Spanish cities as filming locations: analysis and spatial distribution

The main objective of this article is to show the spatial distribution of Spanish cities according to the degree of their cinematographic projection. For this purpose, a sample consisting of 178 feature films was selected. After viewing each of them, 3,071 exterior clips from these movies were geo-localized. Using this methodology has enabled us to circumvent the feature film as a unit of analysis, and instead focus attention on the clips, understood as such as sequences shot in exteriors, with their precise duration and geo-localization. The article describes and differentiates between three large territorial areas for filming: the Autonomous Regions of Madrid, Spain’s coastal cities, and Spain’s interior cities, examining factors that explain the distribution of the shootings, whether geographic, cinematographic or administrative-economic. Information from the highest-rated movies reveals a group of Spanish cities with limited cinematographic dissemination, for which some recommendations are made for improving the projection of the city’s image.