Do I tend to overthink things in filmmaking?

[Josh Bass]

That's not what they mean. They mean find a way to do it with permission/legally, but in a way that guarantees you won't get booted. AGAIN, this will probably mean spending money.

[Ryan Elder]

Oh okay. I wanted to shoot outside a courthouse for example, and perhaps we can do it in a way, that it won't bother anyone, but it's still legal.

[Brian Drysdale]

It depends on the regulations in your area for filming in public places (if you need a permit) and where precisely you wish to film. Contacting the court house would be a starting point. You will probably be restricted from filming people going in and out of the court house.

If you can't get permission, it may be more guerrilla film making, which could involve shooting hand held in order not to attract attention.It's easier if you don't go onto the court precincts and stay on the public areas.

[Ryan Elder]

Oh okay. Well I wanted to shoot on the courthouse steps on a weekend, when it is closed, but some say it's even open on the weekend. But others say it's not because they have to wait till Monday morning for judges to look at cases, so I am still trying to find that out.

I am reluctant to go handheld though, because the rest of the project will not be handheld, so if only one scene is handheld, I thought it would stick out as inconsistent with the others therefore, stylistically.

[Brian Drysdale]

Given the location, you should clear it, at the very least, with the local police. If you don't they'll be stopping every few minutes to check up on you. The steps are likely to be on the court precincts.

When filming these low budget films, you sometimes need to get shots as you can. Using a gimbal for the static shots would be another approach. In some cities, it's using a tripod that creates the difficulty.

[Ryan Elder]

Okay thanks, I considered the gimbal just a few minutes ago, thanks. I can clear it with police then. I thought a gimbal would still attract attention. I only have a boom to record audio with though, unless I try to arange for other accomodations.

[Brian Drysdale]

It's less attention grabbing than a tripod,

[Ryan Elder]

That's true, but would the boom pole still attract attention, or be a problem compared to a gimbal though?

[Brian Drysdale]

It depends on your local police and their attitude to filming. It seems to be more about about causing an obstruction, which is why you can get away with hand held filming.

[Paul R Johnson]

Here in the UK, you don't need to get permission to shoot from the public land, but as a courtesy, the police can be very grateful for the tip-off. Shooting in Bristol, they helped us get access to pedestrianised areas in a vehicle and it was worth a couple of emails and then a quick visit to the Police station when we arrived. We found they had briefed the traffic wardens and community support officers and they actually kept the public out of our shots.We were using a national chain of chemists as our location, using their doors and they were very happy to have us opening and closing their doors with a bowler hat wearing butler!

[Brian Drysdale]

I gather London can be a bit of a nightmare in parts. We had a permit when filming in New York and it made life easier with the parking, although we sneaked in and did undercover filming in the subway.

[Paul R Johnson]

I hate it! Quite a bit of London is actually privately owned but the public use it 'as public' but this allows the security people to get very heavy. Shooting on Drury Lane, from the public Pavement is perfectly legal - it really is public land, but being in theatre land, it's very busy, and lots of the businesses believe that you cannot point a camera at their property (which legally you can) and you cannot shoot people entering or leaving (which again, you can). Arguing this over and over again is tedious, and stops the process. Doing some pieces to camera for the organisation on the second floor of one building took ten takes because the security people for the theatre over the road did not like being in the background of the shot and ruined the quite short sequences on purpose. The other way included the Theatre Royal and it had huge advertising banners which we did not want in the shot. Perfectly legal but awful. Courts, even when they are closed can be risky. The threat of terrorism makes people really jumpy - so even if what you are doing is quick, it's still risky and prone to interruption.

[Pete Cofrancesco]

Why does Ryan ask us about the rules and regulations for filming in public in his area? Feels like he’s asked this same question before.

[John Nantz]

Paul -

Originally Posted by Paul R Johnson

... Doing some pieces to camera for the organisation on the second floor of one building took ten takes because the security people for the theatre over the road did not like being in the background of the shot and ruined the quite short sequences on purpose. ...

A while back Noa Put had a thread about how to make the photographer disappear. Is that something that could have been used to make the security guy disappear?

If so, I'd like to be able to see their faces when they're showed the edited clip with them missing!

[Uh ... "What did you put on your time sheet? Working when???]
Falsifying one's time sheet isn't a good idea. And the video shows you weren't there!
"We *might* be able to make a deal to put you back in." Everything has it's price.

Speaking of Noa, anyone know what happened to him?

[Brian Drysdale]

There's a Facebook film making community in Saskatoon, who would seem to be able to assist in advice regarding local locations and if permits are required.