Shooting A Small Indie Movie in NY/NJ
 

Hi,

I'm a stranger to the NY/NJ area where I hope to shoot a small script I have penned. Anyone familiar with the way things work hereabouts for this sort of thing?

If you have done it once or you know of a website that I can hit, kindly post a link. I understand there are licence issues?

I have exteriors on the some main streets of NY and NJ
I plan to shoot in the surburbs
I plan to shoot in an NJ Transit Train
I hope to grab a short sequence in a NY park
I hope to shoot within Penn NY
I have scenes in Apt building corridors and stairs
The rest will be indoors

Kindly advice...What's the best way to shoot a small movie in these places as an individual? Are there LEGAL requirements? Are there LEGAL ways to get around them? I don't have much resources to throw around.

Appreciate it.

Be well.

Probably the place to start is the NYC Film Office, Here's a link:

http://www.nyc.gov/html/film/html/index/index.shtml

I seem to recall them having some details on things but they are pretty good about getting information for you if you contact them.

Be sure and mention it's a 'no budget' or a 'student film'.

If you use the Search function at the top of the screen, I'm pretty certain you will find a few threads that have explored almost exactly the same question you just asked.

My apologies for the repetition. Will do a search now. And thanks for the link.

Feedback from NYC
 

Couldn't find anything relevant in my search.

But I got this feedback from the NYC Mayor's office and I decided to post it for the benefit of other with similar questions:
-----------------------------

Dear Ms. Osofisan,

The only kind of permit that we can issue without insurance is a
still photography permit. However, "no budget" jobs often do not need permits. If your cast & crew number less than 5 and you will
not be obstructing pedestrian or vehicular traffic you should be fine. Please keep in mind the content of your film. For instance, any scene involving a fire arm or violence does need a permit, regardless of its size. As a general rule of thumb, if you look like a tourist or you are making a home movie you probably do not need a permit. Just exercise common sense & be safe.

Also, these rules apply to sidewalks & city property only. Some
parks might have different guidelines.

Good luck with your project,

Alex Cohen