Where you get persmission from?

Hello there!

I am currently writing the script for my second short film. I locked down most of the location I will need except for some exotic ones .

I need one of my sequences to take place in a cave . I know there are extremly beautiful caves in my country , but I would love to know if you could tell me who shall I ask for permission ? Shall I call somewhere in the country ?

I know usually you have to pay a lot of money but I think if I tell them it's a documentary about a school project I might get away .

What do you think?

If you want to be absolutely sure, go to the police or the city hall and put your question up there. I don't know how it is in Bulgaria, but in Belgium the city hall has a register of owners of land... and the police could give you a hand with security if it's no-man's land.

If the location is close to someone's house, ring the doorbell and ask the owner of the house who owns the land the cave is on.

Another option is to shoot guerilla style, without permissions of anyone. I've done it a few times in cases of emergency, but I always limited the amount of equipment to one camera and sound equipment. Depending on where you are it could be dangerous... so I would advise against it. However, going through the whole process of asking permission could possibly delay the project endelessly or be useless (if the cave doesn't belong to anyone).

I also would only tell them that it's a school project if it really is. People might just check up on the information. You could tell them you're working on a short to send to a film festival.

Oh, and if you're underage I'd advise to bring a parent, in case someone sees you work and calls the police on you.

Alright. Thank you very much !


Some of the location though are at the other side of the country .

Shall I ask them to sign something online so I can be sure that they are not going to change their minds at the last second when I arive there?

If you have a film commission there, it's probably best to check with them.

Since it's just a school project, it might not be worth the cost of a permit and so on to get it. You may be better off going guerrilla style anyway.