If I need to close off a 20-30 foot section of the sidewalk and about 20-30 feet of one lane of a road in a downtown area, who should I contact to get a permit? Im not sure who is in charge of that aspect of the city... The road would only be closed for 5 minutes, and the sidewalk for maybe an hour.

Contact the Police Department. They'll coordinate with the city and the Department of Public Works if need be.

The Police Department can't give out permits, and they're just going to refer you to city hall. If your town is too small to have a film commission office, you're probably going to have to get one from the regitrar or something.

My town isnt very small... maybe 300,000 people. So who should I contact in the city hall?

Oh, I didn't notice that you wanted a permit. Yeah, you should contact the city about the permit. However, a permit doesn't allow you to close the street. You still need permission from the police and/or the DPW to do that.

So when I call the Police Department, and the secretary answers the phone, who should I request to speak with?

Why do you need to close the sidewalk? If you are going to film there, simply tape up a small, handwritten sign saying that if you walk across this section of the sidewalk you automatically grant consent for your image to potentially appear in a student film.

If you start informing the city and local government that you'll be filming, you will run into trouble getting permission. Better not to even ask in the first place, if you can avoid it.

Yeah, if the scale of your production is kind of small, then just avoid getting a permit, and do it geurilla style.

But, if your handling weapons or a car accident, or something crazy like that, and the secretary picks up the phone, I would say:

"Yes, HI, my name is Braininabox (don't actually say that ) and I'm a student filmmaker who's attending The School of Your Mom (Actually say your school ). I was wondering who I would need to talk to about blowing up a gasoline tanker (Or whatever) on a street downtown and how I could get it blocked off so no one gets hurt. Is there anyone you can direct me to?"

By doing this you have:
A) Established your name.
B) Established what school you attend.
C) Established what you want to do.
D) Established you're a good citizen that doesn't want anyonbe to accidentally get hurt.
E) Shows that you have a problem that needs an answer.

(Yes, I've weasled my way out of so many legalities or rules by using this method, it makes me feel like a lawyer. )

Two words: Film Commision

Find out if there is a film commision for your area, to tell you the truth if you call your city council/police dept, 1. they have no idea who you are 2. they will not take you seriously 3. they might think it is a practical joke or something.

Film commisions have a lot of pull as far as what you would like to do. Of corse it would cost you $$ especially if you want to close down a city street.

I suppose it depends on what you are doing. As Forsaken said, if there are firearms, or pyrotechnics involved, you want to do it the right way, trust me, you wouldn't be making ANY movies in jail.

If you are just going to film some people walking down the street and have no $$, I say forget the permit.Indiana State Film Commision

I doubt I could do it without a permit... I plan on having dolly tracks laid out, the camera man on the dolly, someone pulling the dolly, a fill light on the tracks as well, someone holding a diffuser, actors, and at some point a dozen extras. A little too much to be inconspicuous, I think.

Yeah, you definately need a permit. Hmmm . . . find your film commission, have them get you a permit, then talk to the cops.

Talk to your police department first, make sure that they actually say that you need a permit first. I know that you are technically supposed to have a permit to do that kind of stuff, however, the police are the people who enforce the permits, and if they know what your doing then you're golden. You would be surpised what they will let you do if you just tell them you are filming a movie. The police have given us permission to film on private property in our town, haha, not exactly legal, i wasnt going to complain.

"You would be surpised what they will let you do if you just tell them you are filming a movie."

Or you could be (unpleasantly) surprised at how many people will try to derail your project when they find out what you are doing. It completely depends on the people you talk to, but there many who will try to stop you from doing something because they are too lazy to approve anything other than eating, sleeping, and watching TV.