Confused About Filming Permits

[Soopafresh]

Has anyone had to apply for one? Under what circumstances?

[redwudz]

In our county, permits in the county are handled through our Public Works Department. The cities have a similar setup. The bad news is most times they require a $1 million dollar insurance policy if the filming is on public roads or property. But it's just for the actual days of shooting. This is just needed on public property. But private land owners may require similar.

Locally, if you need to close down a road or have traffic control, you also need to hire the CHP (California Highway Patrol) for about $800 per day per 8 hour shift per officer. Likely similar within city limits. You also need to compensate anyone who has suffered financial lose if the road or street has been closed.

I have dealt mostly with projects to film 'commercials' and they seem to have almost unlimited funds. Same with major movies.

Most cities or counties have a film office that can help you with the required permits. Check with the local 'Chamber of Commerce' for info on getting in contact with them.

Bottom line, you need insurance and written permissions. And a attorney. Just to protect yourself.

[Soopafresh]

redwudz, is that purely for commercial for-profit filming? What if Joe Average wants to do a Youtube video outside with a few friends, a camcorder (handheld) and a boom pole?

[guns1inger]

It's called guerrilla film-making. Get it, get the footage, get out.

If you are not blocking off traffic, causing disruption, or filming at monuments, most places won't have a problem. Especially if it is non-profit personal works. But it will vary from town to town, and ******* to ******* (sheriff, mayor etc)

[edDV]

It's called guerrilla film-making. Get it, get the footage, get out.

If you are not blocking off traffic, causing disruption, or filming at monuments, most places won't have a problem. Especially if it is non-profit personal works. But it will vary from town to town, and ******* to ******* (sheriff, mayor etc)

Behave like tourists and they usually don't bother you. Notify them in advance and they usually won't bother you. Exert control of public property or create a public obstruction and expect to meet the Sheriff or local authority.

If you are somehow important, or convince the county film commission you are, you get the keys to the city. Recently a production company operating for Sony America occupied our local county with full film commission support. They took over two hotels and had police support with streets blocked and crowd control. The ads will air nationally for various Sony products.

We used to get many film location shoots. Now because of union rules, most of this work goes to Canada.

[redwudz]

Yes, that's for commercial-for-profit filming. The main risk is disrupting the public or traffic. If you don't do either, likely no one will complain. We do have commercial companies that 'forget' to obtain the permits. They get shut down, but usually with no penalty. The insurance is to protect you. If some idiot slips on a banana peel within your location, you may get sued, so it's something to be aware of.

We've had Toyota spend about a $100,000 for a couple days of shooting with all the incidentals included, so it's locally profitable. The insurance isn't that expensive, it's required for most any event that the public could be involved with, parades, concerts, etc. They paid a local truck driver his normal days wages to stay home for the day just so he wouldn't need to drive through their location. They routed other traffic through a field, over plywood sheets. The total project took two days, with two semi trucks of equipment, eight cars and a car carrier, about 30 people, and less than 20 seconds ended up in the commercial.

Even with no permits, you can rent traffic signs and cones if needed locally and get away with quite a bit if you don't hang around too long. Law enforcement doesn't normally bother anyone as they assume it's legit. The business owners are the ones that complain if they think they are losing customers. It's nice to have some traffic/crowd control if some idiot wants to wave to the camera in the middle of your big scene.

[Soopafresh]

Wow. I try not to even jaywalk if I can help it.

[filmboss80]

Many states in the US have film commissions that you can check with. But honestly, if you're not too disruptive, you can usually get away with a lot. Someone once said, "It is much easier to ask for forgiveness than permission." I have had crews show up in town squares, and the police actually came out and offered to assist us. But I have also shot footage on hospital and government properties and gotten into a slight bit of trouble. In the worst cases, they just asked us to leave. I've never had to pay a fine. Most people were curious about what we were doing, and we just made them a part of the shoot. With a little charm and a lot of bravado, you can turn a location shoot into a community party, and actually get the local authorities to enjoy helping out. HAVE FUN!