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If a film doesn't have a permit, or release from a location, does that keep it from being shown in festivals or sold to distributors? 


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I've shot on private locations before and gotten releases, but I have heard stories from indie filmmakers going to locations without permits and shooting, some private and some public. I think Robert Rodriguez and Ed Burns have mentioned they've shot scenes without getting permission. Even some dvd commentaries have mentioned this. I have seen some festival submissions require certain clearances, but I'm not sure how strict this is. If a film doesn't have a permit, or release from a location, does that keep it from being shown in festivals or sold to distributors? 

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If it's a feature, yes they will need E&O (errors and omissions) performed on your film and all the documentation to prove you've done your due diligence. This is for many reasons, the biggest is that some of the big festivals have been sued for people releasing stuff that is not theirs. The other reasons are more logical; people at the festivals are trying to buy content and if it's not finished, then they won't be able to buy it, etc. 

For short films, I'm not sure what you need. I've never submitted a short to a major festival. I have to medium and smaller festivals and nobody has cared. 

E&O insurance is just one of those things ya need for features because there are so many moving parts to distributing a film and if anyone is upset about anything, they can sue. So to help resolve that problem, you hire a lawyer and they go through your documentation and certify that it's accurate. I don't think anyone cares about stuff shot on the street, as long as you have a blanket permit to be shooting in general, that's all anyone cares about. 

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Public locations don't technically need permits, its public for a reason. 

To sell/screen a film technically you do need permits for private locations. However if you "stole" a location its only a problem if the owner finds out and sues. Normally festivals will ask you to sign a doc stating you had permissions - this covers locations, music, actors etc...

A small project that is seen by a limited audience on the festival circuit probably wouldn't get back to the owner. It would probably only become an issue if the film was a  success and seen by a large audience (unlikely for a short), 

Even if it does get back to the owner, they might not be bothered to pursue it. E.g the train/subway footage on "Pi" was stolen. Trying to ban the film would just result in bad publicity and little gain. 

Generally I always seek permission for everything important.

I have a couple of music videos with private locations I stole in circulation - its never been flagged by anyone, but if I was asked to take them down I wouldn't be that sad. 

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Thanks for the advice, I've read a lot about filmmakers from the french new wave era, or during the 60's/70's easy riders days and it seems like they didn't have much in terms of legal accountability, yet now it seems like it's heavily enforced by festivals. In a lot of ways it seems like it's harder to make films independently now then it was back then. 

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 10/12/2019 at 9:51 PM, Jesse Hanna said:

Thanks for the advice, I've read a lot about filmmakers from the french new wave era, or during the 60's/70's easy riders days and it seems like they didn't have much in terms of legal accountability, yet now it seems like it's heavily enforced by festivals. In a lot of ways it seems like it's harder to make films independently now then it was back then. 

Festivals are just covering their backs and now they have corporate sponsors they don't want to upset, they pass the responsibility onto the filmmakers.

Some festivals will want to see signed release forms, although that's in the minority. But most will want the filmmaker to sign an indemnity to conform all the permissions are in place.

That said its not difficult getting the permissions in place and the process is just part of the job of making a short film. Its very stressful and difficult shooting in private locations without permissions, so really you'd just get permissions. Its not about trying to make life harder for filmmakers always. More that if a location is going to be on screen the owners of the location should have some control over what happens there and how its presented on screen.

For instance I live about 2 miles from "Beachy Head",  a famous  location for movies such as Quadrophenia and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Its also a suicide black spot where many people have lost their lives jumping off the cliffs. Many more people are talked down by the roving "suicide-watch" chaplains/samaritans. Its a location, I've included in two of my films because its a spectacular backdrop. However you do have to jump through some hoops to get permission to film, both to ensure crew safety, the safety of the public and to ensure the content of your film doesn't "advertise" the location as a suicide spot. Drone filming is banned for similar reasons.   As a filmmaker it takes a little more effort to get the permits sorted. But its completely understandable and I had no complaints about the process, it didn't end up costing me anything, I just had to be prepared to let the film office read the script ahead of the shoot to check for content, which is fair enough. 

Sometimes a little accountability is a good thing

There are also millions of public locations where permissions aren't needed - so no problem there.

The only time I've had problems with locations is the rise of "Private Public Spaces" these are areas that seem like public areas, public access isn't restricted, it could be a street, park, playground or square - but the reality these seemingly "public" spaces are privately owned and filming will be frowned on.  For instance the south bank of the Thames in London.  Seems public has a nice foot path, but private security guards will be on you in about 2 mins from getting a camera out.  That said they are usually ok about granting student permissions in advance, as long as your film doesn't feature Parkour/free running because they have a lot of people injuring themselves on the buildings.

 

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On 10/12/2019 at 1:51 PM, Jesse Hanna said:

Thanks for the advice, I've read a lot about filmmakers from the french new wave era, or during the 60's/70's easy riders days and it seems like they didn't have much in terms of legal accountability, yet now it seems like it's heavily enforced by festivals. In a lot of ways it seems like it's harder to make films independently now then it was back then. 

You can't compare the legalities and normalcies of  40+ years ago, in a different century , to the realities of today.

As for permits, in LA, you need a Permit for EVERYTHING-- yes even in your own home. And so you're need permission. That said, I've never heard of a film, in which we have stolen things, ever getting into trouble for the stolen shot(s).

The real thing you have to be aware of in filming without permits is SAFETY. You can get yourself into positions you shouldn't be in for numerous reasons-- hence why they don't give permission to shoot easily. 

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  • 1 month later...

Well it's funny because technically here you wouldn't need any special written permission from a property owner but I've always made it a good practice to just get a document that's signed by the property manager or owner. But shooting on public land usually you can without any sort of special permission unless you're disrupting the normal state of the area or disturbing the peace and even then it's a simple procedure and costs next to nothing to apply for a permit.
But this stuff is different in every country.

One time my producer got us a bar where we shot a music video and the owner just gave him the keys and said "Just write down what you drink and we'll settle the tab later..." and that was it hehe.

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