If you're planning a shoot in San Jose here are some things you should know.
One - We do not have a vast public transit system, unless you are doing a shoot near downtown San Jose, you will need a rental car.
Two - Silicon Valley is not centrally located it covers a 20 mile x 20 mile radius
Three – Our traffic in the mornings and evenings 3pm – 7pm can be quite challenging. It can take up to 30 minutes to drive 10 miles.
Four – San Jose airport is only 1 mile from downtown, on the southern end of Silicon Valley, with easy access to freeways for travel to nearby cities.
Five – Parking in downtown San Jose is not as difficult as most bigger cities but there are spots where parking is not as easy. Check the parking situation when you set the shoot.
Six – If you are shooting at Stanford leave yourself plenty of time to find parking. Bring quarters they use parking meters. Ask your contact where crew can load-in
Seven – If you are looking for b-roll of the city there is not a location to get pretty pictures of downtown San Jose.
Seven – The area around Silicon Valley and San Jose is pretty flat with lots of trees. A good overview shot of the area is pretty hard to find.
Eight – In San Jose Monday and Tuesday traffic usually is 10% lighter than Wednesday Thursday and Friday.
Nine – A lot of streets seem to be at an angle in San Jose and the surrounding areas. If you don’t have GPS left and right directions are better than confusing North, South, East and West.
Ten – A lot of the big companies have loud compressors on the roof of the building, people coming and going with slamming doors, lots of office chatter. Take this into considerations when you are booking rooms for internet.
Eleven – San Jose is in the flight path of several large and small airports. Be prepared for a lot of start and stop during interviews.
