Shooting in a public space

[TR16MM]

I'm shooting some personal video @ a public space this weekend. The event is on public property that my local community sponsors. The footage will be used for my reel. Will I need a Press Pass to shoot in public space? What's your opinion Doc makers?

[TR16MM]

Shot everything with my "press Pass" No Questions - went really smooth~

[mb72378]

Well.....hmm... where to begin.

In theory you don't need permission to shoot in a PUBLIC space, but there are many issues you have to think about. For one example, there is a restaurant with outside dining or a huge window looking into the restaurant. Just because you physically are in public you have to watch what you shoot very carefully because you might not be shooting INTO public.

Another issue is when to get people to sign waivers. I ALWAYS do when I can. But it would be ridiculous to say that you are going to try to get every person who walks by your camera to sign a waiver. One way to get rid of that is to put up signs that say something like "filming, if you walk in front of the camera you are giving permission to the filmmaker to use your likeness in the video." This doesn't always save your you know what (A..)

One thing that I would suggest, that REALLY helped me out, was to check up on the FCC regulations regarding shooting in public. I will look in my VAST bookmarks folder to find the specific section for you to search. But it helps a lot.

Especially if you get face to face with an annoying security guard or policeman that has no idea what they are talking about. you can always say... "well according to the FCC, which is part of the FEDERAL government, I can legally.....)

Or the safest thing to do is either get a "press pass" as the last poster described or a film permit. This too can be difficult depending on many factors including length of stay in said country, town etc. length of shooting, and actually how obtrusive the shoot will be. Dolly,, lights etc. or just a cameraman and an audio man.

There is a lot to think about and I don't claim to know everything or even a lot. Try to do as much research as possible.

Hope that helps some.

I will get that link in here for the FCC regulation site ASAP as soon as I find it. These are just my thoughts :)

Matt

[cheezweezl]

Well.....hmm... where to begin.

In theory you don't need permission to shoot in a PUBLIC space,

depends on where you are shooting. in the la area, most public property requires a permit and insurance to shoot. doesn't matter if it's personal, student, doc, whatever.

with that said, you pretty much don't get messed with unless you have a huge crew and tons of gear on the ground or if you get spotted by a cop who wants to be an ass about it. i have done everything from throwing down dolly track to throwing a 30 foot jib on a public sidewalk with no permit. cops drive on by....

i've only been shut down twice. once on a public beach. that guy sent us 300 feet down the beach and didn't care what we did as long as we were off the part of the sand he was responisble for. we walked 300 feet and kept on rolling. the other time was at a state park. overzealous park ranger had to throw his weight around. we drove 10 minutes down the road and found a new spot.

[Ben_B]

I got shutdown once on a State Beach by a park ranger, never been shutdown in other public spaces, including one in a parking lot in the middle of the night with a generator and tons of lights with several cops driving right by. I've also been permitted before, and that was a load of my chest. As a student production we managed to get an exemption from the typical $1,000,000 minimum liability insurance requirement by having everyone sign waviers that the city risk management lawyers gave us.

Also California has a lot of laws protecting filming projects in public spaces, even without permits, and at some point if your production isn't big enough to cause liability problems, there's a free speech argument to be made. We shot a thing running and gunning with an HVX-200 and a tripod and since we were small and mobile we didn't really attract much attention, then again we've also done stuff, as I mentioned above, with tons of lights, etc, and we never got bothered....but then again I got shutdown on a State beach the second we unloaded our equipment, which was just camera, tripod, and boom.

[Per-Aage Braun]

I was once shooting a scene for an actionmovie on a big square in the middle of a town. This was like 15 years ago. The main character had stolen something and was now beeing chased by another man. I was shooting the film and really got some nice pics when suddenly a big athletic man from the public starts running after and fells him to the ground. The main character broke three ribs...
I must say I felt quite bad inside afterwards.

[jpastuch]

Here's a good question- can there be rammifications even after you get away with shooting without a permit? For instance, say you shoot on some street in NYC without a permit, get away clean. Then you edit the film and it gets accepted to SXSW or something. Can there be any rammifications for the public viewing if you never had a permit (for example, with certain building, store signs, etc)?

[Ben_B]

I'd say probably only if you break something...

I'd say at some point you're covered by protected speech. Permiting isn't so much about legality as it is about liability. If you get away clean you're usually ok, I don't think you run any risks with showing footage...but if something goes wrong on your shoot, and lawyers get involved...that is when you're going to wish you had a permit and liability insurance.

[mcvideo]

Here's a good question- can there be rammifications even after you get away with shooting without a permit? For instance, say you shoot on some street in NYC without a permit, get away clean. Then you edit the film and it gets accepted to SXSW or something. Can there be any rammifications for the public viewing if you never had a permit (for example, with certain building, store signs, etc)?

about displaying store signs etc just blur them out.

[Gordon Prince]

Well.....hmm... where to begin.

In theory you don't need permission to shoot in a PUBLIC space, but there are many issues you have to think about. For one example, there is a restaurant with outside dining or a huge window looking into the restaurant. Just because you physically are in public you have to watch what you shoot very carefully because you might not be shooting INTO public.

Another issue is when to get people to sign waivers. I ALWAYS do when I can. But it would be ridiculous to say that you are going to try to get every person who walks by your camera to sign a waiver. One way to get rid of that is to put up signs that say something like "filming, if you walk in front of the camera you are giving permission to the filmmaker to use your likeness in the video." This doesn't always save your you know what (A..)

