26 February 2007

Film Wellington

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As part of the Wellington council’s effort to promote itself as a filming location we had a visit from Film Wellington’s Delia Shanly, who introduced us into the intricacies of film permits. Film Wellington works with the council as an intermediary for film makers to arrange permits for all filming activities including road closures and parking. Any commercial shoot needs permits, and the service is free. As film makers we have to do the organising ourselves, such as hiring a traffic management crew, safety team and possible letter drops and other communication with private shops and residents. The council controls parks and gardens, cemeteries, beaches and nature reserves, so lots of interesting locations.

A permit requires the film production to have public liability insurance, which can cost $200-300 for a 2-3 day shoot, although a production company could get annual insurance if a number aof shoots are planned. Film Wellington can provide information regarding availability of locations and events that may interfere with shooting and the permit also acts as a property release. It is possible to block a range of days to allow for bad weather or to give more shooting options. Parking can be booked via Film Wellington for parking of essential vehicles as well as to keep areas free in front of locations. A road closure requires a three week deadline, as Wellington council publicises all road closures in the paper. The production pays the adverts ($500) and a road closure fee of $300. There can be no work on a road without proper traffic management, so it might be a good idea to come up with alternate shooting plans, like working from the road side within normal traffic rules or in a private road.

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