Pitch Perfect, the hit 2012 music comedy, is now streaming on Netflix, and the film utilized one primary location for shooting. Directed by Jason Moore from a screenplay by Kay Cannon, Pitch Perfect helped bring a cappella further into the mainstream following its growing popularity in the late aughts. The film grossed over $115.4 million worldwide, which was impressive considering its budget was only $17 million.
Pitch Perfect is still incredibly popular and quotable over ten years since its theatrical release. Starring Anna Kendrick, Skylar Astin, Anna Camp, Brittany Snow, and Rebel Wilson, the actors lead an ensemble cast, including co-star and director of Pitch Perfect 2 Elizabeth Banks, that brought audiences more than a handful of memorable moments. The film followed the Barden Bellas on their journey to Nationals for college a cappella. Pitch Perfect was loosely inspired by Mickey Rapkin’s non-fiction novel Pitch Perfect: The Quest for Collegiate a Cappella Glory, and the cast went through a month-long boot camp to master their a cappella singing, the learning of the songs, and choreography their characters performed throughout the film.
Pitch Perfect Was Filmed In Baton Rouge, Louisiana
While Pitch Perfect’s fictional Barden University is located in Atlanta, Georgia, the movie was actually filmed in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Filming began in 2011, and takes much of its inspiration from the university a cappella scene in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, where producer Max Handelman and Elizabeth Banks attended the University of Pennsylvania. Baton Rouge was such a perfect choice for filming that the cast and crew returned to the city to film Pitch Perfect 2. Meanwhile, Pitch Perfect 3 was actually shot in a variety of locations, including Atlanta, Nice, France, and Cádiz, Spain. The change in filming locations for the third Pitch Perfect film encompassed the Barden Bellas’ traveling after joining a USO tour.
Pitch Perfect Used LSU For Barden University
Pitch Perfect is set at the fictional Barden University, and the production used Louisiana State University as a stand-in for many of the film’s most notable locations. LSU was the best choice for Barden University because of its size and the uniqueness of its locations. The university’s Huey P. Long Natatorium, the location where the Pitch Perfect character had a riff-off in the middle of a secluded, empty pool, was heavily used, as was the Swine Palace, where the Barden Bellas rehearsed their songs and choreography ahead of their performances and Nationals.
Other LSU locations that were used throughout the film include the Greek Amphitheatre, where a party was filmed, the Quad, which is where the student activity fair set up shop, and the Pentagon (not to be confused by the Washington, D.C. building). In fact, Pitch Perfect isn’t the only movie to have been filmed on the university’s campus. Other films include The Dukes of Hazard and Glory Road. What’s more, LSU’s Quidditch Club was featured in the film, as were three of the university’s fine arts graduate students at the time (via The Daily Reveille), which gave Pitch Perfect a sense of authenticity for the college life it portrayed onscreen.
