[MontagFTB]

> there were tens of people who walked by and asked the security people what they were filming. They got one of two answers. The first one was a name for a series that was different than the one I was told. The second answer was "this is a new series with a largely unknown cast". This answer sounded very specific and very rehearsed.

I believe this is standard procedure on sets to keep from gathering a crowd, or leaking information about the film prior to marketing release. I’m sure there are other good reasons.

[djtriptych]

Interesting. In NYC they invariably post the name of the show on the parking permits they have to publicly post to shut down streets (which I'm guessing 100% of shoot need to do out here).

Crowds generally just don't form in NYC though. We see shoots all the time.

Coolest one was for The Knick, a turn-of-the-century period piece about a storied hospital, which was filmed on my block the year I moved to NYC (early 2013). There's a beautiful building on the block, the Boys High School in Brooklyn [0], which was used for the hospital exteriors. The Knick is a turn-of-the-century period setting; they covered the entire street in gravel (for weeks), erected gas lamps, etc.

[0]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boys_High_School_(Brooklyn)

[j5r5myk]

They often use code names on those parking permit signs

[djtriptych]

I've seen abbreviations but never code names as far as I know. The times I didn't recognize a name I was able to google and see a story about it.

Now I'll be on the lookout =)

[neilv]

For one shoot in Boston, the crew said "mayonnaise commercial".

I don't approve of dishonesty, but I thought that was clever.

[egypturnash]

This is one of the stock answers, according to some folks I know who do a lot of this kind of work.

[j5r5myk]

Yes mayonnaise commercial is the go-to industry wide cheeky answer going back decades

[mattlondon]

Around here in London they always say "it's an independent film" when actually it is Mission Impossible or After Life or Downton etc.