CalArts On Location

CalArts as Lyle Pavilion

This is probably my final installment of my CalArts filming location festival. There is also an episode of Airwolf filmed at CalArts, probably from season 3, that can be streamed on Netflix, but I can't bring myself to scour through 22 episodes of such a god awful series. Even the show's theme music sounds like it was lifted from an 80's porn movie.

The Lawn Between the Main Parking Lot and the Mod; Dorms in the Distance

This episode of Banacek is from season 2 (1973) and is worthwhile for seeing what the campus surroundings looked like in the early years. Even when I was there in the 80's, there was no Stevenson Ranch or shopping mall. The remote location forced students to make their own entertainment.

The Green in the Foreground is Now the Ahmanson Dorms, the Brown Patch is the Apartment Complex Across Tournament Road

The episode is titled, "If Max is So Smart, Why Doesn't He Tell Us Where He Is?" and involves a gigantic supercomputer that vanishes overnight.

CalArts Lobby

The opening sequence (the image above and the two below) is a long tracking shot that follows the research hospital's main patron and hypochondriac (in pink pajamas) as she walks from the lobby, past the modular theater, through the L-Shape Gallery and down the stairs outside the cafeteria.

L-Shape Gallery

The shot is a treasure trove of fake art.

Gallery D300

This particular episode called for a shitload of extras in nurse uniforms, which makes me think of Richard Prince paintings.

Lulu May von Hagen Courtyard

The next scene picks up as they cross the old graduation courtyard to a prop building that convincingly matches the main campus architecture--which is more than you can say for the the metal buildings and FEMA trailers that clutter the campus today.

The Steps From the Patio Outside the Tatum Lounge

Sitting outside of the C-block was a 10' high geodesic dome, which also appeared in the climactic scene of the Invasion of the Bee Girls Movie (not seen in either post).

Looking South, A-Block

The other main shooting location was the hallways on the first floor of the A-block. Throw in a wheelchair and a few nurses and presto, you get instant hospital.

Looking Toward the Super Shop

By positioning himself on the board of trustees of places like CalArts and the Pasadena Museum, Thornton Ladd inveigled his way into architectural commissions for both institutions. Sadly, the little architectural details that sign for modernism--like the indirect lighting and the stained walnut phone booths--slowly have been stripped away as economic necessity trumps the ideals of modernism. Even the refurbished elevator looks like it was lifted from Morongo Casino.

If Only it Was Real: Drinking Screwdrivers on the Terrace of the Cafeteria

Sphere: Related Content