Over the past few weeks, it has been difficult not to notice the various film crews across downtown Portland. Whether it’s the crew of “Grimm” taking over the North Park Blocks or “Leverage” making the Academic and Student Rec Center all but inaccessible, it’s felt at times as though Portland has turned into the go-to spot for good cinematic sequences.
Over the past few weeks, it has been difficult not to notice the various film crews across downtown Portland. Whether it’s the crew of “Grimm” taking over the North Park Blocks or “Leverage” making the Academic and Student Rec Center all but inaccessible, it’s felt at times as though Portland has turned into the go-to spot for good cinematic sequences.
Granted, the presence of these shows in our fair city is good for our economy. It also brings attention to Portland—more than usual, anyway—and could help our somewhat flagging reputation. But for college students, having a show filmed on campus is rarely a good thing. And when it’s done the way “Leverage” did it, it makes you wonder what the logic is behind allowing a crew in.
For those unfamiliar with the situation (lucky you!), the crews of the shows “Grimm” and “Leverage” were both on campus in March. “Grimm” ultimately decided to film elsewhere. The crew, on the whole, was polite and kept out of the way. “Leverage,” on the other hand, seemed to do everything they could to make their presence both known and hated.
First, the crew of “Leverage” came to Portland State during finals week. That’s right—they couldn’t wait an extra week for the vast majority of the student body to be gone for spring break.
They took over classrooms and office buildings alike. They made unfair demands of students, despite being guests on our campus, and reports of the crew being rude and unreasonable were widespread. After the first day and initial intrigue, many students were left unimpressed with their presence.
Why were they allowed on campus at all, let alone during finals week? That’s the question on many lips.
A lot of it is economics. In 2011, it’s estimated that television and film crews brought in about $110 million to Oregon’s economy. Shows such as “Grimm” and “Portlandia” also highlight some of the aspects of the Rose City that bring people in—the architecture, the character of the city, etc.
Now, “Leverage” has announced that the show is set to move permanently into Portland, meaning that more money and more attention is likely to be brought into the state. Overall, this benefits everyone.
The opportunity to have a television show filmed here brings attention to the university; that’s likely the biggest reason for their presence. The program, which airs on TNT and follows the trials and tribulations of a group of bad-guys-turned-good (albeit largely for their own purposes), ended its last season with 2.75 million viewers. With these viewers tuning in to Portland (and Portland State as well), chances for good publicity are everywhere.
But even comparing this with 4.5 million “Grimm” viewers and the 725,000 viewers “Portlandia” brings in, it’s safe to say Portland’s already getting its fair share of attention. I suppose more is probably better, but there needs to be better criteria than just “how much attention will we get out of this?
For all the good that a syndicated TV show brings Portland, there are definite drawbacks to filming on a college campus. The biggest issue is that it’s a distraction. The constant confusion over where it’s safe to tread or how loud you can be in the Urban Plaza wears on you. Having orders barked at you about where you can and can’t walk, or which doors of a building are off-limits—especially during finals week—could make the Pope swear.
Not to mention that classes aren’t the only things that are disrupted. When “Leverage” took over the ASRC, employees in the departments housed in the building had trouble even getting to work.
Stacie Looney, a Transportation & Parking Services employee, was one of these people. “I was late to work,” Looney said. “They were completely blocking the entirety of the first floor. And that was my only way in!”
Looney, a senior studying German, said that the film crew made her feel unwelcome in her own university. “I kept getting looks from people in headsets while in the Fourth Avenue Building—and that’s a public building.”
Complaints about the film crew in the Fourth Avenue Building were common. A sophomore studying computer science said that the crew was completely disrespectful. “We had one lady tell us that we were studying too loudly,” said the student, who wishes to remain anonymous. “I was like, ‘It’s finals week! Do you expect us to ignore that just because you have a camera crew?’”
It makes sense that the school would want the crew here for the publicity and the money it brings in, but the line has to be drawn somewhere. It’s bad enough having a crew here when classes are going on; if it hadn’t happened, I’d have never believed they’d let a film crew take over the school during finals week.
“If you want to let them film here, do it while there aren’t students on campus,” Looney said. “Also, warn the students. It was really unexpected.”
Looney’s words hold some truth. “Leverage” should have postponed filming at PSU by one week, so as to coincide with spring break. That way, students wouldn’t have had to deal with the distraction and employees would not have had their work disrupted.
Let this be a lesson to all shows contemplating filming at PSU:
Don’t.
