Are shooting permits to be ignored?

[directorik]

I, too, an curious about that.

If I were to shoot in the UK and had a grip truck and crane
and generator, six lights, standard grip package, two actors,
one audio person, camera operator and me I could shoot on
a London street without a permit for five days?

I’m wonder if this is similar to the myth that you can shoot
in Los Angeles without a permit if you have three (or two or
fine, depending on you you talk to) people or less. Nick, do
you know for certain that as long as there are five or less
people you can shoot anywhere in the UK without a permit?

[danosongs]

Originally Posted by directorik

You seem to misunderstand what a permit is.

A film permit has nothing at all to do with the finished product. A
film permit allows a filmmaker to shoot in some areas without being
stopped by the police. If a filmmaker does not get a permit the film
can still be shown. No one can "go after" a filmmaker once they see
the film. The local authorities can only "go after" a filmmaker while
they are shooting. and even then it's rare there is a fine. What usually
happens is the police tell the filmmaker to stop and move on.

If a filmmaker needs an area for a long period of time or needs a full
crew with all the equipment then getting permission isn't a big joke.
If a filmmaker is grabbing shots with a couple of actors and a camera
with no equipment then they can shoot without getting a permit. As
you can see, if a filmmaker is stopped with one actor and a camera
and told they can't film, it's no big deal. they say, "Okay." and try again
a day or so later. However, if there is a full crew with equipment it's
expensive to have to stop, pack up and try again.

You should take notice that Aronofsky shot parts of Black Swan
in New York's subway system without permits but he shot everything
else WITH permits.

Right, this says it all for me too. Basically what I found is you would *want* a permit to ensure that you have the right to be there - in order to have the legal right, time and space to shoot the scene properly. I shot my entire first short without permits and it was a real pain due to noise and trying to keep the public out of the shots.