Permits

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meetbobperfect

AS I MIGHT OF SAID BEFORE IM VERY NEW TO THE FILMMAKING INDUSTRY AND I KNOW I NEED PERMITS.

i know this may sound stupid but.....

DOES ANYONE KNOW HOW MUCH IT WILL COST?
IVE BEEN TOLD $50 FROM ONE PERSON
AND IVE BEEN TOLD IT COULD BE THOUSAND FROM ANOTHER PERSON
 
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It varies.

You'll have to contact the cities/areas you want to have permits for.

If you have a local Film Commission (or similar org) near you, get ahold of them them first. They ought to be able to tell you exactly who you need to contact as well as other handy info. Saves a lot of running about.

They'll also be able to give you the lowdown on any insurance requirements that may be needed, to qualify for a permit.

Malibu, CA was about $600 for the basic permit, if I recall correctly. Too rich for my blood.
 
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I was led to believe that any area chamber of commerce can get you in touch with the right people. At least the CoC in Charlottesville VA did. ;)

It's also my understanding that if you keep it small you can keep it under the radar. I wouldn't leave the house without my release forms though.

Does the old "I'm just a film student." excuse still work?
 
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It all depends on where you are...

If you walk into the Ritz-Carleton they might get made if you try to use the "I'm a film student excuse"

but then.. if you're outside, across the street, and the camera just "happens" to catch their front entry-way... well.. you're on a public street.. so it's fair game if you're not blocking traffic (street or sidewalk)

Afterall, who gets a permit to take a snapshot of a loved one on the street? Nobody. Same deal.. sorta.. but checking things out is always a good bet, when in doubt, cover yer arse. ;)
 
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Will Vincent said:
but then.. if you're outside, across the street, and the camera just "happens" to catch their front entry-way... well.. you're on a public street.. so it's fair game if you're not blocking traffic (street or sidewalk)

Afterall, who gets a permit to take a snapshot of a loved one on the street? Nobody. Same deal.. sorta.. but checking things out is always a good bet, when in doubt, cover yer arse. ;)
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So I dont need one if Im just saying out of everyones way?
 
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If you are on private property, you will most likely need liability insurance. If you are on public property, sometimes there is a tripod rule. If everything is handheld, you don't need a permit. If you use a tripod, you do. And to get a permit, you will need liability insurance. Permits are usually free (free in NYC). Liability will run around $650 for 12 days.
 
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call the city gov't and ask...it's a phone call and they have people to answer those specific questions. Make sure you get their name written down along with the phone number, date and time of the call. That way when they say it's free and you don't need a permit...and someone says that's not true, you have a name, number, date and time to reference in the office in charge of handling that stuff.

Always be polite about it. I was a skateboarder for years and got kicked out of many places. One of the unwritten things we had going for us was that the polite groups of skaters could skate in the parking lot of a particular building for about and hour or two until the night watchman would come and ask us to leave. One night (being somewhat cocky) I said, "See you tomorrow". He said he looked forward to it. Apparently, he enjoyed watching us on the security monitors, but his boss had told him we had to be asked to leave. So he made sure to do so every day. The skaters who got up in his face weren't welcome there. Always be polite!

Always start with "My name is (your name here). I'm a (student/independent) filmmaker." It's upfront and honest and they tend to be more polite with you when you're not anonymous and nameless.

I recently had a detailed discussion with the cheif of police here about prop guns and what is required to be able to use them legally. He was super cooperative and just giddy that cool stuff was happening in his little town. I directed him to the website for the project and he asked me to make sure the police knew where and when we were shooting. I've always invited them to show up to inspect the proceedings if they liked.

Always ask politely up front...it's easier to ask permission than to recover your equipment from impound ;) .
 
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Lesson #1 in dealing with police:

Let dispatch know when you film. It may just be the difference between an officer showing up for kicks, and the SWAT team showing up TO kick.

I was breaking down my feature script in my head, and I realized for some of the stuff I'm going to have to do, I am going to need at least a one week permit.. which means I need insurance.. bah... to this date we've been 99% Guerilla. Thank god for these boards... to think that a year and a half ago I didn't even know what a release form was!! ha!

God knows how many security guards we've lied to in the past.
Just for safety's sake- it is ok to insure/permitize only parts of your production where needed, or do you have to go all the way?
 
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In LA I think permits are $50 per submission for students(they were free until about a year ago). Each submission can contatin multiple locations/dates, etc. So if you get all your locations, figured out before you permit you might only have to pay the $50 once. I don't know if this is the same for non-student shoots. One thing to keep in mind is that getting the permit also often includes paying a police officer and sometimes a fire marshall. Those requirements change based on the size of your production.

While shooting my thesis film in LA we had permits for a couple of the locations, but not all. Another thing you have to do if you get permits in LA is notify local residents within 100 yards or something. This is usually done with flyers left on doorsteps, etc.

In LA, and surrounding areas, the police almost always check for permits and kick you out if you don't have them. I have been on shoots that got the boot. I doubt this is true everywhere though. I worked on a shoot in San Diego and I don't think we ever had to produce a permit for our shoot during the 6 days. I believe the permits in San Diego were free.
 
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Vitaliy Yacsh said:
So in New York we can shoot anything without permit as long as it is handheld or on steadicam type of device?
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It's just so those shooting home movies don't have to have a permit. But you can take advantage of this if you are shooting a skateboarding video, etc. Anything larger than a video shoot with one handheld camera and no lighting or cables, you'll need a permit.
 
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indietalk said:
It's just so those shooting home movies don't have to have a permit. But you can take advantage of this if you are shooting a skateboarding video, etc. Anything larger than a video shoot with one handheld camera and no lighting or cables, you'll need a permit.
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Thank you Indietalk,

then any commercial / documentary video with interviews and etc we can shoot without permit as long as it is done with handled camera only?

How about monopod?
 
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For B-roll stuff you can get away with a lot in LA. We had a big honkin' Varicam on a tripod on the corner of Sunset and La Brea at 11 PM and a cop drove right past us. The chick cop in the passenger seat was looking right at us the whole time. Numerous other times cops drove by us as we had the camera on the sidewalk in Studio City and on the Sunset Strip. Once you start setting up lights and stuff then they will stop you. Off duty cops will stop you too. Why pay $700 for B-roll????
 
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