Properly securing a cemetery location at DVinfo.net

Jason J. Gullickson · July 18th, 2005, 06:59 AM

I'm shooting a short experimental film which takes place in a cemetery. So far on other projects it's been pretty obvious who we need to get permission from to shoot a location and get the proper releases in order, but in the case of a cemetery, who owns the loc?

If all else fails I plan on trying to track down whoever mows the lawn and go from there, but any insight is appreciated!

Chris Davis · July 18th, 2005, 07:19 AM

I would call the appropriate local government office (City Hall, County Courthouse, etc.) and talk to whoever maintains the land records, such as the county or city clerk. They can tell you who owns the cemetery. Probably less hassle than chasing down the grounds keeper.

Keith Loh · July 18th, 2005, 09:19 AM

Jason, call a funeral home and ask them who owns that particular cemetary.

Jason J. Gullickson · July 19th, 2005, 11:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Davis

I would call the appropriate local government office (City Hall, County Courthouse, etc.) and talk to whoever maintains the land records, such as the county or city clerk. They can tell you who owns the cemetery. Probably less hassle than chasing down the grounds keeper.

Chris, thanks for the tip.

Turns out the city owns the lot that I'm interested, and they told me that since they don't have a permitting process for filmmaking that I could use any of the city's land so long as we leave it in the condition it was in originally.

Gotta love small towns!

Chris Davis · July 19th, 2005, 12:32 PM

Great news. I'm over here in small-town Minnesota, and that's the exact response I would have expected.

Well, either that or "We don't have a permitting process, so you can't do it!"

Heath McKnight · July 25th, 2005, 10:28 PM

All I can say is, my friends have "stolen the shot" via "run and gun/guerilla filmmaking," but I'm not recommending it. Not that anything happened. They did go handheld, though...

heath

Jason J. Gullickson · July 26th, 2005, 09:29 AM

Funny thing, we ended up not using the cemetery at all, but a completely different bit of city land.

The irony is that even after talking with the city and getting permission, one of the local businesses is convinced that we were taping them and got all worked up about it.

I guess it just goes to show that no matter how much you do ahead of time you still need to plan for exceptions.

July 18th, 2005, 06:59 AM	#1
Jason J. Gullickson Regular Crew Join Date: May 2005 Location: Madison, WI Posts: 170	Properly securing a cemetery location I'm shooting a short experimental film which takes place in a cemetery. So far on other projects it's been pretty obvious who we need to get permission from to shoot a location and get the proper releases in order, but in the case of a cemetery, who owns the loc? If all else fails I plan on trying to track down whoever mows the lawn and go from there, but any insight is appreciated! __________________ Jason J. Gullickson Producer the second society http://2soc.net

July 18th, 2005, 09:19 AM	#3
Keith Loh Air China Pilot Join Date: May 2002 Location: Vancouver, B.C. Posts: 2,389	Jason, call a funeral home and ask them who owns that particular cemetary. __________________ -- Visit http://www.KeithLoh.com \| stuff about living in Vancouver \| My Flickr photo gallery

July 25th, 2005, 10:28 PM	#6
Heath McKnight MPS Digital Studios Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Palm Beach County, Florida Posts: 8,531	All I can say is, my friends have "stolen the shot" via "run and gun/guerilla filmmaking," but I'm not recommending it. Not that anything happened. They did go handheld, though... heath __________________ My Final Cut Pro X blog

July 26th, 2005, 09:29 AM	#7
Jason J. Gullickson Regular Crew Join Date: May 2005 Location: Madison, WI Posts: 170	Funny thing, we ended up not using the cemetery at all, but a completely different bit of city land. The irony is that even after talking with the city and getting permission, one of the local businesses is convinced that we were taping them and got all worked up about it. I guess it just goes to show that no matter how much you do ahead of time you still need to plan for exceptions. __________________ Jason J. Gullickson Producer the second society http://2soc.net

July 18th, 2005, 07:19 AM	#2
Chris Davis Trustee Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Willmar, MN Posts: 1,400	I would call the appropriate local government office (City Hall, County Courthouse, etc.) and talk to whoever maintains the land records, such as the county or city clerk. They can tell you who owns the cemetery. Probably less hassle than chasing down the grounds keeper.

July 19th, 2005, 12:32 PM	#5
Chris Davis Trustee Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Willmar, MN Posts: 1,400	Great news. I'm over here in small-town Minnesota, and that's the exact response I would have expected. Well, either that or "We don't have a permitting process, so you can't do it!"