Walk past Studio RA or Begin on Ballard Ave NW during the week of Aug. 13 and you might spot lighting rigs, camera crews and actors blocking scenes on the sidewalk. Two productions are shooting in the neighborhood, turning the historic corridor into a backdrop for a mockumentary sitcom.

The sitcom, called SAHD, is filming inside and around Studio RA at 5301 Ballard Ave NW and Begin at 5349 Ballard Ave NW, according to My Ballard. Studio RA is a clothing boutique founded by Ramona Abbasian in a historic building on the avenue; Begin is a hand-forged jewelry studio run by designer MK Byrne.

The show's casting call describes SAHD as "a mockumentary sitcom that follows Tom and his life as a stay-at-home dad" navigating a midlife identity shift once his youngest child starts school full-time. No platform has been announced.

Separately, a feature film called "Friend Thing" is also shooting across Seattle this summer on a 27-day schedule. The production has not disclosed specific Ballard locations, but its presence adds to a visible bump in local film activity.

"Friend Thing" is the project with deeper Seattle roots. Director Harry Calbom grew up in the city in the 1990s and told The Seattle Times on Aug. 11 that "the film is inspired by some childhood memories and experiences." Set in the spring of 1996, the coming-of-age story follows 14-year-old Ernie Calder, whose life is upended by a new girl and a family tragedy. It stars Alfie Williams and Ryan Kiera Armstrong alongside Pete Holmes, Lewis Black and Adam Ray.

Ray, a Seattle-raised comedian, plays real-life former KEXP DJ and grunge tastemaker Marco Collins in the film. Collins himself will make a cameo. During the production's first week, crews transformed the University District with vintage cars, a "Jerry Maguire" marquee on a movie theater and a storefront dressed as the old Tower Records.

Collins told The Seattle Times on Aug. 11 he was thrilled the production chose to shoot authentically in the city rather than fake it elsewhere.

The production is expected to hire 83 local cast and crew in positions with health and retirement benefits, supported by Washington's Motion Picture Competitiveness Program. The state raised the program's annual cap from $3.5 million to $15 million in 2022 to compete with Vancouver and Los Angeles for productions.

For Ballard residents walking the avenue the week of Aug. 13, keep an eye out for cameras near the 5300 block.