Late night commercial shoot in West Portal station
Photo by Flickr user Whole Wheat Toast
Rider Chris saw something “indelibly strange” at the West Portal station last night:
Around 10:30 p.m., a full film crew (lighting, boom mics, folding chairs chairs; the whole shmear) was shooting a T-Mobile commercial on the inbound platform of West Portal station. Apparently some high-caliber “account executives” were on-scene to watch the filming take place, explained a production assistant (who was very clearly amped on something stronger than mere caffeine.)
Now, as this film shoot was happening, passengers and trains kept filing onto the platform as normal. Grandmothers with laden grocery bags consistently strode stolidly past the unmoving security guys and directly through the shoot. Utter chaos.
I have no idea how this concept got OK-ed by anyone (both on the commercial “creatives” side and in MUNI) but the pure and obvious silliness of the logistical problems posed by the outgoing trains and the waves of passengers still issuing through the station made for depths of absurdity that even Muni rarely reaches.
Alas, Chris was caught without a camera (dude, camera phone!). If you captured this silliness (which I would loved to have witnessed), send us the photos, please!
they were filming in hayes valley last week and took over the Fillmore and webster block of Haight
T-Mobile was? Anyone know if it disrupted Muni service? Or is that possible to determine anymore? /cynicism.
As I was heading home they were packing up and said it’s okay to walk now so I’m assuming they at least slowed down the 71 and 6 for a bit, they had tents all over the street.