Why film in Florida? The state has a pretty good argument for why you should shoot here. We have beaches, downtowns, swamps, palm trees, suburbs, farms, lakes, springs, wildlife, boats and mountains of fake-looking resort architecture, and somehow all of that exists in the same state. Okay, we don’t actually have mountains, but give us a drone and a good enough lens and we’ll make something work.

For filmmakers, Florida is one of those places where you can get a surprisingly wide variety of looks without traveling across half the country. But like anywhere else, there are some very real advantages and disadvantages to shooting here.

So, should you film in Florida? Usually, yes. But you need to know what you’re getting yourself into.

The Obvious Advantage: Florida Looks Like a Lot of Places

One of Florida’s biggest strengths is variety. Head north and the scenery starts changing, and it keeps changing the further north you go.

One mistake people make when they plan to film in Florida is assuming everything looks like Miami. It doesn’t.

Depending on what you’re trying to create, you can use different parts of the state almost like different production environments. For a filmmaker, that means one state can cover a lot of different looks.

Where to Film in Florida: More Than Just South Florida

South Florida

South Florida can give you Miami’s modern skyline, Art Deco architecture, luxury homes, beaches, marinas, nightlife and tropical environments. Broward and Palm Beach offer everything from suburban neighborhoods and waterfront properties to industrial areas and upscale commercial locations.

Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and the surrounding areas are great for luxury, commercial, lifestyle, hospitality, real estate, automotive, corporate and entertainment productions. So for a luxury, real estate or hospitality piece, a lot of the backdrop you need is already here.

Central Florida

Central Florida gives you Orlando’s entertainment and hospitality infrastructure, theme-park environments, suburban neighborhoods, lakes and a huge amount of production infrastructure. In other words, a lot of what a production needs is already in place there.

Orlando and the surrounding area are particularly strong for tourism, hospitality, branded content, entertainment and larger commercial productions. That makes Central Florida worth considering when a project fits one of those categories.

Tampa Bay and the Gulf Coast

Tampa Bay and the Gulf Coast bring a completely different feel. You get beaches and waterfronts, but also historic neighborhoods, downtown environments, smaller coastal communities and a more relaxed Florida aesthetic.

The area is great for waterfront, lifestyle, commercial, corporate and coastal productions. It’s a good fit when you want the water in the shot along with that more relaxed Florida aesthetic.

Northeast and North Florida

Further north, you start getting more rural and Southern-looking environments. In Northeast Florida, Jacksonville gives you urban, industrial, coastal and suburban environments, while the surrounding areas offer more rural looks.

North Florida has forests, springs, farms and smaller communities, with landscapes that look very different from the stereotypical “Florida” image. So when a project needs a much less stereotypically “Florida” look, North Florida can give you that.

The Keys and the Everglades

If you need tropical, Caribbean-style environments without leaving the United States, it’s hard to argue with the Florida Keys. In other words, you can get that look while staying in the country.

And yes, we have the Everglades. If you need something that looks like Florida and nowhere else, it’s hard to beat. That’s kind of its own category.

The Weather Is Both a Blessing and a Curse

This is where I’m going to be brutally honest. Florida weather is great for vacation. It can be absolutely brutal for filmmaking, especially in the summer.

Florida’s summer combination of heat, humidity, intense sun and frequent thunderstorms can turn a simple outdoor shoot into an endurance sport. You can start a shoot at 9:00 AM with beautiful blue skies and, by early afternoon, be staring at a giant thunderstorm rolling directly toward your location.

So a clear morning doesn’t promise a clear afternoon. And that isn’t just inconvenient.

Why It’s More Than an Inconvenience

Rain can shut down outdoor shooting. Lightning can create legitimate safety concerns. That turns a scheduling problem into a safety problem.

Humidity can make equipment handling miserable, and batteries and media aren’t exactly thrilled with extreme conditions either. Media here means the cards and drives that hold your footage.

And if you’ve ever spent six hours outside carrying a camera package in 95-degree heat with 90% humidity, you know that “cinematic” isn’t the first word that comes to mind. That kind of heat wears on people, not just gear.

The Upside: Beautiful Light

The upside? Florida also gives you some absolutely beautiful light. Sunrise and sunset can be spectacular, especially around the coast.

The wet season can produce dramatic skies. The same weather that causes headaches can also hand you a great sky. And because you’re relatively close to the equator compared with much of the United States, the quality and angle of sunlight can create a very distinct look.

Planning Around the Weather

The trick is planning around it, especially if you film in Florida in the summer. For outdoor summer shoots, we generally prefer early morning or late afternoon, with enough flexibility in the schedule to work around storms.

Flexibility means leaving room to pause or shift the day when a storm rolls in. And always have a weather plan, so everyone knows what happens if the sky turns.

What About Florida’s Film Incentives?

This is where things have changed over the years. Florida was once much more aggressive with statewide film incentives and tax credits, and today the statewide picture is different.

There is still a Florida Entertainment Industry Sales Tax Exemption that can provide meaningful savings on qualifying production-related expenses. A sales tax exemption means you don’t pay sales tax on the expenses that qualify. That’s different from getting money back after you spend it.

But anyone planning to film in Florida shouldn’t assume the state has the kind of broad statewide production rebate program that some competing states advertise. So if you’re building a budget, don’t plan around that kind of statewide rebate being available here.

There are also local opportunities. Here in Broward County, Film Lauderdale has a local incentive program for qualifying productions, including film and television projects, and currently advertises performance-based rebates for eligible productions spending money in Broward County.

That’s one reason it’s important to look beyond the state and ask, “What incentives and production resources are available where we’re actually shooting?” The answer can vary significantly by location and project.

Location matters because a program like Film Lauderdale’s is tied to a specific county. The project matters too, since these incentives cover qualifying productions and expenses, not every shoot.

Florida Is Becoming Increasingly Production-Friendly

One of the things I like about Florida is that you don’t have to build your production ecosystem from scratch. There are production companies, crew, equipment rental companies, studios, soundstages, location databases, film commissions and other resources throughout the state.

A production ecosystem is all of those pieces working together. When they already exist locally, you can put a shoot together with what’s here instead of starting from zero.

Film Lauderdale, for example, maintains resources for permits, locations, production directories, studios and soundstages, and other production information. There are also organizations like Film Florida, which advocates for and supports Florida’s entertainment production industry.

If you’re serious about producing in Florida, it’s worth knowing what they do. It’s also worth keeping up with the resources they provide.

So, Should You Film in Florida?

We might be a little biased, but yes. Florida gives productions an unusual combination of location variety, experienced production talent, infrastructure, accessibility and incredible natural environments.

The biggest challenge is probably the same thing that makes Florida visually interesting in the first place: the weather. Plan around it, build some flexibility into your schedule, protect your gear, hydrate your crew and don’t schedule a 12-hour exterior shoot in August unless you really enjoy suffering.

For productions that need the right locations and a capable local crew, Florida can be an incredibly effective place to shoot. And if you need a camera package while you’re here, well, that’s where we come in.

Let’s Make Something

Agape Media Group supports productions throughout Broward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties, and anywhere else a project takes us. We provide video production from planning through post, production crew for a single role or an entire department, and camera and equipment rentals with pickup in Fort Lauderdale or delivery throughout South Florida. If the idea is still taking shape, our creative development support can help turn it into a clear, shootable vision.

We’re a small, owner-led production company, and our production services are built around each project. Our work ranges from documentaries to commercial, branded and corporate content. Tell us what you’re working on, request a quote or call 954-249-0702, and we’ll help you plan the shoot.