Shooting in colleges/ University with student Production Value

P

pringleman

Hi guys,
Has anyone got any ideas on how to cheaply shoot scenes depicting college students on site without hiring 50 or a hundred extras?

Are there any ways around this, has anyone approached a school to shoot scenes for a feature or short movie asking permission of the students(release form?).

Or is literally hiring out campus location on weekends with extras the only way.
Would love to hear peoples ideas on this,

I have even considered shooting the location bare kinda like a virtual backlot thing and then comping in stand in extras for what I got planned.
Thanks!
 
Sort by date Sort by votes
Are you a student? Ask at your own school / college first?

It's very problematic. Not just the extras but also getting permission.

Don't shoot without permission - particularly in that type of environment.

The problem is that most schools will say 'no'. Those that say 'yes' will likely want insurance. In Canada, a film permit costs $$$$ and the province requires $5m+ liability insurance.

Do research and ask as many schools / colleges etc as you can.

Due to the insurance factor etc it may not be possible for you - hence option 'c' the backlot comes into play.

In relation to the 'extras', I don't know what you need. Do they need to do something or just sit and walk through the scene like normal day-to-day students? You need to answer that before people here can help your further.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Hi Paul,

On the production I will have to get hold of liability insurance at least upto 5m+

I'm not student but have had the suggestion to find a willing student and make them producer on the film. This sounds like the best approach.

I just need to sell a populated university canvas and i'd like to do it on the level(springs to mind) like it was done on "scream 2" I know they had a proper budget for that stuff but I'd like it similar to that and for the audience not to know that we we short on production value for that specific scenes

The actors will just be talking, nothing special happens. but I need to show the campus active.

Thanks!
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Shoot it on the weekend. You don't need that many extras to make a place look busy, you just need to cheat the shots to make it look busy.

You could easily get away with only having 20 extras depending on your shots.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
jax_rox said:
Shoot it on the weekend. You don't need that many extras to make a place look busy, you just need to cheat the shots to make it look busy.

You could easily get away with only having 20 extras depending on your shots.
Click to expand...

This - just frame your shots close to your actors and really populate the areas around them. You can enhance the scene through crowd audio in post. There are lots of ways.

The cheaper option is like someone said, weekends using extras. I imagine that this scene won't take very long at all so just throw on free food as payment for some locals.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
UK schools are so parinoid about getting sued (Health and safety crap) for something or critisized you may find this difficult. Keep in mind they usually have someone around the school on weekends to get rid of any unwanted people, even if you are not doing anything. I would suggest if you do use a school you could 'spin' it in your favour and get in contact with the drama department and use their students all in the name of education.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
Lots of good advice from others.

If you have an art/theatre college or Uni with a big art/theatre department in your area, they may be more lenient and willing to help. You'd need to contact a student there or a member of staff - ideally in the film studies dept.

Or do you have any leisure centers or similar that look like the colleges or schools you want? If so, approach them to.
 
Upvote 0 Downvote
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top