The glamour of Hollywood has often found its way to the pristine shores and rugged hills of Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton. The ninety-mile trip through Southern California traffic can be a harrowing venture for film crews, though the prospect of filming at the home of the storied 1st Marine Division continues to attract some of Hollywood’s foremost cinematographers.
Light drizzle sprayed on Sgt. Clinton Lehner’s face, a crew chief with the 1st Marine Division, as the UH-1Y Venom ascended above Camp Pendleton alongside an AH-1 Cobra. The aircraft conducted a series of flight simulations giving the camera crew from “SEAL Team” the opportunity to capture the needed footage.
The crew filmed at Camp Pendleton on Jan. 14-15th, implementing not just aviation assets, but also showcasing a squad of Marines disembarking from a MV-22 Osprey and setting a defensive perimeter.
Camp Pendleton has been a premier filming location for a number of television shows and blockbuster movies looking to replicate the realism and history of the U.S. Marine Corps. Among these are movies such as “Battle Los Angeles” and “Heartbreak Ridge.”
Historically significant moments have also been re-enacted on Camp Pendleton, such as the raising of the flag on Iwo Jima and the landing at Tarawa in 1949 for the filming of “Sands of Iwo Jima.”
“SEAL Team” is a television drama series on CBS that follows a team of Navy SEALs personal and professional lives, starring actor David Boreanaz.
“We get amazing production value by utilizing the resources that [1st Marine Division] has been so helpful to let us use—the Ospreys, the Huey and all the cool, real military stuff that we can’t get anywhere else but from our own military,” said Alan Jacoby, director of photography for “SEAL Team.”
Jacoby went on to say, “We’ve worked out a great partnership with [1st Marine Division], and they’ve let us shoot here so we’re stoked to have the opportunity.”