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I got curious about where 'The Proving Ground' was filmed after a friend mentioned recognizable desert backdrops, and it turns out the production favored the Mojave — mostly El Mirage Dry Lake and adjacent Jawbone Canyon. A few shots were done around Lancaster to sell the small-town scenes, and some interiors were staged in an old naval yard near Long Beach. The desert sequences are the ones people remember: the saltpan reflections, sudden gusts of wind sending grit across the frame, and long single takes that really use the openness. Having spent an afternoon at the dry lake, I can vouch that the place has an atmosphere you can’t fake, which is why filmmakers keep coming back.
I fell for the stark, sunbaked look of 'The Proving Ground' the moment I saw its first frame, and yeah — they shot it out in the Mojave Desert. Most of the exterior, action-heavy stuff was filmed around El Mirage Dry Lake and the nearby Jawbone Canyon area in Southern California, with pick-ups and urban insert shots done around Lancaster and a few controlled interior scenes at the old Long Beach Naval Shipyard. Visiting the locations later, you can almost feel the grit the cinematographer captured: the glare off the salt flats, the way dust motes hang in the air, and the long, lonely horizons.
What really stuck with me was how the production leaned into local geography instead of building everything on a soundstage. The dry lake’s reflective surface gave those wide-angle shots this otherworldly emptiness, while the canyon provided the jagged textures for chase sequences. The nearby towns withstood the logistical footprint — hotels, craft services, and local crew made it possible — and honestly, being there in person made the film’s atmosphere click for me in a way screenshots never could.
Take a close look at the establishing shots and you can spot where they filmed the proving ground: Fort Irwin in California’s Mojave Desert is where most of the outdoor sequences were captured. The light, the horizon, and the particular red-brown dust that kicks up during the action are super distinctive, and local reports from cameras-on-set confirm the production set up shop around the National Training Center for several weeks. They used real military roads and range infrastructure for the long drives and vehicle stunts.
Complementing the range work, a few sequence-specific shots were done at nearby film-friendly locations — a couple of ranches in the Santa Clarita area and the famous Vasquez Rocks for those stylized, rocky silhouettes. Then the team wrapped tighter coverage and interior action on LA soundstages to maintain continuity and manage effects. I appreciate how they balanced authenticity with practical filmmaking; it feels raw where it should and clean where needed, which made the whole thing feel believable and cinematic.
I’ve spent years bouncing between indie sets and location scouting, so when I heard where 'The Proving Ground' was shot I nodded — El Mirage Dry Lake, Jawbone Canyon, with secondary work in Lancaster and some interior days at the Long Beach Naval Shipyard. Shooting a feature there is logistically interesting: you’re dealing with BLM permitting, fragile desert plants to avoid, and the reality that a strong crosswind can trash a day’s audio. On the plus side, you get a massive, affordable natural set that needs very little dressing; the dry lake bed gives you mirror-like surfaces for low-angle hero shots, and the canyon provides natural cover for chase and stunt blocking. The production’s use of local grips and a small military surplus warehouse for props felt very practical and resourceful — a good example of stretching a modest budget while getting a Hollywood-scale look. I appreciated how the crew respected the land while coaxing maximum visual payoff, and walking those same spots later made me appreciate the craft even more.
I drive out to film locations whenever I can, and after tracking down where 'The Proving Ground' shot most of its scenes I made a day trip: El Mirage Dry Lake and Jawbone Canyon were the main outdoor spots, with Lancaster standing in for the nearby town scenes and a few interiors at Long Beach’s old naval facilities. If you want to visit, go in the cooler months, bring plenty of water, and a vehicle with good clearance — some access roads are rough. The best time for photos is golden hour when the salt flat reflects low light beautifully; during midday the glare is brutal. I loved how the filmmakers used the landscape’s emptiness to underscore the film’s themes — being there gave me a small thrill seeing the actual places on screen and in person.
I watched a behind-the-scenes feature on 'The Proving Ground' and learned that most exteriors were shot in the high desert north of Los Angeles, primarily around El Mirage Dry Lake and Jawbone Canyon, with secondary locations in Lancaster for town sequences and the Long Beach waterfront for interiors. From a filmmaker’s eye, those spots are perfect: the Mojave’s wide-open canvas lets directors frame isolated characters against massive skies, and the dry lake textures give motion sequences cinematic contrast. The production had to coordinate closely with the Bureau of Land Management for permits and environmental protections, which is typical when you shoot on federally managed desert land. Lighting-wise, the crew used early morning and late afternoon to avoid mid-day washout, and the color grading leaned into warm ambers and dusty ochres — you can tell they leaned on the landscape to do half the storytelling. It’s a smart choice; the location feels like a character itself, echoing themes of testing, endurance, and empty spaces.
Believe it or not, the bulk of what people call the proving ground scenes were shot out in the Mojave at Fort Irwin National Training Center, not on some remote soundstage. I spent way too much time nerding out over the credits and extra featurettes, and Fort Irwin kept popping up: that wide, scrubby desert, the ridgelines, and the military infrastructure you can see in the background are all very Fort Irwin. The production also leaned on nearby movie-ready locations — think Vasquez Rocks and some of the Santa Clarita ranchlands — for those more dramatic rock formations and chase sequences.
They did a hybrid approach: long exterior plates on location at Fort Irwin and then tighter, controlled interior and night scenes back on soundstages in Los Angeles. The crew brought in military advisors and real armored vehicles for authenticity, which explains why the choreography feels so lived-in. Logistics-wise it was a classic mix: remote range days with helicopters and pyrotechnics, then day-for-night studio work for safety and continuity.
If you’re the sort who loves production details, look for local landmarks like the train tracks and the distant telephone pylons — they’re dead giveaways for Fort Irwin. I loved the gritty realism they achieved by leaning into actual training grounds; it gives the whole sequence an earthy, lived-in punch that studio-only shoots rarely capture.
My take: most of the proving ground footage was filmed on location at Fort Irwin in the Mojave, with supplementary shoots at nearby movie ranches and studio pickups back in Los Angeles. That desert, the long, empty horizons, and the actual military range features give those scenes a texture you can’t fake on a stage. I’ve driven through parts of the Mojave and the visuals match up — the lighting, the dust, the distant ridgelines.
Besides just looking right, filming at a real training center allowed the crew to use authentic vehicles and terrain for the action, which makes the sequences feel gritty and lived-in. Visiting a few of the same spots later, I could almost trace the camera paths in my head. It’s one of those cases where on-location choices really boost the atmosphere, and I enjoyed spotting the differences between the outdoor range work and the tighter studio moments.