So, you're going to be filming in London and you want to be prepared! Welcome to our ultimate guide to filming in London! In this article we will talk about how to budget for London shoots, how to find a crew, the positives and negatives to filming in London and many more tips & tricks so you can navigate your film shoot as smoothly as possible.

Before we start, you might be thinking 'What gives this company the authority to give me this information?' Well, we're Trendy Grandad, a London based video production company with over a decade of experience filming in the big smoke! We're done it all; from outdoor Youtube production shoots to filming with e-commerce brands in multiple London-based studios. When it comes to filming in London - you name it, we've experienced it!

So, lets get into it!

1 - Filming Permits

First up & this can really put an end to your shoot if you haven't got one in place, is a filming public. Now, the laws around filming in public are particularly sensitive and unfortunately, there are rules and regulations to filming. Mostly, it all depends on what you are filming, how you are filming it and why you are filming it.

However, most of it does come down to common sense. If you're a large crew, have lots of equipment & need to take up an entire street. Then ofcourse you will need a filming permit. However, if you're filming with your mate for Youtube, then it's not highly likely you'll need a permit. The grey area is ofcourse in the middle and is the reason as to why you should always at least check if you need one before filming. The general rule of thumb is 'are you causing a disruption to the public by doing this' - if the answer is 'yes' - then you'll most likely need to notify the council in some way.

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Top tips;

- Plan way ahead of time

- You can get your permits through Film London or the local council

- Factor in time & budget in your production budget/schedule.

- Get friendly with councils and Film London ahead of time and build a relationship with them. This can help massively in the future!

2 - Budgeting for London shoots

In short, add at least 1/3 to 1/2 of your costs onto your budget if you're going to be filming in London. It's expensive and is only getting more expensive. There are positives and negatives to this though such as you will have access to more interesting locations, crew and talent. From crew food to paying for the ULEZ, London is a city that will make you spend money even if you don't want. Just prepare for that so it doesn't eat up your bottom line.

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3 - Crew Logistics

So, we always advise to use local crew to save on travel costs and leverage their city knowledge. However, sometimes they are extremely expensive, so using crew outside of London and bringing them down to London can often be a much cheaper option - most people don't realise this! Pay cheap, pay twice. We always advice booking skilled professionals like cinematographers, lighting techs, and sound engineers - if you pay cheap, you're most likely going to get a terrible result and ultimate this will impact your creative output! And the creative output is the most important thing in our eyes as that's what sell future work. Plan accommodation and transport for your team if needed. An advantage for hiring crew in London is that you don't need to pay for hotels mostly. Looking for London based crew? Contact us

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