Ask to see the manager. Odds are the manager will bump you up to the next level in the chain of command and so on.

RJSchwarz
San Diego, CA

Ye u always have to ask permision to film (regardless of country) if its some thing that your going to make money out of. If your just shooting for a short to go in your repetpoir then it dosent really make any odds. Also you dont need permision to shoot the building from the out side if your not on their land, so if its vital that you shoot in that perticular store with out their permission (With intent to make money) then you could shoot a shot of the store and use any old stores interior (your audience wont notice as long as its the same chain of supermarket). Cleary

www.myspace.com/b31_film_productions

Is this an original story? Because I'm filming a short that takes place in a supermarket exactly one week from today. My story is based on another medium so hopefully we're not doing the same story!!

Anyway, it took me about 2 months to find a supermarket to let me film there. However, I live in the NY-NJ area and it's mostly national chains here, meaning they all have a no-filming policy. Your best bet is to find an independant owner (not a corporation) to let you film. That's what I did. The whole process took forever to confirm, however, I'm doing this shoot with a fairly large cast and crew, so there was/is a ton of planning and negotiating involved (we're filming when the store is closed and using lots of extras).

Seriously though, in one sentence what is your short about? I just want to make sure we're not making the same film!

You could always get a job at a non-chain grocery store. Work your butt off to get known and loved by the owner. Than ask if you can film during the night when the store is closed. It worked for Kevin Smith. It wasn't a grocery store and it wasn't the plan, but it worked anyway.

RJSchwarz
San Diego, CA

Actually, it's funny you mention Kevin Smith. I actually found out he filmed a scene from Clerks 2 at this specific supermarket, so I called the owner up and asked him if I could film at his store. The owner is a big movie buff, read my script, and gave me the okay. I'm pretty excited about it. In total I think I was turned down by at least fifteen different supermarkets before I found this one.

Funny side note: I live 15 minutes from the convienient store they filmed Clerks at. That place is so ghetto still they don't even have an ATM machine!

I had a similar experience, sort of. I wrote some short scenes that took place in a fraternity. I figured I could film them in a day. They were pro-faternity in general (working together was the theme so it tied into the fraternity brotherhood thing).

I was in a fraternity when I was in college. My producer was in a fraternity during shooting. I was still connected to the Alumni club and knew the head of the interfraternity council at my old university so should have had access to dozens of fraternities. I couldn't get a single fraternity to help. Not even using false letters and such.

I was given the choice of getting an empty house and mocking up a fraternity (which wouldn't have been too difficult) or retasking the scenes to take place in a bar (a location I had secured beyond a shadow of a doubt). I chose the bar as one less location seemed a good idea after all that.

Very frustrating securing a location sometimes.

RJSchwarz
San Diego, CA

Oh, it's so brutal finding a public location to sign off on your movie. Especially since this is my first short, and I don't have any credibility to speak of. I think I had a headache for a good 30 straight days after all those rejections. And the worst part is, you can't call these supermarkets over the phone because the person who answers them has no power whatsoever to allow you to film. And when they would connect me to the owner, it was so easy for him to just say no to me over the phone and never have to deal with me again. So, I had to drive to each of these supermarkets with the slim hope that the store owner would be at the store that day! When I finally found an owner that would actually listen to what I had to say, I think it may have been the young desperation in my eyes that made him want to give me a chance. Who knows what his reasoning was though.

After this experience, I told myself that my next short film is going to take place in the woods! ?:)?

PS- To the guy who wants to film his short in a supermarket as well: I had to take out a 1 million dollar insurance policy to film at this supermarket (it's an enormous store) which cost me $500. And I had to pay an additional $500 dollars to the store itself because they hired two security guards to oversee the shoot since I'm filming while the store is closed up until opening at 7am the next day. Add another $1600 for camera, grip, and other equipment rentals and $300 dollars for the meals I'm providing for everyone and you got yourself a movie shoot. And I'm not even paying any of my cast or crew members!! And yes, I am officially broke now!!?8D?