Filming in a Cemetery

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fobers95

Active member
I have a scene in my movie thats needs to be shot in a cemetery, would I have to get any type of permission to film there?
 
I could make my own cemetary won't look as good, I am on a very small budget plus I am not going to make any money off of this.
 
I have a couple of cemeteries in mind that I would like to film at they are right down the road from the location that I am filming at, I'll try and contact the owner when I get closer to filming.
 
Assuming you get permission, state or city owned cemeteries will be your best bet. Privately owned ones want nothing to do with people filming. When asking for permission tell them exactly what you'll be doing, how many people will be there, the hours you'll be shooting, etc. You don't want to tell them it will be 4 or 5 people and then show up with 20 extras. Also, be sure to tell them you'll be respectful, that you won't show any names, etc.

I shot a bunch of scenes in front of a large tomb at a cemetery in Colorado for this video. This particular cemetery is one of the oldest in the state, is owned by the state and hasn't had any newly deceased added in quite some time. I called the city and found out that pictures and video are allowed during visiting hours without a permit.

Just start making phone calls, you'll find something.

Cemetery /tomb scenes start at :40

 
I think its Private owned, its out in the country, is there somewhere I can get fake but realistic headstones? the scene shows the name of the owner who used to own the house my characters are staying at. I have looked on Halloween websites but they look to fake and already have stuff written on them.
 
We had one custom made for a short and it ran us a couple hundred. Looks decent on camera but not amazing. That's here in Toronto - there may be online options or local ones available to you. There must be a prop house in Ohio, no?
 
I just did a google search there is a couple, the closet one is in Cleveland not to bad only an hour from my house.
 
Most cemeteries are private, but I have family that actually run a funeral home in the southern US, and there are some old cemeteries out there that are open where anyone could go and shoot with no problem. And of course, the funeral guys all know and work with all the cemeteries, so if you have connections with anyone in the biz they could easily help you get you access for free.
 
A donation to the local church will also go a long way to assisting any access but you will need their permission and may even need to explain exactly what context the footage will be used for out of courtesy as some may give access but object to you shooting a Rhianna type bikini clad flick etc!
 
fobers95 said:
I have a scene in my movie thats needs to be shot in a cemetery, would I have to get any type of permission to film there?
Click to expand...

I shot my first short film in a local cemetery. I asked permission (in person and in writing) in advance, explained how I would be respectful and would clean up and would not film if there were visitors near where I filmed. No problem, got permission, no fees, no cost. I even smashed a fake whiskey bottle against a gravestone but cleaned up the sugar-glass. All went well.
 
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