Filming Permit

D

Dyrseve989

Well-known member
Any suggestions are welcomed

I have to shoot a scene on a very small street with very little traffic, I even plan on doing it at about 4a.m., where nobody uses the road, there are about 8 private houses and the town is a very small one(the road is also a side road, so only the people that live on the street really need acess). I am extremely stubborn and refuse to use any other location, and I have never hit the point where I wasent willing to figure out an alternate wayto shoot what I want. I tired talking to the people in the town hall, and told them I was a student, but they refused to give me a shooting permit on the road, I was thinking of going to all the houses and convincing them that this is a good idea and get them to sign a form saying they give me permission, does any1 have any other ideas of how I can get this shooting permit, I can only hold the filming of the sequence off for so long, thanx in advance for any input

-Matt-
 
For what reason did they refuse to give you a permit? Do other filmmakers get them or is the place you're at film empty (and thus the problems)?
 
The lady I talked to was only a secratery, and she told me it wasent gonna happen,my charming couldnt persuade her otherwise, and no, apparently this town is not normally ever filmed in, and if it is, it is definently a gureilla filmmaking team, but this sequence is a little more complicated then a gurellia job, but, to answer your question, there was no reason given
 
Steal the shot. Plan it well, and just go shoot it. Worst case scenario--a cop comes (do they even have a cop?) and tells you to shove off. When Hitchcock filmed North by Northwest he stole the shot of the UN. Geez, imagine how easy it must be to get the UN to grant a permit. On the other hand, if you really want a permit--don't deal with a snotty secretary, take your request to the director of your state film commission and be prepared to take out a mil or a mil and half of production insurance at $250-$350/day.
 
Yeah, I would either go over the head of the secratary, in that case I would talk to a Politician about the situation and not a bureaucrat. Find a City Council member or County Commisioner that you can pitch the economic advantage of being a "film friendly" community. Have some appealing pitch material to show the politicians staff. This may work, but you may still have to be insured and bonded.

If you are going to do the shot early in the morning, try stealing the shot. Be prepared and be quick.

Good luck.
 
Barry_S said:
Steal the shot. Plan it well, and just go shoot it. Worst case scenario--a cop comes (do they even have a cop?) and tells you to shove off.
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i agree with this, just shoot it. especially at 4am in a small town? just dont have tons of people making noise, it IS 4am! be super quiet and steal it!!!

t :laugh:
 
Stealing the shot is all well and good unless you have E&O concerns later on down the road. I think it really depends on your plans for this production (is it for fun, for profit, for distribution, etc.). If the place is going to be unrecognizable in the final cut then you should be fine stealing it, but since you seem dead set on this location it sounds like there's something quite unique about it.

You might be able to look into city codes and see if there are ordinances about this. I wouldn't take "no" as a final answer from a secretary.

As far as production insurance, I find that I get a lot more cooperation about locations when I'm insured. Just depends on your needs and budget.
 
small town politics are lovely. remember, while this woman's title may only be 'secretary', she very well may be married to the judge, you never know... so be careful. clearly they want financial gain out of this. everyone does. plain and simple. You could offer to buy some kid a baseball jersey or volunteer for a day at the library, see if you can make friends and barter with them, and for the love of all things good, don't be insistent on getting this location. They've already picked up on it, and if you persist, they will recognize the value this means to you (again, they see dollar signs) so don't be desperate. The best bet is to know someone in the town and have them talk it over with the powers that be. If you don't know anyone in the town, be prepared to pay somebody something. Ultimately, they are just messing with you. It's a small town, what else are these people gonna do during the day except mess with people that aren't members of their tight nit community!?
 
I'm really really really trying to not go off on a tangent and rant about this kind of stuff.

I mean...who do they think they are?

If you walk down the street with an InstaMatic, anybody going to stop you? How about if you set up an easel and break out the watercolors? No?

But...OMG, look! A Movie camera! Let's arrest him!

Puh-lease. Unless you're going to be blocking traffic, what the business is it of theirs?

