I'm about to begin shooting a microbudget feature in Seattle,and I looked into getting permits for shooting and it appears to be out of the question. No one on my crew is getting paid and I'm certainly not paying the city.
So, I was wondering what your advice on this would be. I'm going to go ahead and shoot it anyway, but I would like tips of what to do if questioned by police.
The crew including actors is going to be about 7 people.
Thanks
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i told a cop once i was doing a school project, and was quite well recieved, he simply asked me what my project was about and for what course, that was it. police typically have bigger fish to fry anyways, a harmless flim shoot should not worry you so much. trust me
My father is in the law enforcement force. Have nothing to fear. They ARE going to see what you are doing, and ask you a couple of harmless questions, but nothing extraordinary. Unless of course, you are trying to film your actors actually breaking into someone's house, then you could wind up in trouble. But other than that you should be fine.
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When the script writing is done, the work has just begun. When the filming is done, the work has just begun. When post-production is done, the work has just begun. When the distribution is done, you decide if the work is done.
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www.fallbackprod.co.nr
Matthew Wesley Miller
A film permit in Seattle is $25 for 14 days. But you will need liability insurance. Seattle is pretty tough on non insured, non permitted productions - even those worth only 7 people.
It's not about the police having something better to do, it's about potential costly liability should something happen. If a driver gets distracted and causes a crash (even if it's 100% their own fault) you can be sued. If some passerby trips and decides to be a jerk about it, they can sue. If the city hasn't stopped you then they can be sued.
It doesn't happen very often so most movie makers like you take the chance. There is nothing you can say to the police that will work. If someone sees you and calls them or if they see you, they will ask to see a permit - even if it's a school project - and make you pack up if you don't have one.
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The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.
Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)
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The aim of an argument or discussion should not be victory, but progress.
Joseph Joubert, essayist (1754-1824)
If you are shooting near a government building be prepared to be stopped in the name of homeland security and paranoia if you don't have a permit. It is not as if the bad guys would even want a closeup of the Mayor's seal on the courthouse but that was verbotten without papers!
RJSchwarz
San Diego, CA
RJSchwarz
Thanks for the advice, and I'm actually shooting in a suburb of Seattle (Kirkland) and the quote they gave me for a weeks shooting was "a couple hundred dollars"
Anyways I'm just going to wing it and hope I don't get shut down.
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