Driving around Los Angeles, there is something you'll notice besides palm trees and BMWs: yellow production signs.
These bright yellow plastic signs litter lamp posts all over town, directing a crew on location where to park or where to report. They are always printed in bold black with the name a mirror image of itself and an arrow in the middle, making them easy to use and easy to spot.
I took these pictures out of my car window, and coincidentally they both have the names of actual shows on them. Never in my life have I worked on a production where the signs used the actual name of the shoot. Usually it's something cleverly disguised and the crew knows the code word. On one show all of our signs read "Daisy," after the producer's dog.
You can imagine that if the signs said what they were (Glee! or Superman!) that a potential fan mob might appear. So, in general, they read like "Cupcake" or "Orchid" or some such.
As many as there are around, I'm not oblivious to the yellow production signs. I'll usually peek around to see where they appear to be shooting, how many talent trailers they have, if it appears to be a day shoot or a semi-permanent location.
Old habits die hard, I guess.
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I worked in the entertainment industry for seven years and my husband still does. For more entertainment posts and explanations, click here.