Dan
 
GenJerDan said:
I'm really really really trying to not go off on a tangent and rant about this kind of stuff.

I mean...who do they think they are?

If you walk down the street with an InstaMatic, anybody going to stop you? How about if you set up an easel and break out the watercolors? No?

But...OMG, look! A Movie camera! Let's arrest him!

Puh-lease. Unless you're going to be blocking traffic, what the business is it of theirs?

Dan
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I feel the same was...

Anyway, IMO, fuk them, steal that **** geurilla style baby! <---wow, that's alot of commas, lol.
 
disclaimer: i am not a lawyer.. i am speaking from my own knowledge and experience only which may not apply in your scenario.

..they cannot stop you from shooting anything unless your blocking traffic or causing some sort of disruption. you can shoot from the public property (the road) as long as you dont get onto any private property. they cant stop you from using their houses or buildings in the background either.. as long as your not shooting it directly or making it a focal point in any way , or using a telephoto lense to see aspects of the property in detail. if its just an incidental view theres nothing they can do. generally permits are only required if your crew is above a certain size, or your gear consists of things other than a small camera.. you have a dvx.. its not a honking 35mm. alot of places you only need a permit if your shooting from a tripod or using other equipment. they cant stop you from using your camera in the street unless its a road which does not normally allow pedestrian traffic. I would personally do it when they are all asleep and just stay quiet.. although they likely have some dogs around which will ruin the night. perhaps a little EZ-DOZE in the doggie dish would help with that .. just kidding of course. but id plan out all the required shots in advance and have it well rehearsed to go smoothly and quickly, get in .. shoot, and get out ASAP.
 
..consult your local /state film office or the city /municipality office.

..here we do not need a permit to shoot anywhere accept a state park or in/on government property. private property just needs owners permission. of course pending what you are doing ie: blocking roads and blowing stuff up- permits and other things will certainly come into play. but for general shooting without any of that stuff which blocks or prohibits the public or other things which youd obviously need some type of clearance for like running down the stret with guns downtown... here, no permit is required.
 
Same here. No permits required... not that I'd probably go through the trouble of getting them if they were.
 
I was considering a guerilla run, but the problem is, its not a couple of shots, it a whole scene. But it is an extremely small production, no fee talent(perks of going through art schools for small timers) no fee crew. The area dosent have any sort of detail that people may even recognize say i dd guerilla it and they happen to see it, it is important to the content of the story to see this setting within the scene. I am using a car, two actors, two portable lights, cam-tripod - 24' of dolly tracking, and about 6 crew members, butI think I can maybe skeletonize the skeleton crew even more. I was thinking maybe if I just went through the people living on the street and they said they had no problem, I could kinda guerilla it from the cops, as long as no one that lives there complains, I may just be able to get away with it

Thanks for everyones input, if you have any suggestions im very open to them

-Matt-
 
thisiswells said:
where does the entitlement mentality fit in here? video on public property is privalege, not a right.
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Huh? Are we not the public?

Who says video is a privelege? And why?

I am "entitled" to do whatever the heck I want, as long as it doesn't harm someone else (or, in the nannier States, myself).

We really need to get the politicians thinking about more important things.

Dan
 
Oh. One other thing. Before I'd try for the permit, I'd ask the folks living where you want to shoot, if there are any. No sense in being a pain in the butt to them, permit or no.

And, worse comes to worst, and the city denies a permit, maybe one of the nice folks will apply for a permit to have a "block party", and to hell with city hall. :)

Dan
 
GenJerDan said:
I am "entitled" to do whatever the heck I want, as long as it doesn't harm someone else.
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Ab-so-****ing-loote-ly! Especially when it comes to creative use of freedom of expression! Why should the government have the right to put a sureveillance camera on every corner and red light, while preventing the citizens from filming and videotaping?

I'd say go for it - and they give you hard time, publicize it to death.
 
Sounds like a plan to me, thanks for everything, im gonna talk to the neighbors, get approval from them, and guerilla it, hopefully it all works out......i really.....really.....hope it all works out

-Matt-
 
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