What rules govern city shooting?

www.filmwashington.com
http://www.washingtonfilmworks.org/

It depends on city, county, etc. Give your cities film commission a call, that's one of their functions. Or if your city doesn't have a film council, get in touch with one of the above links for your state's film commissions.

superamazing said:

This is an almost embarrassingly basic question,

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Not at all.

Each city will have different requirements. If the city you want to
shoot in does not have a film commission check with the local police.
It is not just a matter of "what if I..." your intent is also taken into
consideration. Something for a class? Something for on-line showings?
Something for distribution?

A tourist with their handycam can shoot video in front of a post office,
or a park or a beach; in some cities a documentary filmmaker doesn't
need permission but a production with a crew (even a small one), a
tripod and actors might need permission.

superamazing said:

Is there any way this guerilla footage could be made unavailable because of the fact it was captured without permission?

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You will not be arrested or fined. But what could happen is a distributor
would refuse to distribute without all the proper permissions in writing.
So, again, your intention comes into play.

superamazing said:

Is there any way this guerilla footage could be made unavailable because of the fact it was captured without permission?

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If its obvious it was shot in a public place (even if you didn't have the permits), it'll fly. If people cannot recognize the location of footage shot on private property (also without permits), that'll fly too. What you cannot use is footage shot on private property that people can recognize -- for instance, the lobby of the General Electric building, the floor of the NY Stock Exchange or one of the studios in 30 Rock.

Grand Central Station is a public place, while you'll need permission to shoot there, if you stole some shots without permission, you'll be able to use it. Same thing for subway cars. Impossible to get permission, but people steal shots all the time and they're usable because they're a publically owned entity.

Good luck!

I'm wondering if it is fully legal to film on the street without any permission. What if I'm filming the exterior of a post office? What about a city park or a beach?

Is there any way this guerilla footage could be made unavailable because of the fact it was captured without permission?

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What exactly are you trying to shoot? If you don't have a large crew you might be able to get away with some things to save $$. People do this in LA a lot because the fees are like $900 a day, plus they require that you hire a cop to stand around for a minimum of 4 hours.
In LA it's even illegal to shoot on private property unless it's a "sound stage".

The city will never find out afterwards unless someone wants to be an ass and report you. A lawyer once told me that if you shoot on private property without the owner's permission the only thing they can sue you for is what they SHOULD have been paid for location rental. I assume that the city can only sue for the same.

I would not worry about distributors either. Neither Amazon, NetFlix, Tunecore or anyone cares about releases. You simply warrant to them that you own everything. I know of some brick and mortar distributors that don't require looking at releases, but nobody gets brick and mortar distribution any more these days. It's all Internet.

I would only worry about getting caught if you have a larger operation of lights and a crew and all that might draw attention. I heard a story of an off duty Police officer breaking up a shoot in Beverly Hills. If the fee is small and no cop rental is required then just get the permit.