Shooting in la....

I just find it ridiculous that I'd have to pay $500 for insurance to shoot a 10 minute short film with some friends and my DVX.
 
In your first post, you were asking about a crane, lights, and even a helicopter... So u wont get away without having a permit. If it's just a dvx and a couple friends u probably will get away without a permit. A friend of me was even shooting a scene around the pier and nobody bothered him. If u look like tourists, nobody will bother u, the moment u look like a film crew (and u do if u bring a crane etc.) the police will stop u and ask for ur permit. (by the way, student film permits are usually free and dont cost anything)
Sorry for spelling mistakes, I'm typing on my iphone...
 
I'm not the OP. I'm talking about filming short films 5-15 mins. long, video tests, videos of venice beach, "touristy" videos, etc.

1. The MOST equipment I'd be using is a DVX and a shotgun mic (probably attached to the cam), and a couple of friends. (For short films).

2.For tests and tourist videos, it would simply be me, walking around town, the beach, etc. with my DVX. This would also include things like skate videos.

I don't see why I'd need permits, insurance, etc. for these things.

3. Now, for something a little more complicated I can understand. If I were to film a music video, consisting again of just me, a DVX, and a tripod (for use as a pseudo-steadicam), and the artist.

For none of this would I be blocking traffic, making noise, using lights, or anything.

Maybe this is a little more clear on my situation.

*EDIT
In general, I'm talking about stuff like this:
http://vimeo.com/10918229
http://vimeo.com/5475152
http://vimeo.com/5370177
 
Last edited:
LA is rather jaded; try shooting out of town. i wont set foot in LA with a camera unless im paid to do it. the only shoots we did there some 'locals' or others intentionally tried to ruin unless we paid them, so we rewrote the script and scenes and never looked back. Its borderline extortion, personally i wont shoot again in LA, and yes we had a permit, waivers, etc.

Not worth the hassle.
 
I walked around with my HVX in Santa Monica and Venice many times and never had a problem... It's pretty simple; if you look like tourists or some students having fun, chances are that nobody will care. The moment it becomes obvious that you shoot a film with crew and additional equipment (besides the camera), the police is likely to ask you for a permit. If you shoot on private property, you will also likely get away without a permit even if you use lights etc. as long as you don't park a grip truck in the street and keep it quiet, but you will be in trouble if somebody of your crew/cast gets hurt...
 
I personaly had never a problem with my HVX, I even took my tripod to the beach several times to get some sunset shots and film people walking on the promenade...
 
So DVX should be ok. DVX + tripod should be ok sometimes. Right?
On the promenade? I though that was technically private property :-/
and they let you film with a tripod?

Again, I'm just trying to wrap my head around different scenarios so I know more or less what to expect.
 
Just speaking strictly from my personal experience! I took the HVX to the Santa Monica beach promenade (not the pier) many times and filmed the beach, ocean, and the people there. I sometimes also brought my tripod but always made sure that I'm not blocking pedestrian traffic. I didn't film with actors and I didn't have a crew, I was just by myself or with my girlfriend. I once even used an SGPro adapter (without mattebox). I never got into troubles, but maybe I was just lucky. I also had friends who shot a dialog scene on the beach... they kept everything very low key (only two actors and a camera on a tripod, and no crew) and nobody paid attention to them (police passed a couple times). As I said, this is just my personal experience, and other people might tell you a very different story.

I personally would't shoot anything "serious" without a permit, chances that you get chased away are just too high. Think about it that way; You spend a lot of time in pre-production, you have a crew, and actors that you need to feed, you have equipment that you had to rent, etc. and in the end your whole day gets ruined because you get chased away from your location or worse, you get fined. It's just not worth it....
 
Well that's what I mean. I'm only thinking of shooting test videos, and short films that are more practice than anything else.

If I were to do a student film or short film for a festival or something, of course I would do it as legit as possible.
 
cordvision said:
In your first post, you were asking about a crane, lights, and even a helicopter... So u wont get away without having a permit. If it's just a dvx and a couple friends u probably will get away without a permit. A friend of me was even shooting a scene around the pier and nobody bothered him. If u look like tourists, nobody will bother u, the moment u look like a film crew (and u do if u bring a crane etc.) the police will stop u and ask for ur permit. (by the way, student film permits are usually free and dont cost anything)
Sorry for spelling mistakes, I'm typing on my iphone...
Click to expand...

Cordvision,

I think you are confusing me with Diego.
He is asking about shooting with Dvx and I was asking about cranes and helicopters.
It seems that staying low key is key to success when shooting in LA :)

I do not know how many of you boys shoot music videos, but it is usually much different from shooting film. At least for me.
It becomes guerilla even if there are some permits since it is usually more about certain look and multiple locations rather than 2 spots and tons of gear.

That's why my initial question was whether getting creative and shooting spontaneously is even possible around LA.

Again, thanks for sharing !
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top