Filmmaking in London/UK

F

fredmadison

New member
Hi,

I'm thinking about moving to the UK. Right now I'm living in Sweden, and I've made two feature films, some shorts and working on a third feature right now. As I'm working
all by myself, I rely on people like me with passion for filmmaking who can work for free. What I miss in Sweden is the commuity. Although the best thing with Sweden is that you can
shoot wherever you want without permission.

I love London, and it isn't that hard to get from Sweden to UK because it is in EU. Are there anyone here that is an independent filmmaker, living in London/UK who can tell me
how it is?

Thanks for you help!
 
Here's just a guess from someone who used to go to London a lot but now haven't been there since 2003... London is bloody expensive. Which means people have to work a lot just to pay the rent which means less time to work on free stuff...
I see that here in Berlin, it used to be cheap to live here but it's rents are rapidly increasing and many of the artistic people seem to have less and less time to do things that's not work related...
Difference compared to Sweden is that in Sweden nobody really makes money from artistic ventures so everyone has a "normal" job, and thus can do things for free in their spare time. Here more people are also living from their art which means they can't afford to do it for free...
That said, I both Berlin and London have more people and probably more people who wants to be in film so might still be easier to find them. Here in Berlin pretty much everyone is a musician/DJ/artist/filmmaker/etc or at least thinks they are ;)

Where is Sweden are you living now?
 
dmitrizigany said:
Here's just a guess from someone who used to go to London a lot but now haven't been there since 2003... London is bloody expensive. Which means people have to work a lot just to pay the rent which means less time to work on free stuff...
I see that here in Berlin, it used to be cheap to live here but it's rents are rapidly increasing and many of the artistic people seem to have less and less time to do things that's not work related...
Difference compared to Sweden is that in Sweden nobody really makes money from artistic ventures so everyone has a "normal" job, and thus can do things for free in their spare time. Here more people are also living from their art which means they can't afford to do it for free...
That said, I both Berlin and London have more people and probably more people who wants to be in film so might still be easier to find them. Here in Berlin pretty much everyone is a musician/DJ/artist/filmmaker/etc or at least thinks they are ;)

Where is Sweden are you living now?
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I get what you're saying. But I think it's easier to work for free if you're already getting paid to be creative. In that way you can do both. I really haven't had that experience yet. Sweden is expensive as well, and it seems to get worse and worse. Would love to go to Berlin some day, haven't been there. It doesn't have to be England, but I would like to work with the language. I'm more comfortable in English than Swedish.
I'm living in Karlstad right now, a pretty small town. Not a lot of creativity.

Liam Hall said:
Tell you how what is? The UK has a thriving features industry. London a is difficult place to shoot locations in due to permits etc. There are lots a crew in London. Some even know what they are doing.
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How much can you get away with when you're shooting "guerilla" style? I guess it's all relative, but here in Sweden you can shoot whenever and whatever you want as long as it isn't on a private property.
I'm not particulary looking to shoot in the middle of town. Outside and closed sets works best for me.
 
fredmadison said:
How much can you get away with when you're shooting "guerilla" style? I guess it's all relative, but here in Sweden you can shoot whenever and whatever you want as long as it isn't on a private property.
I'm not particulary looking to shoot in the middle of town. Outside and closed sets works best for me.
Click to expand...

Yes, it's all relative and depends how big your unit is. I've shot in Sweden many times, trust me, shooting in London can be a challenge in comparison. That said, away from landmarks and tourist sites you can get away with a lot if you're small and quick. There's lots of advice online for shooting in each borough and there are lots of indie filmmakers around that you can collaborate with.
 
Usually it's only me with a small camera, lavaliers on the actors, so it's pretty easy to get away with. But it always feels good to know that what you're shooting is OK.
What is the worse thing that can happen if someone catches you filming without permission?
 
Ok sensible answer: If you're shooting in Canary Wharf, or in the City or outside Buckingham Palace or in one of the Royal Parks you might get fined, but generally you be told to stop and move on.

If you're shooting outside City Airport and someone thinks you're a terrorist it can be more entertaining... ...I had a bunch of armed police 'intercept' me shooting there once - and I had permission! They did apologise...

Mostly, you'll get someone, be them a policeman or security guard asking you what you are doing and if you have permission. Generally, a call to the local police station letting them know who you are and what you are up to is sufficient to keep them off your back - unless you are on private property of course.
 
I seems like it's all about common sense, but it's good to know anyway. Thanks a lot for the information.

Anyone else have information about another EU country besides UK?
 
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