Oregon has become an increasingly popular destination when it comes to filming television shows, working as the setting for shows like “Grimm” and “Portlandia.” The newest addition to this list is the “Pretty Little Liars” spin-off series “The Perfectionists,” which features Pacific University’s Forest Grove campus as the backdrop.
Having the film crew on campus brought with it several opportunities, including great publicity for the university. There were also chances for students to get involved with the filming in different ways.
Some students had the chance to work as extras for some of the scenes. There were also opportunities for students in the Film and Video Department to job shadow the show’s film crew. Of course, there were some minor restrictions on these interactions, because at the end of the day the main priority of “The Perfectionists” crew was making of their television show.
While it’s certainly flattering that Pacific was chosen as one of the locations for the show’s pilot episode, having a film crew on campus did come with its own set of obstacles.
For example, many parking spots were blocked off around campus to accommodate the film equipment and vehicles. Parking is already limited, and it became even harder to come by when the film crew moved in.
However, the university did provide shuttles to students in an effort to make up for the fact that some students were forced to park further away from campus than normal. While this was a nice consideration, it did not exactly beat the convenience of being able to park closer to the school.
There were also times during filming when areas of campus would be closed off, areas like the lawn in front of Marsh Hall and the lounge in the University Center. These closures were not as imposing as the parking situation, but it was still inconvenient at times to navigate around the campus.
It would have been nice to have had more warning on the parking situation and areas of campus that were going to be blocked off due to the filming. This would have given students more time to plan necessary adjustments, such as getting to campus earlier with the knowledge they would have to park farther away or leaving their houses sooner because the pathway they normally take to class was closed.
Pacific did send out an email informing students and faculty of the tentatively set calendar and schedule for filming, but more notice on specific closures would have been helpful.
Despite these obstacles, it was still exciting to have the film crew on campus knowing that Pacific has the possibility to be seen by people across the world as a result of the show. If the Freeform Network choses to pick-up “The Perfectionists,” it would be a privilege to give the show a home at Pacific.
Leave a Reply