pedestrian crowd and filming

dlevanchuk

dlevanchuk

I'm on a little crossroad here..

One of my outside scenes requires a tall buildings/downtown feeling to it.

Choice one. Shoot in dowtown seattle (with permits) with some pedestrian traffic
Choice two.rewrite the scene for smaller city, where there isn't that much of pedestrian traffic.

I'm kind of concerned not been able to get good shots becase people traffic might llok in the camera, or just stop and stare..

What are your experiences shooting in populated areas? Do pedestrians "work" with you or should I streer away from public??


Ps. The scene will have a guy wearing a burger costume, and have 5 hot girls around him, "hanging" on the neck.
 
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Well, that'll definitely draw attention.

There will always be slack-jawed gawkers that stop and stare. There will always be that random jerk-off who wants to get into your shot and act a fool. There will be folks that plain don't even notice your crew at all. And pretty much everywhere in-between.

You can't really control people unless you can afford ITC (intermittent traffic control) with your permit. At least I think you need one of those to cordon off public sidewalks, but maybe that has its own name.

In general most folks will pause and try to find a way to walk around behind the camera - which can be awkward if you want them crossing the lens purposely. Just handle them politely and make as little of an intrusion as possible. Don't block anyone's place of business, make way for the elderly, stuff like that. :lol:

It's a bit of a pain, but is done all the time.
 
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This is why there are 200 to 500 people right now who say "I WAS IN WAR OF THE WORLDS!!!!" because they used extras for the small town shoot...

Good luck on keeping everyone "acting normal" and "not noticing you" when you start filming the group you described... heh. I would try to rewrite it - might save you time in the long-run. Otherwise your video might end up looking like one of those Improv Everywhere spoofs where public just sit and stare at your actors.

Sorry to let you down :(
 
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