Day 29 - Warner Brothers Studios, Santa Monica & Venice Beach

Two days ago we visited Universal Studios, the largest film studio in LA (with its own amusement park) and enjoyed an interesting studio tour there, giving us a glimpse into the world of movies and TV series. However, at Universal, the studio tour is primarily focused on entertainment. That's why the tour is more like a roller coaster ride than an informative tour. :-)

To get a better behind-the-scenes look at a film studio, we went to Burbank today and took a tour of one of Hollywood's oldest film studios, Warner Brothers Studios. The studio was founded in 1923 by the Warner brothers, Jack and Albert, and is one of the so-called "Majors," the six largest film companies in the United States (alongside Columbia Pictures, Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group, Paramount Pictures, 20th Century Fox, and Universal Studios).

Warner Bros. released the first sound film in 1927 with Al Jolson in The Jazz Singer. In the 1930s, Warner Brothers popularized the Looney Tunes cartoons with characters like Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Porky Pig, and many more. Other famous films include: Casablanca, The Exorcist, Inception, The Hobbit, Ocean's Eleven, the Harry Potter series, the Batman series, and the Superman series. Additionally, the studios produce a large number of well-known TV series, including one of our favorites: The Big Bang Theory!

During the tour of the vast outdoor area of the studios, we visited various sets that are regularly used for exterior shots. In a very short time, we traveled through New York, Chicago, Gotham City, and other famous cities. And even though the neighborhoods and buildings are just facades, you always feel like you're really there. We were not aware of how often the same buildings are used in all the movies and TV series. Various camera angles and slight modifications to the buildings are enough to create the illusion of a different house.

After the outdoor area, we continued into one of the many sound stages. In these huge halls, elaborate sets are built for movies and TV shows so that as much as possible can be filmed in the studio. Exterior shots are extremely demanding in terms of lighting and sound. Filming and taking photos are strictly prohibited in these halls, so we unfortunately can't show you any pictures.

At the set of the TV series 'Two Broke Girls,' we gained a very exciting behind-the-scenes look. The sets of the individual rooms where the series takes place are actually much smaller in real life than they appear on the screen. Here too, with the help of camera tricks and sets, an optical illusion is created to make the rooms appear larger.

Practically all TV series are recorded in front of a live audience. This allows the producers to always observe the audience's reactions and, if necessary, make last-minute changes to a scene to make it better received by the audience.

Afterwards, we visited the props warehouse where thousands of small and large items from countless films are waiting to be used in the next blockbuster.

In the warehouse across the street, there were more fascinating props to see... and they can actually move! :-)

And who recognizes this set from a very successful TV show???

The visit to Warner Brothers was really fun and we highly recommend the tour!

Since it got very hot again today, we decided to go down to the beach. And this is a real challenge in a huge city like Los Angeles with its dense traffic. The drive from Burbank to Santa Monica Pier took about 90 minutes, distance: just under 40 km! :-)

As you can see in the picture, the Santa Monica Pier is not just an ordinary pier on the beach. It's more like a large amusement park in the middle of the ocean. But once you've squeezed your way through the huge crowds of people who also want to get on the pier, you'll be rewarded with a great view of Santa Monica and Venice Beach.

The Santa Monica Pier is also the endpoint of the legendary Route 66, which runs from Chicago through 2,451 miles and 8 states to here. And this historical endpoint also represents the end of our amazing journey. Because tomorrow we will start our return flight to Switzerland.

Now it's time to pack our suitcases, which have actually filled up since our arrival in America. Let's see if we can still close them... :-)