Filming in public, what can I get away with?

[nigelsmith]

In the UK, I know its ok to take pictures of anything as long as you are in a public area and not on private property, that includes taking pictures of private property... however, obviously things are at peoples discretion, so you have to be sure to keep everything personal or if its for project your going to sell you need to have a release form (theres an iPhone version of the release form so you don't have to carry tons of papers, just a pen they can sign with)

That said...in terms of filming, the minute you plant your tripod to film something, personal or for commercial you are expected to have a permit and pay something... (I believe around 400 pound an hour?) So the laws are distinctively different...
Clearly its best to get a permit, to ask the local council etc. just to be on the safe side...
Great thing is that EPIC has the potential to look DSLR but if your worried or unclear, your best way is to confirm everything with your local authorities, that way you know what grounds you stand on when/if you get questioned...

I'm assuming the laws are similar in the US, the distintive difference between filming and photography...

Some of this is not true Farouk.
With still photography the only discretion involved is the same as in the USA - whether security or police decide to hassle you using terrorism laws. You have the legal right to photograph anything that can be photographed from a public place. And there is no mention of tripod use in any applicable laws, although places like tube stations can refuse them on health and safety grounds.
Regarding permits for filming, they are free in many cases - my students regularly obtain them without paying from various London boroughs.
Some places like the London Underground can charge for permits [but rarely charge students], because they are not public property.

You are right though in saying that the best approach is to ask the local council.

I have had students filming in many public parks and streets, sometimes involving fake weapons or violence, and as long as they do the paperwork and inform local police, they have never been refused permission.

 

[Les Dittert]

OK, I talked to filmLA , and explained it would be a one person crew, tripod, filming in downtown LA.
No permit required if the film has 'no commercial value', which is the case for my 3d tests.

That's good!

 

[Christian Munoz D]

OK, I talked to filmLA , and explained it would be a one person crew, tripod, filming in downtown LA.
No permit required if the film has 'no commercial value', which is the case for my 3d tests.

That's good!

That is the way to go Les. Post an update after your shoot test to see if you got any trouble during the shoot.

BTW. I do not think is good idea to instigate on this forum to be an smart ass and still shoots in public places for commercial purposes, as mentioned on this thread. If we do that we will have more and more laws and restrictions for filming or photographing in public places.

 

[Marc Wielage]

OK, I talked to filmLA, and explained it would be a one person crew, tripod, filming in downtown LA.
No permit required if the film has 'no commercial value', which is the case for my 3d tests. That's good!

Excellent! That's the pro way to go.

 

[William Schultz]

This really makes me appreciate shooting in Portland. It's such a film-friendly city nobody bats an eye, not even the police, even when you have 30 man crews out on the street. This information is extremely useful though, I'll keep it in mind next time I'm down there (or any other larger city). Love this forum. Thanks.

 

[Imran Farouk]

Some of this is not true Farouk.
With still photography the only discretion involved is the same as in the USA - whether security or police decide to hassle you using terrorism laws. You have the legal right to photograph anything that can be photographed from a public place. And there is no mention of tripod use in any applicable laws, although places like tube stations can refuse them on health and safety grounds.
Regarding permits for filming, they are free in many cases - my students regularly obtain them without paying from various London boroughs.
Some places like the London Underground can charge for permits [but rarely charge students], because they are not public property.

You are right though in saying that the best approach is to ask the local council.

I have had students filming in many public parks and streets, sometimes involving fake weapons or violence, and as long as they do the paperwork and inform local police, they have never been refused permission.

Good to know! Thanks, quite surprising since when I had brought up a suggestion to a few filmmakers to film stuff around Zone 1, they were against it simply due to the need for paying and forms required to film in zone 1.

Also since a couple of the film crews that came down to the iPad launch back in feb were saying they had to pay when it came to setting down a tripod but could maybe get away with just going handheld (these are DSLR shooters, the news crews and all I would assume would have to pay for the rights no matter what right?)

London underground is of course a senstive case, though I've been quite surprised at seeing some individuals stopped versus others doing timelapses...so I assume everything is on a case by case basis