One thing that I would suggest, that REALLY helped me out, was to check up on the FCC regulations regarding shooting in public. I will look in my VAST bookmarks folder to find the specific section for you to search. But it helps a lot.

Especially if you get face to face with an annoying security guard or policeman that has no idea what they are talking about. you can always say... "well according to the FCC, which is part of the FEDERAL government, I can legally.....)

Or the safest thing to do is either get a "press pass" as the last poster described or a film permit. This too can be difficult depending on many factors including length of stay in said country, town etc. length of shooting, and actually how obtrusive the shoot will be. Dolly,, lights etc. or just a cameraman and an audio man.

There is a lot to think about and I don't claim to know everything or even a lot. Try to do as much research as possible.

Hope that helps some.

I will get that link in here for the FCC regulation site ASAP as soon as I find it. These are just my thoughts :)

MattNice post. Have you been finding the link then? (Hey but your post is from last month!)

[Per-Aage Braun]

Good points matt

[Joshua Brown]

I was once shooting a scene for an actionmovie on a big square in the middle of a town. This was like 15 years ago. The main character had stolen something and was now beeing chased by another man. I was shooting the film and really got some nice pics when suddenly a big athletic man from the public starts running after and fells him to the ground. The main character broke three ribs...
I must say I felt quite bad inside afterwards.

Haha, oh, thats rich!

[Steffo]

haha priceless

[basspig]

The FCC only regulates communications, ie., radio, television, 2-way comms and telcos. It has nothing to do with shooting video in public spaces.

[jonE5]

A note for all you indie run and gunners, i shot a whole scene in a restaurant with an establishment wide shot, mid, and some closeups with my DSLR (D90), and was never asked or told anything. Im guessing they just thought we were taking snapshots. I laid my H4n on the table for sound, had someone do a handclap to sync and we were good to go.

Of course prolly could not get away with this with a bigger camera, and deff not if you have any matte boxes or lens adapters etc... attatched.

Just some food for thought.

[adamr316]

Well.....hmm... where to begin.

In theory you don't need permission to shoot in a PUBLIC space, but there are many issues you have to think about. For one example, there is a restaurant with outside dining or a huge window looking into the restaurant. Just because you physically are in public you have to watch what you shoot very carefully because you might not be shooting INTO public.[...]

[...]Especially if you get face to face with an annoying security guard or policeman that has no idea what they are talking about. you can always say... "well according to the FCC, which is part of the FEDERAL government, I can legally.....)

I will get that link in here for the FCC regulation site ASAP as soon as I find it. These are just my thoughts :)

Matt


There's a few misconceptions of law here. What you are permitted to shoot is from a public space. So if someone has their blinds open and you are physically standing on the sidewalk and pointing it into their open-blinded windows then that is legal. But you cannot use their likeness (face) without permission/compensation.

If you go on that person's property to acquire your footage (without their permission) then you are in hot water because you're now trespassing. Not legal, don't do it.

This isn't FCC regulation, this is all based on privacy laws. The FCC regulates the airwaves, the police and lawyers enforce privacy law. The same reason someone cannot walk around their backyard naked (in America) vs. in their house with doors/windows obscured is the same reason you can videotape them from the sidewalk. It's about "reasonable expectation of privacy." But that is still kind of a gray area of law on a case-by-case basis.

Then we deal with non-fiction vs. fiction works. Documentaries/news can get away with more. But I'm going to shut up now because I'm not a lawyer and any advice I just gave you can take for an atom of salt. Contact a lawyer or get a book from Amazon if you want to cover thy ass.

[Doddle Guys]

Where are you shooting?

[Giganova]

Here in DC you need a film permit in ALL public spaces. I have been stopped filming by Metropolitan police officers, State Troopers, Secret Service, Military police, and Park police. It is impossible to know all the different jurisdictions, so the best way to deal with it is to apply for a permit through your city's film office who can give you a release that covers many locations and jurisdictions. Doesn't cost much and solves many problems. You really have to know what you are doing. I figured out that there are places in my city where I am not allowed to put a tripod on the ground (e.g., side walks, parks), but hand-held is fine. Knowing this in advance helps a lot dealing with law enforcement.

If its just b-roll footage you are after, you could try to shoot with a small, prosumer camcorder and pretend that you are a tourist.

That of course doesn't solve any legal issues regarding shooting people in public.

[David W. Richardson]

I keep hearing people suggest putting up signs. Those signs will NOT protect you. There are plenty of people who can't read, can't speak English, and/or are blind. There are also minors to consider, as well as people who were pre-occupied (like with a phone call) and didn't see the signs. These people all have rights too. So please don't believe that putting up signs will completely protect you.

BTW, making an announcement over a PA or megaphone won't completely protect you either.

[static and timecodes]

I was once shooting a scene for an actionmovie on a big square in the middle of a town. This was like 15 years ago. The main character had stolen something and was now beeing chased by another man. I was shooting the film and really got some nice pics when suddenly a big athletic man from the public starts running after and fells him to the ground. The main character broke three ribs...
I must say I felt quite bad inside afterwards.

I wonder if things like that happen often...

[Sam Scoggins]

This is where a GH2 comes in handy.