At what point do you need permits?

ClockworkNinja

ClockworkNinja

Okay, so this has been in the back of my mind for awhile now but I've ran into a bit of a brick wall in my knowledge. Short of actually talking to a lawyer for specific advice I was hoping to get some general guideline from what people have experience dealing with themselves.

I've got an idea in mind for a kickstarter project I've been planning for a psuedo-documentary piece. The budget isn't exactly massive, about $25k or so and will likely be mostly indoors with a small crew. So the thing I'm stuck at, is when should you apply for filming licenses, permits and other legal stuff with the city you're filming in?

I didn't see any specific guidelines on the websites I've found, so I'm wondering if cities have requirements based on budgets, profit potential, the sheer size of crew you're working with or some arcane formula outside the realm of us mere mortals? Unfortunately entertainment law's not something that I'm overly familiar with outside of copyright matters.
 
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There are a lot of myths on different things that have been around so long that people believe them. "Mein Kampf". "If you tell a lie long enough, eventually it will be believed as truth, and the greater the lie, the more people will ... The truth is it's easy to convince someone of something when they want it to be true. ...
 
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jax_rox said:
:weird:

To clarify I spoke to staff there, not students, but judging by what you say, that wouldn't necessarily make any difference...

It just seems really odd that a mythical rule has been magicked up into the consciousness of a whole lot of people...

But I cannot find anything on the Film LA website, and it does seem odd, if plausible at all to have 'secret rules' that they won't share with anyone.
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I'd be pretty hesitant to trust any sort of "rule" that wasn't written down anywhere. It's not like there's no precedence for popular urban myths to go viral though.

Like the one about jerking off in the shower too much causing a blockage in the drain.
 
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jax_rox said:
It just seems really odd that a mythical rule has been magicked up into the consciousness of a whole lot of people...
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But that's exactly how "urban legends" work. People hear about it,
then hear about it again and then say on a message board that they
are certain it is real. Look how often someone posts with certainty about
"poorman's copyright". Here in the States it is a myth that many people,
especially students and even university staff, are certain is acceptable.

jax, you keep on telling people the "rule of three" applies in Los
Angeles because staff at USC believe it exists. Until I see it officially
or the LAPD says they recognize it I'm going keep telling people it's
a myth.
 
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It does also strike me as odod that the article says this:

Todd Lindgren, vice-president of communications for FilmL.A., which compiles statistics on location shoots in Los Angeles, said in an email that his organization, near a peak in student filming about five years ago, agreed to use a “rule of three” for students
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Seems relatively official to me, and would at least make sense as to why USC staff will be the first to tell you about the 'rule of three', though you'd imagine they'd tell you if the rule only applied to their (or any) students.

And yet there's no mention of it on the Film LA website... I think I even remember taking a quiz a few years ago when I did a USC summer course that contained this infamous 'rule'..

I'm gonna go ahead and say I have no idea about the application, or even existence of this 'rule'.. :lol:

Oh man, I'm glad I'm not a Producer ;)
 
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jax_rox said:
It does also strike me as odod that the article says this:



Seems relatively official to me, and would at least make sense as to why USC staff will be the first to tell you about the 'rule of three', though you'd imagine they'd tell you if the rule only applied to their (or any) students.

And yet there's no mention of it on the Film LA website... I think I even remember taking a quiz a few years ago when I did a USC summer course that contained this infamous 'rule'..

I'm gonna go ahead and say I have no idea about the application, or even existence of this 'rule'.. :lol:

Oh man, I'm glad I'm not a Producer ;)
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If it's not written down in a bylaw somewhere I wouldn't trust it to hold weight in court if I got sued. Course that said I'm kind of glad I don't really plan on shooting in LA.
 
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I have a question I'd just add to this thread instead of starting a new one so close to this question.

I'm in pre-production for my next film and it's the first short film I've done with a decent sized budget and crew. We're getting permits to shoot in the apartments and restaurants the film takes place in, but it's difficult to get permits for our smaller outdoors locations.

We have two parking lots, a back street, and a busy road. Is it naive to think we can get away with just going into these places, shooting for an hour or two max and then get out? Or should we try to contact the owners of the respective locations to get the proper documentation, and how would we go about finding who to contact?
 
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CJInzana said:
I have a question I'd just add to this thread instead of starting a new one so close to this question.

I'm in pre-production for my next film and it's the first short film I've done with a decent sized budget and crew. We're getting permits to shoot in the apartments and restaurants the film takes place in, but it's difficult to get permits for our smaller outdoors locations.

We have two parking lots, a back street, and a busy road. Is it naive to think we can get away with just going into these places, shooting for an hour or two max and then get out? Or should we try to contact the owners of the respective locations to get the proper documentation, and how would we go about finding who to contact?
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Depending on the location the owners might be in public records or they might not. But if you're shooting in a public place with a large crew there's nothing preventing the cops from asking to see your permits and telling you to get lost if they think you're being a nuisance. Especially the high people-traffic areas.
 
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Large crew, large camera, large lights - you're going to attract attention.

I'd get the permit to be safe. There's nothing worse than planning your shoot, getting out there and 1/3rd of the way through getting shut down by police.

For public land, you general contact the local council, for private land AFAIK you don't necessarily need a 'permit' per se, but you would need a location agreement that is signed by the owner.
 
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GuerrillaAngel said:
I made a feature film without any permits at all. It would be harder to do in places like LA and NYC, but if money is not flowing, look for ways to avoid permits. Permits may also require showing proof of insurance.
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Oh mehgosh, this sounds scary:

Oregon Film Regulatory Information

Or is minimum liability coverage of 3 million dollars actually not that expensive or difficult to come by?

Dude, come film in WI.

Film Wisconsin Permits and Location Fees

You can pretend one of the Great Lakes is the coast. =P
 
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Yes. richy asked about minimum liability coverage and that's
what I was talking about. Here in L.A. it's between $1,500
and $2,500 for a feature (18 days) and around $500 for a
weekend shoot on a short.
 
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