Location, location, location: a survival guide to obtaining film permits

Students share the trials and tribulations that come with applying for film permits and searching for locations, while also sharing some trade secrets. UNSPLASH

It’s every film student's worst nightmare. They’re days away from production, everything is going swimmingly, props are bought, actors hired – but then they're denied a location permit or a location falls through at the last second. Suddenly, complete chaos ensues. 

This has been the case for many Dodge College of Film and Media Arts students as they set out to work on their thesis, Intermediate production (IP), Advanced production (AP) or short-form projects. Whether it be a day before filming or a month, students told The Panther that they have learned quickly what can go wrong and will go wrong, but they’ve also learned how to save their projects in times of crisis. 

Senior television writing and production major Kasia Kapustka found herself in this very dilemma when producing a short-form pilot this semester. Kapustka, who had acted as a location manager in the past, said she knew that there would be several hoops to jump through when looking for locations. 

“I knew that we didn’t have time for (an) Orange (permit),” Kapustka said. “So that’s why we did Anaheim, and then unincorporated territories when Anaheim fell through.”

Unincorporated territories are not governed by a municipality, and thus do not require film permits. There are several unincorporated territories located in Orange County that students have used for filming, including North Tustin and areas of Southern Orange County. 

When looking at unincorporated territories, Kapustka told The Panther she came across an orchestra building on a map, that turned out to be a residential home that also functioned as a business. 

“They let us into their house, we talked to them, and (the location) ended up being perfect,” Kapustka said. 

Orange, California’s film permit process is notoriously extensive, requiring diagrams, parking plans, and signatures from 80 to 100% percent of neighbors living within a 500-foot radius of the home. Students can expect these permits to be processed in up to ten business days. 

Collecting signatures can be a daunting task, but senior creative producing and Latinx and Latin American studies double major Elias Aguiar Montani has developed an effective plan for collecting signatures within the required radius. 

“There’s a website that will give you a map, so I always take a screenshot and then color code different blocks,” Aguiar Montani said. “I’ll print the number of forms and color code it that way. So then you have teams working on the red block or green block. I recommend leaving a notice if (neighbors) don’t answer.” 

Anaheim and Fullerton have smaller processing periods, their permits requiring five business days, and no signatures. Cities like Long Beach, Yorba Linda and Irvine have similar requirements but only two to three-day processing periods. All these cities and more fall within Dodge’s required thirty-mile zone. 

Assistant production manager Robby Campbell told The Panther that being diligent about these strict time periods would benefit students. 

“Once you’ve gotten to a point where you found a location and you reviewed the city’s rules, if they require ten business days, get it in at fifteen,” Campbell said. “Because things will go wrong and then you have a contingency and a buffer to adjust your approach.”

Unincorporated territories and mapping out signature collecting zones are just a couple of the many tricks of the trade students have developed after experiences with different locations. Aside from his color coding system for collecting signatures, Aguiar Montani said he also recommends bringing people onto a project to help with locations. 

“Get a production coordinator for the number of locations there are,” Aguiar Montani said. “For instance, an AP can only have a maximum of three locations because you can’t do company moves, so if you have three production coordinators, you can just have them work on one location each. Then it’s like a team working on locations.” 

Aguiar Montani also told The Panther that when working on his AP, which told a Latino story, he reached out to Latino-owned businesses when looking for locations and ended up using a Latino-owned mechanic shop. 

“They were super cool and (liked) the fact that our story was trying to tell that unsung narrative,” Aguiar Montani said. 

Of all the advice they could offer, Kapustka, Aguiar Montani and Campbell all echoed the sentiments that time and diligence were the most important factors when pursuing film permits and finding locations. 

“My biggest piece of advice is to get your locations first,” Kaspustka said. “One thing I learned from the whole process is that nothing really matters unless you have those permits and locations.” 

While having the perfect script, cast and crew are important in a student film, students would be well advised to start working on their location permits as soon as possible, and more than anything, be prepared for something to go wrong.