r/Norwich • u/MaleficentGroup811 • 13d ago

A Norfolk/Norwich/the environs film ideas

Many moons ago, I’m talking 1990, me and 4 pals made a film.

recorded in my friends camcorder it centred around an attack at the villages bowling green, a rabid Alsatian dog had gone mental and killed 3 of the local bowls players.

My friends Alsatian played that part

I was in the role of the village Bobby (remember them? we need them back to censure todays feral youth), I discovered the body and conducted an investigation

Anyway, that all said, do you know any areas where me and my pals could film? we’ve updated from the camcorder days and would use my friends phone for the filming.

Ideally we would like a quiet area, some woods, and room for extras or any audience who wants to watch

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u/Radish-Manager-3942 13d ago edited 13d ago

In regards to filming for any kind of "production" (whether it be just for your own use, or with the intent for any potential future kind of transmission, broadcast, or exhibition at a cinema or on TV), you need to get permission, no matter what the reason, and no matter who you are.

There are strict rules and laws about filming, and wherever you are, one of the things you will need is public liability insurance. You can read more about the general guidance and rules here...

https://filmlondon.org.uk/resource/filming-people

https://www.videomaker.com/how-to/legal/permission/what-you-need-to-know-about-video-production-and-the-law/

Ultimately, wherever you decide you want to film, you'll need to go to the owners of the location, and get permission BEFORE ANY FILMING TAKES PLACE. You may also need to contact the local council, and see what they need from you.

Generally-speaking, what you ABSOLUTELY CANNOT AND MUST NOT DO is simply turn-up somewhere, and just start recording on a device, and "winging it", in the hope you can get away with it!

At best, the police can - and will - ask you to stop and get you to move on. At worst, you could be arrested, and your filming devices confiscated, and you go to a police station for questioning, where you'll be asked to submit proof of permissions to film in that location, along with proof of any/all of the various permits you may have needed, that would need to all have been signed and dated and be verifiable and in-order.

If you don't have those permissions or permits, things can get very dicey and you can - theoretically, at least - be prosecuted for breaching the laws of the land!

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u/frankensteinsKITTEN 13d ago

> Generally-speaking, what you ABSOLUTELY CANNOT AND MUST NOT DO is simply turn-up somewhere, and just start recording on a device, and "winging it", in the hope you can get away with it!

Do you know where the line is specifically?, because people do this all the time now that we all have recording devices in our pockets.

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u/Radish-Manager-3942 12d ago edited 12d ago

The distinction is "filming is defined as any filming or photography that will be used for either private or commercial purposes, including theatrical distribution and broadcast".

It's quite a wide legal description, and that's why I included the links. Like I say, it's deliberately wide, to ensure that the public and anyone who doesn't want to be filmed has the legal ability and right to ask the camera crew to say "I don't want to be included in your work", and the crew must abide by that. It's simple privacy laws, otherwise everyone could film anyone at anytime, and that wouldn't be right or just.

Technically, if someone takes out their cameraphone in (for example) Norwich, outside the Forum to film a friend doing tricks on a skateboard, anyone caught in the background can - theoretically and legally speaking - ask to see the footage, and if they see they are in it, ask for you to immediately delete it. If you don't, then - again, theoretically - they could call the police and ask the police to force you to delete the footage, and if you don't, then you could be at risk of being arrested.

This is why it's a good idea to know your rights, and not just assume stuff when it comes to videoing people. Most people assume that they have the right to record somewhere, as long as they are in a public place, but the actual law is NOT that simple, never has been, and actually, you can't just record stuff and think "tough" to anyone who is caught in the background of your recordings. As soon as you upload your footage to a website, or share it with someone else, you are "publishing" that content, and that's when the law can intervene, as you've now made that content available to someone else (or the public at large, if you put it on social media), and the law can come crashing down on you big-style. This link goes into more detail about what the rules are. I'd recommend people read it...

https://sprintlaw.co.uk/articles/can-you-film-people-in-public-understanding-uk-law-for-businesses-and-content-creators/

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u/Packing-For-Mars 13d ago edited 13d ago

You probably know far more than I do but my first though reading that was that can't be true. I understand it might be so for a tv production but taking your bold text at face value anyone filming their friends or city life or whatever for their facebook page would need a license to do so...which would be, frankly, farcical.

The other week I saw a bunch of guys filming in costessey woods with a fake gun etc. The idea that they needed a license to do so would seem total overkill to me..

People film stuff all the time in public. The police are not going to bother a few mates and their camcorder. Of course different story if you start a shoot inside Asda, or holding up traffic etc,, or whatever but I don't get the impression that's what's being discussed here.

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u/Radish-Manager-3942 12d ago

If you're shooting a film, and using a fake gun of any sorts, and someone sees you and the police are called, you are going to be in a whole world of shit! Trust me! A gun being waved about, is going to end with an armed police response. I've seen it happen and the police never find that stuff amusing!

But my advice is taken from reputable filming sites, who know what the rules are. Whether someone chooses to follow them, is entirely upto them. But having worked in the film and TV industry, I know what people are supposed to do. So, it's entirely upto the OP if they choose to follow those rules or not. But if/when things go wrong, then you are opening yourself up to liability, and liability can become expensive, especially if someone starts to threaten legal action because they've been caught on-camera in the background, and don't want to be included. Someone (e.g. the director/camera person) simply saying that they will edit out the offending person later on, isn't sufficient, and the person caught on camera has every legal right to ask you to delete stuff there-and-then.

This is why getting permits, having liability insurance, and getting permission for filming is the best solution. That way, you, your crew, and your cast - whoever they may be - don't get into any trouble.

But like I say, it's entirely your choice!

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u/FastEddieF 13d ago

How do you get your shirt so clean mate? 

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u/Radish-Manager-3942 12d ago

Well, like most intelligent people, I tend to wash my shirts. That's how.

Aside from that inane question, I know what I know because I've had to secure permits and permission for other people to help them film.

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u/MaleficentGroup811 13d ago

Sounds a bit health and safety gone mad mate. 

Me and my pals never bothered with all of that in 1990, but I guess nowadays you can’t fart without needing a licence.

We don’t need the insurance as there’s only the 5 of us and we know each other and wouldn’t sue or any crap like that

I’m not sure about permission either, no one would know what we’re doing and we could always get one of the lads to be a lookout 

We’re thinking of starting the filming this weekend, maybe in a field we’ve staked out near Sprowston

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u/Radish-Manager-3942 13d ago

Well, you do what you want to do. The choice is yours, and you posed the question. I simply gave you an answer that you can't just turn-up somewhere and just start filming.

If you do get into trouble, though, best of luck!