You may not have heard of Shreveport or Bossier City, but you’ve likely seen it on the big or small screen whether you know it or not.\u00a0 Shreveport has drawn much praise from the industry for its ability and willingness to transform into various landscapes for filming purposes.\u00a0 Shreveport has doubled for everywhere from Guantanamo Bay to the biblical city of Sodom and just about anywhere in between, and of course you’re probably familiar with the fictional town of Bon Temps from the “True Blood” series.<\/p>\n The film industry comes to Louisiana for the tax incentives, but they flock to Shreveport because they will literally bend over backwards to accommodate outrageous film request, up to and including shutting down an entire freeway for a month for the filming of “Battle Los Angeles” and building the only motion picture wave making tank for “The Guardian” (though it can also be seen in Shark Night 3D).<\/p>\n Now that New Orleans is back on its feet, Shreveport has lost a bit of momentum in the blockbuster arena but there is still plenty of action in television, indie and smaller movie productions.\u00a0 If your visiting Shreveport during filming, you may be lucky enough to score an extra spot on the Fox show “Salem”.\u00a0 I was not there during filming, but I did poke around on the set and get some photos courtesy of Fox.<\/p>\n The set of “Salem” is stunning and really transports you to 17th century Massachusetts.<\/p>\n Shreveport and some of the outlying towns in North Louisiana feature a self-guided “film trail<\/a>“, where you can visit the settings of some of the famous films that have been hosted there.\u00a0 In nearby Minden, LA, you’ll find signs littering the street notating where various movies have been shot.\u00a0 They also have an interactive element; just scan the QT code on your smart phone or device to see a clip of the movie scene that was filmed there.<\/p>\n If just looking at the movies isn’t enough for you, worry not.\u00a0 Physical set locations are not the only movie magic you’ll find in North Louisiana.\u00a0 Shreveport is also on the cutting edge of digital media and animation, where you can really get in on the action.<\/p>\n The Digital Media Institute<\/a> at Intertech is a non-profit school training the next generation of movie magic makers. DMI offers year long programs in animation, visual effects, and software development.\u00a0 I don’t know a ton about technology, but still had a great time touring the facility.\u00a0 It’s definitely not the kind of school you would expect to find in the relatively small town of Shreveport. They host occasional open houses at the facility, but you can also call to schedule a tour if you’re interested.\u00a0 I would certainly recommend it.\u00a0 I got to play around with all sorts of expensive fancy equipment like the virtual reality Oculus RIFT, which is available for pre-order now<\/a> for around $600 with a few games.<\/p>\n I also got a behind the scenes look at green screen animation.<\/p>\n After a student completes a degree at DMI they don’t necessarily need to look to far for work.\u00a0 In the same building you’ll find Moonbot Studios.\u00a0 Film aficionados may already be familiar with this young studio from the 2012 Academy Awards, where they won an Oscar for their first ever short film, “The Fantastic Flying Books of Morris Lessmore”.\u00a0 Moonbot Studios has since won several more awards across the numerous fields they’ve dominated, such as books, video games, and apps.\u00a0 Moonbot also offers open houses at time, and they are definitely worth checking out.<\/p>\n![\"Shreveport,](\"https:\/\/magsonthemove.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/02\/image27-510x510.jpeg\")
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