Film Permit - State and Country

[John Kang]

Ok, I've seen some posts on film permits requirement. I think it'll be interesting to have one central location to quickly check the requirements for filming in a location and the link to the resourse.

So I start off with Washington State, USA.

Washington state requires:

YOU WILL NEED A PERMIT IF:
Traffic will be interrupted on City streets.
Pedestrian traffic on sidewalks will be interrupted
A tri-pod or dolly is used on sidewalks or streets.
Wires or cables run across or over sidewalks.
A generator is used on a sidewalk or street.
Filming takes place on Public property.
Public parking will be impacted

Link: http://www.cityofseattle.net/filmoff...lm_permits.htm

[Rob Wilson]

John,

Interesting that those requirements would mean every news crew that shoots either on public property or with sticks should have pulled a permit first!

[Mike Teutsch]

Originally Posted by Rob Wilson

John,

Interesting that those requirements would mean every news crew that shoots either on public property or with sticks should have pulled a permit first!

Not the way it is here for news etc. Those shooting news or documentaries do not need a permit at all.

The down side to drawing permits here is the $1,000,000.00 insurance certificate you need! The permit is free though!!!! :)


Mike

[Rob Wilson]

Mike,

I've been faced with the 1 mil insurance requirement before and found that I could get 2m/yr for about $300. Not a bad idea for that cost for most folks to have it regardless. Never know when one of you 1K lights will ignite a fire and burn a place to the ground!

[Reid Bailey]

Rob,

What insurance carrier did you use? When I've asked local agents about it I just end up hearing crickets chirpping...

[Mike Teutsch]

Here is the link for PSL, but I have no idea where to get the insurance. This is a great area to shoot in though!


http://search.netscape.com/ns/boomfr...all%2Ffilm.htm

Mike

[Marcus Marchesseault]

http://www.hawaiifilmoffice.com/offices.htm

Hawaii has special permits for wedding and small movie producers. There is no fee and no insurance requirement for shooting in DLNR areas as long as the permit is acquired in advance. The stipulation is that you may not interfere with puplic use of the land, so generators and such are out. City streets require permits with little or no fee, but the 1 million insurance is necessary.

I don't know for certain where to get insurance, but RVNuccio and associates is a link I got from another post on this site.

http://www.rvnuccio.com/

One thing I learned on some commercial shoots here is that hiring a police officer is like magic and you can only do this with a permit. The crazies, grumpies, and lookyloos behave themselves when you call your police officer over to deal with any issues. Cameras seem to attract a-holes, but these type of people don't like to call police attention to themselves. Fortunately, most people are just happily curious and even helpful. Unfortunately, for every 100 nice people there is one aggressive ice addict. For really small crews (3-4 people) in a secluded park this isn't a problem. On Waikiki beaches and streets, the idiots seem to rise up out of the sand. If you have a medium-sized crew, a cop will save you so much time that he/she will pay for themselves five times over.

[Marco Wagner]

Anyone know the requirements for AZ?

[John Kang]

For Arizona Strips: http://www.blm.gov/az/asfo/lands.htm

Who Needs a Filming Permit?
Professional film makers,
Still photographers,
Commercial photographers taking pictures of public land users for the purpose of selling the pictures to those same users,
Photographing a commercial product for sale using public lands as a background (such as magazine advertisements),
When the photography would adversely affect the public lands, such as potential damage to archeological features.

To Obtain a Permit
Coordinate filming dates with a Realty Specialist at the Arizona Strip Field Office.
Complete a Land Use Application and Permit Form (2920-1)
Detail the filming activities
Sign where indicated
Include a map of proposed area
Return to the Realty Specialist
Application, monitoring and use fees, and need for a bond will be determined.
Application processing will take at least five working days for a Minimum Impact Permit and at least 45 days for a Full Permit.
A public liability insurance policy with the U. S. Government named as coinsured may be required.

For Phoenix: http://phoenix.gov/FILMPHX/filmprmt.html

For the most info on AZ permits: http://www.commerce.state.az.us/Film/default.asp

[Mike Teutsch]

Originally Posted by Rob Wilson

Mike,

I've been faced with the 1 mil insurance requirement before and found that I could get 2m/yr for about $300. Not a bad idea for that cost for most folks to have it regardless. Never know when one of you 1K lights will ignite a fire and burn a place to the ground!

Rob,

Yes. always good to have insurance. The problem is that they want the city itself as the named insured, so I'm sure a blanket policy would be accepted. Someday I will look into it.

Thanks---Mike

[Rob Wilson]

Mike,

With my policy, I just call the agent and tell him who I'll be working for and he generates the form that says employing agency is the benificiary. Worked for my local city gov.

[Mike Teutsch]

Originally Posted by Rob Wilson

Mike,

With my policy, I just call the agent and tell him who I'll be working for and he generates the form that says employing agency is the benificiary. Worked for my local city gov.

Rob,

Thanks, that sounds good to me!

Mike

[Marco Wagner]

Thanks for posting that John!