FILMING BULLETINS

To All Location Managers

Dear Colleague,

Filming on Council Property

The majority of you are excellent about contacting the Film Office to arrange filming on council property so to you I apologise for this note: however this issue has raised its head again.

I first did a mail out about this back in 1997 (and subsequently!) rather than re-invent the wheel I am copying the text of that below so those isolated individuals who aren’t clear on this matter become so!

"Filming on Council Property

A production recently found itself in an embarrassing position: they filmed in a council flat for two days having negotiated directly with the tenant. Some weeks previously it had been mentioned to the Film Office that they wanted to film on this particular estate and it was said at that time that any contract would need to be prepared by the Film Office. Nothing further was heard until a fax was received in the office saying that they were filming on the estate the following day - after they had already been filming for a day on the estate.

The residents on the estate were quite annoyed because they knew nothing about the shoot until the trucks turned up: there is a protocol on all the estates that the tenants are always fully consulted; after all it is where they live and they have a right to a voice about what is filmed there. In addition estates are private land owned by the Council and permission of the landlord is always needed in this case that of the Director of Housing.

Since proper permission had not been sought the location manager now finds himself in the awkward position of not knowing if the footage shot over two days can be used: the Director of Housing is justifiably irritated by events and has yet to decide whether retrospective permission will be given. If permission is granted it will cost the production more than it would have done if the proper channels had been followed in the first. Whereas it obviously makes sense to find out if the tenant of a building will entertain filming in the premises he occupies the consent of the Landlord is always required to have complete title to the film shot there.

Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident but in the past the Film Office has always been able to obtain permission after the event. However, this cannot be guaranteed and it is only a matter of time before a production finds itself unable to use film shot on premises without adequate permission.

I know this might sound a bit patronising but in the last year at least three very experienced location managers (no I am not saying who) have been tripped up by this: please ensure that before filming on any property that you know who the landlord is and that you have full permission: if it Council then you need a licence from their Film Office.”

To summarise: you need a licence from the Film Office on all Council property in Boroughs represented by us; we are the only body authorised by those Councils to offer on, and that includes other Council officers or departments.

Council estates are private property owned by the Council (albeit with public access): you need a licence from the Council Film Office if you wish to film on an estate even if you are filming in a private residence on the estate.

If you are filming in a flat/house where the resident is a tenant of the Council, of course you need the permission of that tenant (and as such we generally split any location fee between Council, Tenant and Tenants’ Association) but the licence will still be from the Council Film Office (and will cover use of the public areas of the estate.)

If filming in a private residence on a estate you will need to have an agreement with the owner AND a licence for being on the estate: you need to take that into consideration when negotiating fees with the owner.

Hope this now clarifies things for those who were unclear about this.

Cheers

Jon