Establishing Shots, New York City | MCU: Location Scout

Nighttime aerial of New York City.

What are you doing back in my city?

DAREDEVIL SEASON 1

Episode 7 is the first episode to contain any establishing/stock shots of the city as a whole. The image above is looking west into Midtown Manhattan, with the blue-spired One Bryant Park on the left, and Rockefeller Plaza (labeled with the “GE” logo) on the right.

MAP

The second image from the episode is looking towards the East River and the Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges, over the Financial District, with the South Ferry terminal in bottom middle.

  • Nighttime aerial of Manhattan.

MAP

Episode 10 featured an aerial shot of Battery Park City and the Financial District, focused on the tower at 117 West St, Manhattan.

  • Aerial shot of lower part of Manhattan.

MAP

JESSICA JONES SEASON 1

The second Netflix show out of the gate has transitional shots that show views of the city to remind viewers where the action takes place, and fewer shots establishing a specific portion of the city.

Episode 1 opens with an image of midtown Manhattan, featuring the Empire State Building, shot just off Noble Street in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

  • View of Manhattan skyscrapers at night.

MAP

Episode 2 contains two back-to-back shots of Midtown. One is a zoomed-in shot of the Chrysler and the MetLife Buildings–possibly filmed from the same location off Noble Street as listed above, while the other is a wider shot that includes buildings within Brooklyn. This appears to be overlooking the brown trees of McCarren Park.

  • Slightly out of focus shot of midtown Manhattan from Brooklyn.
  • View of midtown Manhattan from Brooklyn.

MAP

THE DEFENDERS SEASON 1

Episode 6 contains this aerial interstitial separating two scenes. This flyover is a piece of stock footage hovering over the intersection of Avenue B and E 7th Street in the East Village.

  • Aerial of a New York intersection.
  • Aerial of a New York intersection.

MAP

A shot later in the same episode shows the Empire State Building (lit red) as seen from the Broadway Stages in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. The yellow piping seen in the image is part of the Newtown Creek Wastewater Plant.

  • New York city at sunset.

MAP

Episode 8 features two separate stock shots of the city. The first one is an aerial night shot over the west side of Manhattan showing the West Side Yards.

  • Aerial view of New York City at night.

MAP

In the wrap-up for the episode, a tilt-up shows Harlem from Malcolm X Blvd around W 116th Street, looking north.

  • An aerial view of Harlem.
  • An aerial view of Harlem.

MAP

(Daredevil S01E07 & E10, 2015; Jessica Jones S01E01-E02, 2015; The Defenders S01E06 & E08, 2017)