Filming around court houses

I

Imaginethat

Hello everyone,
Me and my crew are scripting a parody type short film, and we're wondering about the legal intricacies with filming at a few different court houses around New Jersey. Previously we would sorta run and gun film and if security came out we would hit the road, but as we get more serious and script more involved scenes we can't really afford to lose out on time anymore. Thanks for any help.
 
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Welcome, IT. I'm not sure how Jersey would look at guerilla filmmaking on courthouse steps, especially if a gang of 'suspicious looking characters' were to flee when the Marshalls tried to talk to you. And spending 3 days locked up while a DA with a hard on considered 'making examples of you' is not my idea of a fun time, especially if they tossed around charges like 'terrorist act, conspiracy, interference of a law enforcement officer in the performance of his job, creating a public nuisance' or anything else they could think of. Remember, they can CHARGE you with just about anything the want. Proving it is different. I understand that part of the appeal of guerilla filmmaking is the rush of 'getting away with it', but could you do your filming at times when the courthouses are closed or in front of smaller, rural locations where people might not be so jumpy?
 
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House of Cards was shooting at the court house down the block from me today actually.

It's not used as a court house anymore, but it's still really well landscaped and everything. Maybe there is a courthouse in your area that has a different purpose now too?
 
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Thanks for the feedback everyone, I've been looking into different venues and alternatives to courthouses to film at. My group and I have shot a good amount of run-n-gun with a minimal number of serious altercations, and that's actually the point of some of the things we have filmed haha but yeah playing dumb and walking away usually works.
 
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New Jersey is really a place to look for courthouses and venues alike. But if you're looking for some alternatives to these places, try to look on online location listing sites like http://lightsonlocation.com. It's a site where best film locations are listed for you to search easily those properties you can use for shooting films.
I hope i've helped. :)
 
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In NJ (where I live), approvals are given town by town. If you're looking at filming on the grounds of a court house, permission would be from the county government, it's a county court house. But local authorities would be the ones for the sidewalk and roads adjacent. Some towns are MUCH easier than others but it's impossible to generalize (large vs small, north vs south.).
 
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Not sure what your resources are, so this may or may not apply to you. But I think guerrilla is totally do-able, even in very public settings. Have we forgotten about Escape from Tomorrow?

To pull it off, I think you would need a great audio engineer with some nice lav mics, a long lens with a low f-stop, a camera operator with a very steady hand, and very well-rehearsed actors.
 
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I'd agree with CF - the key is just to keep it low key. If you roll up with a full crew it's going to start attracting attention right away. Lav everyone, practice ahead of time, keep the camera handheld without a large rig, etc. Walk up casually with as few people as possible, walk through the action, pull out the camera and shoot as quickly as possible. If someone asks you what you're doing don't run - just say "we're just shooting a video for youtube". If they say you need permission, play dumb and apologize saying you didn't know, then leave.
 
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Iv called city offices in two smallish cities and explained I was a student filmmaker and that Id like to film on the main street. Both where positive experiences and neither demanded insurance or permits.

I print a on page flyer about the project, who I am and my contact information. Its handy to hand out to interested parties.
 
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