart of Round Rock, you have great access to restaurants and cafés that love to feed film crews.
Other Great Locations in Round Rock, Texas
Okay, okay. I know there are a whole host of great places to shoot video and film in Round Rock. As I said, this list contains only locations where I’ve actually shot commercials or corporate videos. If you know of a place in Round Rock where I should shoot my next commercial, music video or corporate video , please let me know. We are always looking for cool spaces, hidden getaways and awesome architecture. Leave a comment or send me a message. Let me know where in Round Rock Expressions in Video should be shooting their next video production.