Using a style she first adopted with The Hurt Locker (2008), director Kathryn Bigelow deployed three or four cameras at a time, keeping them in constant motion around the actors. Bigelow preferred to light the entire set to give the performers more flexibility to move around. She didn't block a scene for the camera by plotting out a series of close-ups and wide shots, instead filming everything in a few takes to keep the emotions as raw as possible. "After two or three takes, I have it," she said.
Survivor Julie Ann Hysell was on set as a consultant throughout most of the shoot. Vietnam vet Robert Greene was still alive, but the producers couldn't reach him.
For filming in Brockton, Massachusetts, a set depicting 1967 Detroit was built at the site of the Liberty Tree, a sycamore planted in 1763 which marked a stop on the Underground Railroad. During the Civil War, slaves on their way north to freedom were hidden in Edward Bennett's stables during the day so they could travel under the cover of darkness.
The exterior of the Algiers Motel, including the neon sign and poolside scenes, were shot in Malden, MA. The pool was installed in a parking lot specifically for the movie. The pool was removed when the shooting ended and the parking lot was restored.
The majority of the film, and all of the Algiers sequences, were shot in chronological order.
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