permission using somebody's house or a public place at night?

M

marqueemoon

I'm an amateur working on my first (short) student film.

I have two possible locations in mind but no clue how to go about gaining access to them. The difficulty is that I would be using a fog machine inside the place, filling up a whole floor with fog if possible, and I'm concerned nobody would agree to it because they'd worry about damage. Also it would be shot at night.

1) The first possibility is one floor of a public place or a business like a library or restaurant.

2) The second is somebody's house. I have a particular architectural style in mind, but I'm fairly flexible.

What's my best approach? If I approach a business or public facility would they almost definitely not allow it because of the fog machine? And how would I go about gaining access to somebody's house? I'm guessing it wouldn't be appropriate to go door to door.

Btw, as a student I have little budget, so I'd prefer not to pay or only pay a small amount. Also, I'd rather not travel out of state (I live in Massachusetts). I could see doing NY, but that's as far as I'm able to go given my limited means.

Finally, anyone know of any low-end fog machines that could generate enough fog to fill several medium-sized rooms?

EDIT: As an add on, I'm simultaneously working on another short that doesn't involve a fog machine but would also require shooting in somebody's house at night, so if people are deterred by the fog idea maybe they'll agree to that. Still, I'm wondering if there's an easier way of finding potential houses than knocking on stranger's doors.
 
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First, use being a student to your advantage, make that apparent and it usually makes people feel more comfortable. 'its just for school'

If you can get school insurance, or cheap third party insurance and let them know you'll have it, that will also help.

Shooting at night, when a buisness is closed, will most likely be your only option.

I've been on many shoots where the buisnesses have let shoot be done for free.
Just make sure your respectful of their property and show your appreciation.

And, the fog machine shouldnt be a problem, let them know ahead of time, and do some research and give them the facts that fog is not harmful.

Hope that helped a bit.
 
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I would say you should find out what fog machines are available to you and how much they cost to rent. Can't you get some suggestions from your professors? See if you can borrow any from the film department or a local theater company. But don't count on having the fog machine for your shoot. Do you absolutely need fog? You say you have a very limited budget and you don't even have the machine yet, so plan on not having one.

Secondly, if you don't want to knock on doors, then you're going to have to ask everyone you know. I don't know how else you'd do it.

You shouldn't have to travel out of Boston for this. I mean, Boston has a pretty big filmmaking community. Start networking. Check out newenglandfilm.com and post messages over there and say what you're looking for.
 
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As far as I know smoke machines have no effect on their surroundings beyond the smell it can produce. If people have worries in that area they are unfounded.

You should allways just go ahead and ask people. Remember: Don't ask don't get. The worst that can happen is they'll say no.

Being a student is also a big advantage. People will probably give you more favours, because they'll expect the you don't have much money.

Given that we're in a recession I'm sure they're be a few unoccupied retail spaces around. You could try finding the lease holders and asking them to let you use it for a day. If it's doing nothing as it is they might not mind.

Maybe try puting out a few flyers to find the locations.
 
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Check Craigslist for places for rent, or go talk to a local Realtor, they may be able to help if a vacant house is ok. You probably will need insurance, and maybe a "nominal" fee (couple hundred bucks).
 
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Looks like this thread is pretty old, so don't know if this is still relevant, but...

Turn off the smoke detectors in any room where you are using a fog machine.

Was shooting in a prestigious state landmark at 2:00am and learned this the hard way :(
 
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