Wallace and Mac had always been absent from the big mystery because no one was going to believe them as a suspect. For the third mystery, Thomas had wanted to present a situation where Wallace and Mac could be fully involved, "key players [with] really interesting stuff to do." Filming The original pilot was darker in tone than the one aired. Thomas intended to take the script to FX, HBO or Showtime, but gave UPN "credit" as they only wanted it a bit lighter to match their standards and practices. A lengthy debate considered whether Veronica could be a rape victim; UPN eventually consented. In the aired pilot, Lilly was found by the pool in the same spot where she was murdered. However, Thomas stated that Lilly's body was originally going to be found in the ocean, and he had a plan for events that led there. Thomas pitched the idea to UPN, but the network felt that it was "too dark and creepy" for Jake to dispose of his daughter's body to protect his son, and the idea was changed. Many of the series' scenes were filmed at Stu Segall Productions in San Diego, California. Producer Paul Kurta said that most of the Neptune scenes were filmed in Oceanside, California. Kurta liked that it was "a seaside town that still feels like middle-class people live there [...] Most of the seaside towns feel resort driven." It was estimated that the series spent $44 million a year shooting each season in San Diego, comprising more than half of the revenue generated by film production there in 2006. The Neptune High setting was also in Oceanside. The school, Oceanside High School, was paid $7,750 by Stu Segall Productions for the use of the campus and extras. The series' third season setting of Hearst College was mostly filmed on the campuses of San Diego State University, University of San Diego and the University of California, San Diego. Filming locations were chosen by the director and by production designer Alfred Sole. Sole reportedly "really liked the look and feel of the school", and San Diego State University invited the series with "open arms". Taping at the university led to financial and employment benefits for the university and its students. Alumni worked as crew members while students worked as actors; half of the third season extras were students from the university's film department. The