Spotlights, Stage Space & Street Shifts: Two-Week Buffalo, NY Video Production Guide
Buffalo video production hits a sweet spot between Oct 17 and 31: high-profile shoots, genre-festival buzz, and clear-sky permitting align to make the Queen City one of the Northeast’s easiest places to roll cameras.
Studio Momentum on Niagara Street
Great Point Studios’ $50 million West Side complex—housing a 20,000-sq-ft stage plus two 5,000-sq-ft companions—officially swung its doors open in May, complete with carpentry shops, grip/electric inventory, and 70,000 sq ft of offices and post suites. On July 28 the campus inked a multi-year agreement with Great American Media to deliver 20+ original films and series, locking Buffalo as the franchise’s primary holiday-movie hub. Developers note that productions booking this fall can still tap introductory stage rates while the facility ramps to full capacity.
Key Shoots & Casting Alerts
Untitled Warner Bros. Feature – principal photography begins this week in Hamburg, Eden, and downtown Buffalo, with second-unit dates penciled for Oct 22-24.
The Revenge of La Llorona – indie horror sequel continues night work in South Buffalo warehouses through Oct 27.
T.R.O.L.L. – Casting Buffalo seeks SAG day players and youth roles; self-tapes due Oct 24.
Festival & Screening Circuit
Watch-List Highlights
- Oct 18-20: Amazing Fantasy Fest (formerly Buffalo Dreams) screens 94 features & shorts across three venues.
- Through Oct 21: Buffalo International Film Festival encores at North Park Theatre.
- Oct 30: Christmas of Giving world premieres on Great American Family, the first of eight Buffalo-shot holiday films.
Permit & Infrastructure Snapshot
City of Buffalo issues a single Special-Event/Film Application online; there’s no base fee, and approvals average three business days for sidewalk or park shoots. As of Oct 17, the public street-closure map shows no film-specific barricades through month-end, giving location managers freedom to pivot if lake-effect clouds roll in.
Quick-Hit Resources
- Great Point Studios Specs
- 20 k-sq-ft main stage, two 5 k-sq-ft stages; NC-30 soundproofing; 4,800 amps power.
- Local Incentives
- NY State’s 30–45 % credit still applies, and Film Buffalo Niagara fast-tracks tax-credit paperwork for projects under $5 million.
- Crew Pipeline
- Film Commissioner Tim Clark reports 2,200 registered film workers region-wide, up 18 % since 2024
Open Streets, Open Calendars
With no marathon or stadium events clogging downtown this cycle, Buffalo camera crew can snag those golden-hour skyline plates from the Silos or City Hall without OT police fees. The absence of barricades also eases parking for grip trucks headed to Niagara Street’s new stages—just 10 minutes from the Outer Harbor silos that double as moon-scape backdrops for sci-fi shorts. Should lake-effect drizzle arrive, Great Point’s climate-controlled stages keep schedules intact.
