Question about permits

[antcuc]

New to LA here, I know permits are a big deal for larger productions. My situation is I'm shooting a 1 minute web commercial with only a $2k budget. It's barely enough to pay actors and crew.

We've designed most of the scenes to be shot indoors. However, I would like to shoot one scene in public, say at a park with limited crew: 3 people, a camera, a tripod (or monopod) and a boom mic and boom pole.

The shot will be one guy who thinks he's invisible sneaking up on another guy eating a sandwich. He steals the sandwich and bites it only to realize he's not actually invisible. Pretty simple.

Could I get by without a permit? If I need a permit? What's the cheapest one I could get?

I'm from Texas and in Texas no one gives a F* what you.

Thanks for your time.

 

[Doc Bernard]

With a crew that small, no stunts, and that short of a scene, could you pull it off? Yeah.

But always remember, a film permit is there to protect you, not just give you permission to film. LA is not the most friendly town to shoot in, and LOL, "you're not in Texas anymore" (Paraphrase from Wizard of Oz). The cops out here know what a film crew is and what is required to film. If it's a slow day for them, they may check the status of your shoot. Many won't care about not having a permit, but there are a few that may.

So always be prepared to shut down if told to by law enforcement, Park & Rec employee, city official. And if they do tell you, apologize, shut it down and walk away.

You cannot impede anyone from walking into your shot if you don't have a permit, so have releases if you capture any faces. The reason is, since you have not gotten permission through obtaining a permit to shoot there, then that other person has the same right to be where you are. On one shoot, we had a homeless guy who apparently knew the rules and wouldn't sign a release. He purposely planted himself in our shots until we paid him 40 bucks to make himself scarce.

 

[j1clark@ucsd.edu]

On one shoot, we had a homeless guy who apparently knew the rules and wouldn't sign a release. He purposely planted himself in our shots until we paid him 40 bucks to make himself scarce.

If I had only known that in my younger years... I could have gotten a few bucks here and there while tramping through LA... but heck, you never know what the future may hold... and I may just need that sort of info...

 

[antcuc]

With a crew that small, no stunts, and that short of a scene, could you pull it off? Yeah.

But always remember, a film permit is there to protect you, not just give you permission to film. LA is not the most friendly town to shoot in, and LOL, "you're not in Texas anymore" (Paraphrase from Wizard of Oz). The cops out here know what a film crew is and what is required to film. If it's a slow day for them, they may check the status of your shoot. Many won't care about not having a permit, but there are a few that may.

So always be prepared to shut down if told to by law enforcement, Park & Rec employee, city official. And if they do tell you, apologize, shut it down and walk away.

You cannot impede anyone from walking into your shot if you don't have a permit, so have releases if you capture any faces. The reason is, since you have not gotten permission through obtaining a permit to shoot there, then that other person has the same right to be where you are. On one shoot, we had a homeless guy who apparently knew the rules and wouldn't sign a release. He purposely planted himself in our shots until we paid him 40 bucks to make himself scarce.

Thanks for your reply. I know about not impeding people we won't have a problem with that. If they ask us to shut down i would be more than happy to -there are plenty of parks in LA =) I just don't want to get slapped with a huge fine!

Btw, if I recall correctly Dorothy was from Kansas.

 

[Chris Adler]

If the guy thinks he's invisible why would he bother sneaking up on the dude with a sandwich? Just strut right up and snatch it.

 

[Doc Bernard]

You will usually get a warning to stop filming first from the officer. But if you (or any of your cast/crew) fail the "attitude test", then maybe you will recieve a citation. Make sure no one gripes in the officers vicinity if you are shut down. Because he would be in his rights to cite you.

LOL, that why I said I was paraphrasing.

 

[j1clark@ucsd.edu]

Thanks for your reply. I know about not impeding people we won't have a problem with that. If they ask us to shut down i would be more than happy to -there are plenty of parks in LA =) I just don't want to get slapped with a huge fine!

Btw, if I recall correctly Dorothy was from Kansas.

In order to get a permit in LA, go here This is an 'aggregate' site and handles a number of communities in the greater LA area... since just saying LA, does not really indicate exactly whether the shooting location is in an incorporated city, the City of Los Angeles being just one of many, or Los Angeles County, or possibly Orange County, depending.

When using 'public property', the City/County will require an insurance rider with the City/County named on the rider. If you don't have a business, or have business insurance or are a student at a school, you may have to look into seeing if your 'renters insurance' or 'house insurance' can have such a rider attached.